Solar Energy Engineering

Abstract

This course introduces the fundamental principles of solar radiation and explores their application to the engineering design of technologies used to convert sunlight into more usable energy forms.

Objective

Upon successful completion of this course, participants will be able to: 1) Explain the fundamental principles of solar radiation, optics, heat transfer, and thermodynamics relevant to solar energy systems. 2) Apply these principles to analyze and size solar technologies for heat, electricity, and fuel production. 3) Compare the operating principles, advantages, and limitations of flat plate collectors, concentrating solar systems, photovoltaic devices, and solar thermal power plants. 4) Evaluate sensible, latent, and thermochemical energy storage methods with respect to efficiency, scalability, and practical implementation. 5) Assess emerging pathways for solar fuel production, including photo-, electro-, and thermo-chemical conversion routes, relative to established fossil-based alternatives. 6) Design concept-level solar energy systems that integrate energy capture, conversion, and storage for dispatchable energy supply. 7) Critically interpret the technological readiness, performance limits, and deployment potential of current and next-generation solar technologies.

Content

This course aims to provide a comprehensive understanding of the fundamentals of solar radiation, heat transfer, and optics as they relate to the design and analysis of solar technologies. Emphasis is placed on applying these principles to the engineering design of systems capable of converting sunlight to heat, either for direct usage or for further transformation into other energy carriers. The course covers both theoretical and practical aspects of mature solar technologies, including flat plate and concentrating thermal collectors, solar thermal power generation, and photovoltaic systems, as well as thermal energy storage across sensible, latent, and thermochemical methods. Emerging approaches for converting and storing solar energy in the chemical form, including photo-, electro-, and thermo-chemical fuel production pathways, are also examined, with a focus on critically evaluating the performance, limitations, and technological readiness of these novel technologies relative to commercial fossil-based alternatives.

Resources