Category: Energy Systems Engineering

Solar Thermal Applications

10- 1 Overview Solar power, when absorbed by a surface, converts to either thermal or electrical power. This chapter focuses on conversion to thermal power (or energy), primarily for water and space heating. Solar collectors are described along with their design, testing, and performance leading into a presentation of the f-chart method for characterizing expected […]

Passive Solar Heating Systems

11-4-1 General Passive solar heating describes solar energy collection systems where heat moves by passive means—means without a fan or pump or other, mechanically based, energy inputs. Passive movement can be by thermal radiation, natural (buoyancy-driven) convective air circulation, or sensible heat conduction through a solid. Passive solar heating can be used to heat water […]

Transportation Energy Technologies

12- 1 Overview This chapter focuses on technological options for sustainably delivering energy to motor vehicles and other mechanized transportation equipment. Each specific propulsion technology can be categorized among a limited number of generic “endpoint technologies,” and the strengths and weaknesses of each are considered. While the goal of sustainability may drive society toward adoption […]

Ethanol

Ethanol is the name for a chemical compound which resembles ethane (C2H6), but has one hydrogen atom replaced by a hydroxide ion, thus giving C2H5OH. Most ethanol is produced at present by fermenting crop sugars (such as sugarcane in Brazil, or corn in the United States) in a highly aqueous solution, since, if the solution […]