Advanced Energy Efficiency Technologies for Solar Heating, Cooling and Power Generation

This book, based on the research experience and outcomes of a group of international contributors, addresses a range of advanced energy efficiency technologies and their applications in solar heating, cooling and power generation, while also providing solutions for tackling recurring low efficiency problems in today’s systems. It highlights the latest technologies and methods, which can significantly improve the performance of solar systems, enabling readers to design, construct and apply high-performance solar systems in or for their own projects. 

The contributors provide a systematic introduction to state-of-the-art energy efficiency technologies that demonstrates how to implement innovative solar systems. These technologies include: 

• heat pipes and loop heat pipes; 

• phase change materials (PCMs) and PCM slurries; 

• micro-channel panels; 

• desiccant/adsorption cycling; 

• ejector cooling and heat pumps; and 

• solar concentration and thermoelectric units. 

The book shows how innovative solar systems applicable to rural and urban buildings can be analysed and demonstrates the successful implementation of these advanced technologies. It delivers the design principles and associated energy performance assessment methods for a range of selected solar heating, cooling and power generation projects. 

This book offers a valuable source of information for final-year undergraduate students, as well as graduate students and academic lecturers, as it promotes the widespread deployment of advanced solar heating, cooling and power generation technologies applicable for buildings across the globe. The book is also a good point of reference for design engineers and energy consultants who wish to extend their knowledge of advanced technologies used to achieve energy efficiency. 

Xudong Zhao is the Director of Research and Professor at the School of Engineering and Computer Science, University of Hull (UK), and has enjoyed a global reputation as a distinguished academia in the areas of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies, and sustainable heating, cooling and power systems, with particular strength in integrating renewable solar energy source (via PVs, solar thermal collectors, and PV/Thermal) and energy efficiency technologies (e.g. heat pipe, heat pump, CHP and PCM etc) into various decentralised heating, cooling and power systems, thus creating the de-carbonized, decentralized and off-grid energy systems. Over more than 30 years of professional career, he has led or participated in 58 research projects funded by EU, EPSRC, Royal Society, Innovate-UK, Royal Academy of Engineering, China Ministry of Science and Technology and industry with accumulated fund value of approximately £18.5 million, 40 engineering consultancy projects worth £5 million, and claimed 11 patents. Up to date, he has supervised 30 Ph.D. students and 25 postdoctoral research fellows, published 213 peer-reviewed papers in high impact journals and referred conferences, involved authorization of 8 books, chaired, organized and gave keynote (invited) speeches in 30 international conferences. His researches in solar PV, solar thermal, solar PV/T (photovoltaic/thermal), heat pump, and sustainable heating & cooling have achieved world-leading standards, being placed at the ‘2017 world highly cited researchers list’, receiving the ‘The UK Rushlight Innovation Award’, ‘European Dragon-STAR Innovation Silver Award (2nd place)’, ‘World Society of Sustainable Energy Technology 1st, 2nd and 3rd Round Innovation Awards’ in consecutive years of 2016, 2017 and 2018, and being nominated as a candidate for ‘2018 World Eni-awards’. He is currently undertaking a number of important national and international roles: (1) Member of the UK ‘EPSRC Engineering Prioritisation Panel’; (2) Executive Board Member of the ‘World Society of Sustainable Energy Technologies’; (3) Executive Management Board Member of the ‘International Conference Series for Sustainable Energy Technologies’; (4) Steering Committee Member of the ‘European District Heating and Cooling Technology Platform’ involving development of work documents for European Commission in this subject (e.g. Digital District Heating and Cooling etc); (5) Editorial board member of the journals ‘Energy’, ‘Renewable Energy’, ‘Energies’, ‘Future Cities and Environment’, ‘Frontiers in Built Environment and Mechanical Engineering’, ‘Heat Exchangers’, ‘Sustainable Cities and Society’, ‘Journal of Architectural Research and Development (JARD)’, ‘Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning’ and ‘Chinese Journal of Mechanical Engineering’; (6) Guest Lead Editor for the ‘Applied Energy’, ‘International Journal of Photo-energy’,  ‘Energies’, and ‘Frontier of Energy Researches’; (7) The referee for EU FP7 programme, colleague member of EPSRC (UK), referee of ESRC (UK), French National Agency (ANR), Kazakhstan National Science and Technology Ministry, Portugal Science and Technology section and Hong Kong Research Grant Council; and (8) UK Newton Fund Programme Advisor focusing on China related research collaboration. Recently, he was selected as the member of the ‘EU Academy of Sciences’, and won the sole ‘Research Excellence Award’ from the University of Hull.