The paper discusses the modeling of a central solar heating plant with seasonal storage in the ground using the new object-oriented physical systems modeling language Modelica. Main emphasis is put on the hierarchical decomposition of the system model and on the re-engineering of an existing Fortran code for the ground store model. The object-oriented physical system model is compiled to a math...

With more than a billion people lacking accessible drinking water, there is a critical need to convert nonpotable sources such as seawater to water suitable for human use. However, energy requirements of desalination plants account for half their operating costs, so alternative, lower energy approaches are equally critical. Membrane distillation (MD) has shown potential due to its low operating...

We study the formation and evolution of a turbulent spectrum of Alfvén waves driven by reflection off the solar wind density gradients, starting from the coronal base up to 17 solar radii, well beyond the Alfvénic critical point. The background solar wind is assigned and 2D shell models are used to describe nonlinear interactions. We find that the turbulent spectra are influenced by the nature ...

For simplicity, SAP 2009 uses only first-order efficiency value for solar heating panels. This works well for most solar panels that have a relatively straight-line efficiency characteristic, however solar panels with poorer insulation and a more curved efficiency characteristic are unfairly rewarded. A simple enhancement of the current calculation is put forward to remedy this anomaly and make...

The solar corona, anomalously hot outer atmosphere of the Sun, is traditionally described by magnetohydrodynamic, fluid-like approach. Here we review some recent developments when, instead, a full kinetic description is used. It is shown that some of the main unsolved problems of solar physics, such as coronal heating and solar flare particle acceleration can be viewed in a new light when the s...

We use a simplified atmospheric general circulation model (AGCM) to investigate the response of the lower atmosphere to thermal perturbations in the lower stratosphere. The results show that generic heating of the lower stratosphere tends to weaken the sub-tropical jets and the tropospheric mean meridional circulations. The positions of the jets, and the extent of the Hadley cells, respond to t...

A techno-economic heating energy system model for Vienna (Austria) is developed. Based on an existing solar potential map, different solar heat strategies can be evaluated economically and ecologically. The resulting share of installed solar heat units for every building is displayed in a 3D city model. This 3D model allows city planners to study the spatial impact of these strategies. Results ...

The solar photovoltaic (PV) systems are facing serious problems due to unavoidable losses in their system, leads to more devation of output power from the input power level. This effect is known as a mismatch effect and is available in PV systems. Many losses are encountered in PV system and it is difficult to minimize such losses. In this paper, the influence of thermal effect on the solar PV ...

We explored repurposing discarded materials to construct simple, field expedient, solar heating devices capable of heating drinking water to water pasteurization temperatures. Results of different test configurations quickly constructed from junk material indicate important design parameters to include maximizing exposed container surface area and using transparent glass and dark absorbent mate...