“Solar Energy”

● ‘Solar Energy’ or ‘Renewable Energy’

● ‘Sustainability’

● Solar or Renewable Energy

– Solar ‘Radiant’ Energy
– Wind Energy
– Biomass Energy
– Hydro and Wave Energy
– Geothermal Energy **
 Some ‘Solar’ Energy
History

▪ Solar Energy Use is Not New

▪ In Use well before Our Discovery of Oil

▪ Is the Source of our Coal and Oil

 Augustin Mouchot’s largest ‘Sun Machine’,
on display at the Universal Exposition in Paris, 1878
An Eneas ‘Sun Motor’ - 4 H.P. Solar Thermal Powered Steam
Engine - on farm in Arizona, 1904
 A Maryland Gentleman of the 1890’s enjoys a
Hot Bath provided by a Climax Solar Water Heater

● Climax Solar Water

Heaters were sold
extensively between
1890 and about
1920.

● Later, the Day and

Night Co. was a
major supplier of
solar hot water
systems.
Solar Water Heating in Los Angeles, circa 1900

• Olive Street in LA in
1900.

• Three buildings using

‘Climax Solar’ water
heaters ($25) ….

• A major solar collector

boom from 1891 to
1930.
(Note the ‘clear’ skies)
 “Bell System Solar Battery Converts Sun’s Rays into
Electricity”, Advertisement from Look Magazine, 1956.
Photovoltaics (PV)
 How
PV cells
work
How ‘Silicon’ cells are made
 Other Types of Solar Cells
● Poly-crystal

● Ribbon type ------------>

● Thin Film
 Commercial Solar Cells
● Single crystal silicon

● Poly-Crystal Silicon

● Thin Films
 Emerging Technolgies
Nano-solar techniques
•NanoSolar – Electrically Conductive Plastics
•Konarka – Polymer and dye-sensitized solar cell
have flexible cells about 5 % efficient
Cells, Modules and Arrays
 Energy Tid-bit
● The solar cells in the early 1950s
were about 0.5 % efficient. Today a
module is about 15 % efficient.

● A 1 kW system:
▪ In 1950 = 2,400 square feet
▪ In 2005 = 80 Square feet
Typical PV Systems
1.5 kW PV Array - Vliet Residence,
Austin TX, 2000
 Building
Integrated
Photovoltaics
(BIPV)

Roof Shingles

(many other
examples)
PV System Installation on Roof of
Commercial Building
Solar - Electric Car
PV Market
 Solar Thermal

● Swimming Pool Heating

● Solar Cooking
● Space Heating
● Solar Hot Water
● Solar Cooling
● Ocean Thermal (Electric)
● Solar Thermal (Electric)
Swimming Pool Solar Heater,
Austin, TX, late 1970’s
Collector for Solar Water Heating
- Vliet Residence, Austin, TX, 1977
Passively Heated Asphalt Storage Tank
- Midland, TX, mid - 1980’s
Tracking-Concentrating Collectors for
UT Solar Cooling project, late 1970’s
 Solar Furnace in French Pyrennes
- Tracking Heliostats and Parabolic Reflector
Power Tower or Central Receiver type Solar
Thermal Electric Power Generation
 10 MWe Solar Power Plant
- Barstow, CA, circa mid - 1980’s
Luz Parabolic Trough Collector Field for Thermal Electric
Power Generation, about 600 MWe, Kramer Junction, CA,
late 1980’s
 Thermal Energy Storage
• Thermal energy storage (TES) systems heat or cool a
storage medium and then use that hot or cold medium
for heat transfer at a later point in time.
• Using thermal storage can reduce the size and initial
cost of heating/cooling systems, lower energy costs,
and reduce maintenance costs. If electricity costs more
during the day than at night, thermal storage systems
can reduce utility bills further.
• Two forms of TES systems are currently used. The
first system used a material that changes phase, most
commonly steam, water or ice. The second type just
changes the temperature of a material, most commonly
water.

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TES Economics Are Attractive
for
● High utility demand costs
● Utility time-of-use rates (some utilities
charge more for energy use during peak
periods of day and less during off-peak
periods)
● High daily load variations
● Short duration loads
● Infrequent or cyclical loads

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 Methods of Thermal Energy Storage
• TES for Space Cooling: produce ice or chilled water at night
for air conditioning during the day
– Shifts cooling demands to off-peak times (less expensive in areas with
real-time energy pricing)
– May be used take advantage of “free” energy produced at night (like
wind energy)
• TES with Concentrated Solar Power: store energy in thermal
fluid to use when sunlight is not available
– Gives solar concentrating power plants more control over when
electricity is produced
• Seasonal TES
– Long term energy storage
– Store heat during the summer for use in the winter
• Many other methods

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 TES with Concentrated Solar Power
(CSP)
• CSP technologies
concentrate sunlight to
heat a fluid and run a
generator

• By coupling
CSP with
TES, we can
better control
when the
electricity is
produced

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 Seasonal Thermal Energy Storage
Drake Landing Solar Community (Okotoks, Alberta,
Canada)

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http://www.dlsc.ca/how.htm