11.

1 Solar Thermal Energy

Frank R. Leslie,
B. S. E. E., M. S. Space Technology, LS IEEE
2/12/2010, Rev. 2.0 fleslie @fit.edu; (321) 674-7377 www.fit.edu/~fleslie

http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/Solar/Tesla/Experimentor_1916_Solar_Article.pdf

In Other News . . .
Senate passed the energy bill; now consolidation with House bill forms a new H.R.1 bill at $789B

Some rail enhancements, some renewables, some RE job training In Florida, push to regulate tailpipe emissions starting with new models in 2013 (CAF standards) that will lead to more electric and hybrid cars Push to approve FPSC recommendations to require utilities to produce 20% power from RE by 2020 and 7% by 2013 FPL decides to build 10 MWp solar thermal plant at KSC

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11.1.1 Overview of Solar Thermal Systems Solar thermal systems convert sunlight to heat Categorized by reflector/collector types None; uses lens; regular or Fresnel Flat mirror (possibly many of them) Parabolic/cylindrical: single axis forms trough Paraboloidal: axis of revolution forms dish Spherical: approximates paraboloid, but focus can move to track sun

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11.1.1 About This Presentation

11.1.2 US Solar Energy Distribution 11.1.3 Flat Collector Types 11.1.3.2 Water Heaters 11.1.4 Reflectors 11.1.5 Solar Thermal Electric Power

11.1.6 Balance of System 11.1.7 Food Processing and Cookers 11.1.8 Advantages and Disadvantages 11.2 Conclusion

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11.1.2 US Solar Energy: Thermal

Quality of heat; the value in temperature Low-temperature extraction of heat from ground; ~70 F to 80 F Water heating for home and business; ~90 F to 120 F High-temperature process-heating water for industry; ~200 F to 400 F Solar thermal power plants; ~1000 F or higher

Arizona has clearer skies than Florida. Ref.: Innovative Power Systems
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From www.energy.ca.gov/education/story/story-images/solar.jpeg

11.1.3.1.1 Flat-Plate Absorbers

Perforated black metal sheet leaks air in through slots, and a fan pushes/pushes hot air to desired area

Trombe Wall absorbs solar heat and stores it Glass wall plus water barrels often used Warmed air is slowly released into the building at night Water heater with roof solar collector (I like mine) Food dryers circulate warmed air over cut food to remove moisture and preserve it; dried fruit, etc. Wood dryers cure green wood to reduce shrinkage after it is cut to size (manufactured)

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11.1.3.1.2 A Solar Wall Collector

This perforated black sheet metal is fastened directly to a building exterior A small computer fan pulls outside air into the slots, it is warmed, and the air is pushed through a pipe to the interior of the building
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Sustainable Living and Renewable Energy Fair at Ft. Collins CO, 2003

Photo by F. Leslie, 2003

11.1.3.1.3 Trombe Wall Collector

A Trombe wall has thermal mass placed behind a south wall of glass Sometimes barrels filled with water are stacked in this space as a thermal storage capacitor The air in this area is heated and then passes into the rest of the house At night, the thermal inertia of the water-filled drums keeps heating the air These areas are often used to grow plants in winter
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http://www.dal.ca/~arch/architecture/visitors/faculty/procos/solarhouse.htm

11.1.3.1.4 Typical Water Heater

A small pump moves colder water into the collector whenever a controller senses that the panel is hotter than the tank Electrical heating is used if there is no sunshine The system shown adapts a conventional tank
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http://hem.dis.anl.gov/eehem/picts/93050710.gif

11.1.3.2 Solar Water Heaters

Household Use Rooftop; one or two panels about 3 ft x 10 ft Rather standard appearance water tank, but has multiple water connections for collector in and out; more insulation Pipes are cold in, hot out, collector in, and collector out A temperature sensitive resistor is built in for control
10 kilohm thermistor

Ingenious designs allow a standard water heater tank to be used by tapping the safety thermostat port and the drain port

Industrial-grade Parabolic Heaters Multiples of collectors used to achieve more Btus Used at schools, prisons, or military bases
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11.1.3.2 Rooftop Heaters

Thermosyphon units place the storage tank above the panels, and heated water rises into the tank. Cooler return water flows from the tank to the bottom of the collectors to enter at the cold end. No pump is needed to circulate the water.

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http://www.open.ac.uk/StudentWeb/t265/update/solar.htm

11.1.3.2 Solar Ponds

Fresh water floats on top of salt water Solar heating of the brine raises its temperature to 85C (185F) A Rankin Cycle engine turns a generator to drive the utility grid with up to 70 kW

This El Paso solar pond is run by the Univ. of Texas

http://www.infinitepower.org/images/jspaerial.jpg
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http://www.solarpond.utep.edu/

11.1.4.1 Axicon Conical Reflector

A polished mirror cone reflects the sun onto a waterfilled pipe and can boil the water The surface of polished metal or foil is cheap to make and form First used in the 1800s

http://wg
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11.1.4.1 Solar Focusing Systems: Parabolic

Focuses parallel rays to a line

A black pipe is placed with its center at the focus

Pipe can be in a vacuum or could have a glass cover tube to reduce convection

http://freespace.virgin.net/gareth.james/astro/alevel/parabolic.gif

Cylindrical reflector can be on one half of the vacuum tube and approximates the parabolic shape
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Y = 3/16 * X2

11.1.4.2 Solar Focusing Systems: Paraboloidal

The focus at one spot is achieved by the parabolic cross-section Flat mirror segments may be used to approximate the curve at much lower expense

http://www.mellesgriot.com/glossary/wordlist/glossarydetails.asp?wID=186
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11.1.5.1 Solar Electricity Generation System (SEGS)

SEGS are a well developed design, and thus the systems may be reproduced and installed readily FPL owns California plants in the Mohave Desert There are ten SEGS in all
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http://www.ecobuild.info/renewable/solar/segs.jpg

11.1.5.1 SEGS (Solar Electricity Generation System) Luz International, an Israeli company, built these nine large systems in California Luz went bankrupt in 1991, but the systems are still supplying power Sunray Energy, Inc is an owner FPL Energy Group is the owner of SEGS III through IX
engnet.anu.edu.au
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http://www.eere.energy.gov/troughnet/deployed.html

http://www.ecobuild.info/renewable/solar/segs.jpg

11.1.5.1 Parabolic Trough Collectors

This large array shows the gaps needed to keep one row from shadowing the next row Note the flexible pipe at this end that circulates the thermal oil regardless of the tilt angle In the background is the control and engineering building

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www.me.washington.edu/~malte/engr342

11.1.5.1 Parabolic Trough System Schematic

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Natural gas is used to increase the temperature of the steam

www.me.washington.edu/~malte/engr342

11.1.5.1 Eurotrough Reflector

The focus pipe has flexible pipes on the ends to allow rotary motion to track the sun, while the absorber pipe is kept at the heat focus
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http://www.eurotrough.com/downloads/EuroTroughPaperZurich2002_web.pdf

11.1.5.1 Eurotrough Field Layout

Each pair of tubes forms a loop from the central manifolds The power block is centrally located to minimize thermal losses Oil is heated to ~500C
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http://www.eurotrough.com/downloads/EuroTroughPaperZurich2002_web.pdf

11.1.5.2.1 Solar Power Towers

Solar power towers were developed at Sandia, south of Albuquerque, New Mexico Salt was melted by the focused heat If the sun was blocked, the salt could harden in the pipes, requiring torches to get it flowing again The heliostat mirrors are about ten feet square and mounted on the azimuth-elevation mounts (like a radar antenna mount) about 10 feet off the ground The larger version with a full circle array, Solar One, was built near Barstow, CA Water is used, but the system is being modified for molten salt
http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/question.htm
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11.1.5.2.2 Solar Power Towers: Sandia CRTF

Flat mirrors are aimed to focus sun at the receiver target to melt salt
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www.me.washington.edu/~malte/engr342

11.1.4.2.3 Solar Power Towers: Sandia CRTF

5 MW power

Flux to 280 W/cm2

Each heliostat is separately driven to focus its beam on the receiver Missile nosecones have been tested in the hot spot

The Receiver Tower has multiple target areas

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http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/tower1.htm

11.1.4.2.4 Solar Power Towers: Sandia CRTF The large tank stores energy to use during cloud passage or at dusk The output power is extracted at a constant rate

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http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/feature.htm

11.1.4.2.4 Solar Power Towers: Barstow CA

Flat mirrors are aimed to melt salt at the receiver target

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http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/nsttf.html

11.1.5.3 Solar Power Mirrors

Disks of thin aluminized mylar are pulled into rings under slight vacuum to form a paraboloidal surface
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www.ecobuild.info/ renewable/solar/ www.me.washington.edu/~malte/engr342

11.1.5.3.1

75 kW Solar Thermal Test Facility

These Sandia trackers have a paraboloidal dish surface similar to a radar antenna
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http://www.sandia.gov/Renewable_Energy/solarthermal/NSTTF/dishes.htm

11.1.5.3.2 The Axicon Steam Generator

Collins 1_29

11.1.5.3 Solar Path vs. Collector Weight and Size

The Suns changing position requires moving the focus during the day Solar noon elevation changes annually as the sun declination angle changes Massive structures require high power to move them The STTF has 11-meter reflectors Lighter components can move suns image Structures have a lot of sail area, and high winds could damage the reflectors Reflectors are moved to a vertical stow position that minimizes wind torques when weather warnings arise

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11.1.6 Balance of System (BOS)

You need all this other stuff to make it work! Heat exchangers, boilers Circulating pumps for the heat fluid Heat storage tanks, special thermal oils Automated controls Natural gas peaking for steam high temperature Rotary expanders (positive displacement steam motors) can substitute for a turbine Wash truck and sprayer to clean the desert dust off the mirrors

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11.1.7.1 Food Dryers

Heated air passes over the food drying the moisture and preserving it

Separate trays allow keeping fruits or nuts of the same dryness together for processing
http://www.arc.agric.za/institutes/ili/main/publications/dryer.htm

The glass or plastic top allows sunlight in but reflects infrared energy back onto the food The food is in the thick end of the box
http://www.avinsolar.com/dryer.htm
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11.1.7.2.1 Solar Coffee Bean Dryers Coffee is normally dried on open tables in the sun These solar dryers were built to speed the process

Heat retention increases the inside air temperature Materials are inexpensive and local workers can build the driers
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http://www.resource-solutions.org/GGIfcoffeegallery.htm

11.1.7.2.2 Solar Coffee Bean Roaster The Solar Roast coffee company built and uses this segmented mirror to heat the receiver and roast the coffee (incredibly expensive) Roasting coffee beans sound like popcorn popping

They will move from Oregon to Southern Colorado for more sun and year-around operation Find out more at www.solarroast.com or their ad in Home Power magazine (not a paid announcement!)
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http://www.solarroast.com/news.html

11.1.7.3 A Traditional Sun Cooker

This cooker at the 2003 Ft. Collins CO Sustainable Living Fair was in too shady a location to work

The polished aluminum wings provide more reflected light energy into the box to increase the temperature to about 270 F
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11.1.7.4 A Paraboloidal Sun Cooker

The black pot suspended at the focus can be moved on and off for loading and serving The mount allows vertical shifts while the entire unit is turned to track the sun The mirror is made of segments to approximate a paraboloid

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http://www.cuisinesolaire.com/F/cuiseurs.htm

11.1.7.4.1 A Paraboloidal Solar Cooker

This massive servotracker unit was originally developed at Sandia and later given to the local Renewable Energy Society An oven area at the back can cook three pans of cookies A twin unit was shown at the 2004 MREA Fair in WI
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Photo by F. Leslie, 2003

The segments approximate a paraboloidal

11.1.7.4.3 Making Solar Pancakes

A whimsical way to make money at a European renewable energy fair!

Solar pancakes from two reflectors that are offset sections of a paraboloid

http://www.cuisinesolaire.com/E/Benicarlo.htm
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11.1.8 Advantages and Disadvantages

Solar thermal systems work efficiently at lower temperatures since cheap flat collectors can work economically Reflecting systems need broad acceptance angles so that the optics dont cost too much The beam need only strike the absorber, not form a picture image (noncoherent) Reflectors must be kept clean by frequent washing Reflectors wouldnt be wise in hailstorm country! Could be protected by a quickly erected tarp

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11.1 Conclusion: Solar Thermal

Solar thermal systems are cost effective at low temperatures for water heating or cooking Water heaters are energy savers, but initial cost dissuades many from using them Power tower electricity cost is at $6/W peak, too high to compete with PV power Massive power tower yields 10 MWe, while a typical utility plant is 500-1500 MWe Power towers arent likely to be economically practical for some time Solar dryers, cookers, and ovens are relatively inexpensive and available for remote cooking Backpack versions are sold for camping
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Olin Engineering Complex 4.7 kW Solar PV Roof Array

Questions?

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References: Books
Brower, Michael. Cool Energy. Cambridge MA: The MIT Press, 1992. 0-262-02349-0, TJ807.9.U6B76, 333.7940973. Duffie, John and William A. Beckman. Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes. NY: John Wiley & Sons, Inc., 920 pp., 1991 Patel, Mukund R. Wind and Solar Power Systems. Boca Raton: CRC Press, 1999, 351 pp. ISBN 0-8493-1605-7, TK1541.P38 1999, 621.312136 Srensen, Bent. Renewable Energy, Second Edition. San Diego: Academic Press, 2000, 911 pp. ISBN 0-12-656152-4.

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References: Websites, etc.

www.me.washington.edu/~malte/engr342 Excellent site! www.doe.gov www.sandia.org www.nrel.doe.gov http://solarcooking.org/ http://home.earthlink.net/~drduggee/solar.htm http://journeytoforever.org/sc.html http://dir.yahoo.com/Society_and_Culture/Food_and_Drink/Cooking/Cooking_Techniques/Solar_Coo king/ http://www.nal.usda.gov/afsic/AFSIC_pubs/qb9606.htmhttp://peswiki.com/energy/Main_Page http://www.solar2006.org/presentations/tech_sessions/t33-a166.pdf ___________________________________________________________________ www.dieoff.org. Site devoted to the decline of energy and effects upon population www.ferc.gov/ Federal Energy Regulatory Commission www.google.com/search?q=%22renewable+energy+course%22 solstice.crest.org/ dataweb.usbr.gov/html/powerplant_selection.html

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Slide stockpile follows! Older slides follow this one. Look at these if you have interest or time. Its difficult to decide what to leave out of the lecture to save time!