From PESWiki

A directory of technologies and resourses relating to solar thermal energy.

Overviews

• Solar Thermal Panels - Flat bed or Evacuated Tubes - Which is better? That depends.
• Solar collector development history -1-page PDF from Surface Power in Ireland.

Videos

• Webinar on Compact Energy Storage - An overview was given of three classes of compact thermal energy storage: phase change material, sorption and thermochemical storage. The principles of the technologies were explained, examples of their applications given and the research and development challenges described that are needed for their respective routes to the markets. 1 hour. (Jan. 23, 2009)

• Intersolar 2008 Part 1 and 2 - Shows pictures of the construction, the first day and technical innovations in photovoltaics at the Intersolar 2008. Part 2 focusses on the solar thermal industry, shows the progress of the Intersolar 2008 and the Intersolar AWARD ceremony.

(7.32 Minutes)

• Solar Thermal Energy: Harnessing the Power of the Sun The video shows the use of solar thermal energy for heating in Europe. Examples from Denmark and Spain show the use in different climates. Interviews with users and manufacturers give a good overview of this clean energy technology. The video is provided for free by the Sustainable Energy Europe Campaign of the European Union. (YouTube; January 22, 2008)

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(6.35 Minutes)

• Side by side testing of eight solar water heating systems How this DTI funded report on solar panels performance highlighted the need for zero carbon solar thermal systems because the operational carbon clawback exceeded 20% for some makes of solar panel. There was one zero carbon solar panel, Solartwin, whose design innovations were validated by the study. Solar energy is not negated by "parasitics" by the best solar panel designs.. (YouTube; September 21, 2007)

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(7.32 Minutes)

• Apricus Solar Evacuated Tube Production & Packing Video providing overview of the evacuated tube production and packing. (Turn off the "music".) (YouTube; May 31, 2007)

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Technologies

Companies

• Clean Coal >
  Mixing Solar with Coal to Cut Costs - The project by Abengoa Solar and Colorado's largest utility, Xcel Energy, will involve building an array of parabolic mirrors designed to concentrate heat from the sun, and use that heat to help make the steam that drives the coal plant's turbines and generators, making electricity, cutting the cost of solar and reducing plant emissions. (MIT Technology Review; Sept. 4, 2009)
  

• Solar > Concentrated / PV >
  Entech Solar energy hybrid has hopes for bright future - Entech Solar's next-generation concentrating solar prototype, ThermaVolt II, combines concentrating photovoltaic and thermal (CPVT) technology. The company says its product delivers four to five times the amount of energy compared to traditional photovoltaic systems and costs less to produce. (GizMag; August 14, 2009)
  

• Apricus - Evacuated Tube technology.
• Apricus Down Under
• Pretasol - Solar Thermal Leasing in Spain. Pretasol is a new company that is accelerating the adoption of solar thermal products for homeowners and business's by offering the option to lease the equipment thus avoiding the initial high costs.

• Solar for Dark Climates - Cool Energy, a startup based in Boulder, CO, USA, is developing a system that produces heat and electricity from the sun. It could help make solar energy competitive with conventional sources of energy in relatively dark and cold climates, such as the northern half of the United States and countries such as Canada and Germany. (MIT Technology Review; July 08, 2009)
  

• Heliodyne - Flat Plate technology.

• Solartwin - Solartwin is the main solar water heating innovation to emerge from the British Isles.

• Solar >
  Sunrain defies economic crisis - Despite the global economic crisis, the Chinese vacuum tube collector manufacturer Jiangsu SunRain Solar Water Heater Manufacture Co. LTD grew by 74% last year and presently employs around 2000 people. (Solar Thermal World; Jan. 26, 2009)
  

• Surface Power - 2-page PDF. Certified hot water system kits for Europe.

• Solar Thermal / Building / ZPE / Methane >
  A few free energy developments in Romania - A Russian news agency reports on several interesting systems being developed, including an efficient solar water heating design, a composite building materials having strength and a high R value, a magnetic fertilizer, and a system that allegedly loads methane molecules with the vacuum zero point energy increasing the methane’s heating power by 40 percent. (Financiarul; Oct. 30, 2009)
  

DIY

• Build your own solar thermal panel... Second Attempt

Research and Development

• Batch Solar Collectors
• Evacuated Tube Technologies
• Flat Plate Technologies

Resources

Directories

• http://www.solarthermalworld.org/calender - Calendar of Events around the world

• Solar Thermal World - This unique website forms a worldwide forum for experts on solar thermal technology and those interested in the development of the market, it is hosted by the Global Solar Thermal Energy Council (GSTEC), a collaborative platform between industry, research institutions and NGOs.

Politics

• Energy Directive adopted by European Parliament - 107-page PDF For the first time, heating and cooling is covered by an European Directive. (Global Solar Thermal Energy Council; Jan. 5, 2009)

In the News

• Fair Season in China: Three Major Trends - Paying a visit to these domestic solar regional trade fairs will give you an outlook on the technology trends of China's giant solar thermal industry. The three major ones are: full-glass heat pipe vacuum tubes, tubes with inner silvering for concentration, and balcony collector modules. (Solar Thermal World; March 9, 2009)
  

• Solar Thermal Energy in the Antarctic - Surviving in harsh climate: This vacuum tube collector system has heated the Brandfield House at the Rothera research station in the Antartic since February 2008. (Global Solar Thermal Energy Council'; Feb. 23, 2009)
  

• Steam and Cooling: no Problem for a Solar Thermal System - Thirty-eight Abengoa parabolic trough collectors are currently being installed gradually on the roof of the Steinway factory building. “We need a temperature of 200 °C to run a double-effect direct gas fired adsorption chiller for dehumidification in the summer time,” explains Rigos. “In the winter the steam is used to produce low pressure steam for heating and production purposes via a heat exchanger.” (Solar Thermal World; Feb. 16, 2009)
  

• Events >
  4th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference and Intersolar 2009, Munich - The 4th European Solar Thermal Energy Conference, one of the largest global conferences dedicated to solar thermal energy, will be held on 25 and 26 May 2009 in Munich. It will be followed the next to days by Intersolar 2009, the world´s largest solar technology trade fair.
  

• Solar Thermal News

Discussion

See Discussion page

See also

• Directory:Thermal Electric

GENERAL:
- Directory:Solar - index of resources
- PowerPedia:Solar Energy - Encyclopedic review of history and future
- News:Solar
- Videos:Solar
MODALITIES:
- Directory:Concentrated Solar Power
- Directory:Solar PhotoVoltaics | Directory:Home Generation:Solar PV
- Directory:Solar Thermal
- Directory:Home Generation:Solar Heating
- Directory:Thin Film Solar
- Directory:Solar:Photosynthesis Imitation
- Directory:Solar Tower
- Directory:Floating Solar Chimney
- Directory:Space Based Solar Power
- Directory:Solar Sails
INFRASTRUCTURE
- Directory:Plastic Solar Cells
- Directory:Silicon - more efficient uses, alternatives, methods
- Directory:Black Silicon
- Directory:Synchronous Solar Heliostat
- Directory:Solar:Installation and Consultation
- Directory:Solar:Largest
APPLICATIONS:
- Directory:Solar:Chargers
- Directory:Solar:Vehicles
- Directory:Solar Hydrogen
- OS:Solar Ethanol - distiller design
- Directory:Solar Pavement - black-body absorption of the asphalt - Other Directory listings • Latest • A-I • J-R • S-Z • Tree • News
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