Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modeling and Applications

Solar Energy: Fundamentals, Design, Modelling, and Applications offers a comprehensive but accessible treatment of solar energy, from its basic principles and applications to its economics aspects. Beginning with an overview of the sun's structure, the properties of its radiation, and the rudiments of heat transfer, the author presents in-depth discussions on the design, construction, and performance of solar thermal devices and photovoltaic systems. He explores numerous applications including air and water heating systems, crop drying, water distillation, and biogas digestion. Because the ultimate success or failure of a solar device or application will often hinge on financial considerations, the author also devotes an entire chapter to economic analysis, covering topics such as cash flow diagrams, cost comparisons, and the effects of depreciation.

Appendices provide conversion units, radiation tables, properties of materials, vapor pressure tables, heating values of combustibles, and an extensive bibliography. The text is complemented by more than 300 figures, 180 solved examples, and numerous problems with hints to their solution.