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Solar thermal energy (STE) is a form of energy and a technology for harnessing solar energy to generate thermal energy for use in industry, and in the residential and commercial sectors. Solar thermal collectors are classified by the United States Energy Information Administration as low-, medium-, or high-temperature collectors.
A solar thermal collector functions as a heat exchanger that converts solar radiation into thermal energy. [31] It differs from a conventional heat exchanger in several aspects. The solar energy flux (irradiance) incident on the Earth's surface has a variable and relatively low surface density, usually not exceeding 1100 W/m 2 without ...
Although the outbreak of World War I and the discovery of cheap oil in the 1930s discouraged the advancement of solar energy, Shuman's vision, and basic design were resurrected in the 1970s with a new wave of interest in solar thermal energy. [25] In 1916 Shuman was quoted in the media advocating solar energy's utilization, saying:
In September 2014, for example, Renewable Energy World suggested "With its claim of 28,000 dead birds from Ivanpah, the Associated Press syndicated a story on every front page in America, spreading alarm about concentrated solar power (CSP) plants, which was not grounded in facts, but on one opponent's speculation." [80] [81]
Renewable thermal energy is the technology of gathering thermal energy from a renewable energy source for immediate use or for storage in a thermal battery for later use.. The most popular form of renewable thermal energy is the sun and the solar energy is harvested by solar collectors to heat water, buildings, pools and various processes.
Completed in September 2019 with 12 hours of thermal energy storage [73] [78] Hami CSP China: Hami, Xinjiang Autonomous Region: 50 Solar power tower: 13: Completed in September 2019 with 13 hours of thermal energy storage [73] [78] Yumen Xinneng CSP China: Yumen, Gansu Province: 50 2020: Beam down tower: 9 [102] [103] [104]
Solar pond – a pool of saltwater which acts as a large-scale solar thermal energy collector with integral heat storage for supplying thermal energy. Solar chimney – solar chimney – often referred to as a thermal chimney – is a way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy.
Solar energy is an application of thermal energy storage. Most practical solar thermal storage systems provide storage from a few hours to a day's worth of energy. However, a growing number of facilities use seasonal thermal energy storage (STES), enabling solar energy to be stored in summer to heat space during winter.