Zinc-phthalocyaninetetraphosphonic acid as a novel transparent-conducting-oxide passivation for organic photovoltaic devices

A novel monolayer chemical passivation improving the surface electronic properties of indium-tin oxide (ITO), used as an electrode in organic solar cells (OSC), is reported. Deposition of zinc-phthalocyaninetetraphosphonic acid on ITO substrates, from a water solution, creates a chemically bound organic monolayer passivation, which improves the charge transfer through the ITO/zinc-phthalocyanine (ZnPc) interface in ZnPc/C₆₀ OSC. Current–voltage measurements on devices produced on such substrates show improved serial and parallel resistances as well as fill factor, compared to OSC on non-passivated substrates. The use of this novel passivation for electrodes allows to dispose off the additional conventional PEDOT:PSS buffer layer.     

Estimation of monthly averaged direct normal solar radiation using elevation angle for any location

Light concentrators used in solar photovoltaic and solar thermal applications, and concentrates light by a factor of 10 or more, use only direct normal solar radiation, I_N. A new method, called elevation angle constant (EAC) method, is developed to determine the resource potential of I_N for different locations. This method is applicable to estimate the I_N at any location in the world. The EAC method is based on empirical relations. The method calculates the elevation angle constant (ε) for a given location and time. It uses readily available daily global and diffuse global radiation data to estimate the I_N. This is different from existing methods which invariably uses hourly global and diffuse radiation. The values of I_N are estimated for 12 locations across the world. The values of I_N obtained using the EAC method have been compared with values obtained using the model-based approach (Appendix-1). The comparison is also done with the measured values for some stations. Ninety percent of the estimated values of I_N using the EAC method for the stations like Angola, Egypt, Kuala Lumpur, Singapore, Brussels, Stuttgart, Ottawa, Birmingham, Los Angeles, Wellington, Perth and New Delhi are within ±5% of the values estimated by the model-based approach (Appendix-1).     

The passive solar heated school in Wallasey. VII. Window opening behaviour and the microclimate of a classroom

Previous work on factors which influence the opening or closing of windows suggests that at low ambient temperatures movement might be associated with odour levels, at intermediate temperatures, with ambient humidity and at higher ambient temperatures with the need to cool buildings. The data on window position, together with other physical measures during the period of observation in the Wallasey School, has been examined to see what quantity is most closely associated with window position. It appears that in the classroom the number of open windows depends mainly upon air temperature, but it also depends markedly on time of day.     

Economic analysis of small photovoltaic facilities and their regional differences

Small grid‐connected photovoltaic (PV) facilities in Spain receive either a premium of 0.36€ kWh^?1 over the average price on the power market or a fixed price of 0.40€ kWh^?1. However, legislation on this matter (Royal Decree 2818/98) requires a periodic review of these figures. The basis of on‐going revision of these prices has been their profitability. However, the economic success of such PV facilities is clearly affected by the amount of solar radiation at the site where they are located. Since Spain is between latitudes 44 and 36° in the northern hemisphere, the feasibility of these systems must be analysed for different regions. Two different models have been used to produce the required input data for such an analysis: a model that generates typical solar radiation years and temperatures taken from satellite images and an empirical model for the prediction of daily power produced by a grid‐connected photovoltaic system. From the results of this regional economic analysis, it may be concluded that the existing prices are insufficient in and of themselves to make these small grid‐connected systems profitable anywhere in Spain. To guarantee the economic feasibility of these PV installations in any given location, the fixed price paid for the electricity should be around 0.93€ kWh^?1. Nevertheless, if the Government were to double the current fixed price, in consideration of the slow increase in the PV market in recent years, this would mean that small grid‐connected installations would become profitable in at least 77% of the Spanish territory. Copyright © 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

MATLAB modelling and examination of the effect of heat capacity of basin and glass cover on performance of solar still by thermal models

There are numerous researcher-developed mathematical models for single slope passive solar stills which considered the effect of heat capacities of basin and glass cover as negligible. The negligence parameter also plays a vital role in the prediction of the thermal performance of the system. In this paper, an effort has been made to evaluate the cumulative yield, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency of a single slope passive solar still with and without considering the heat capacities of basin and glass cover by using various thermal models such as Dunkle’s model, Zheng Hongfei et al.’s model and Tsilingiris model. These models were studied and compared with and without considering the heat capacity of solar components such as basin and glass cover. The thermodynamic model of this system is developed, and executed in a MATLAB code. By comparing the theoretical values of the cumulative yield, energy efficiency and exergy efficiency, it was found that consideration of the heat capacities of glass cover and basin gives a higher output in all the thermal models.     

Way forward in meeting energy challenges in Pakistan

In this review the energy potential of Pakistan from hydro, coal, wind, solar and nuclear sources has been discussed. The new projects that are being commissioned on coal, wind, solar, hydel and nuclear-based technologies have also been mentioned. The review has also explored the future prospects of the country’s energy requirements. Pakistan has potential to produce 100,000?MW of electricity from Thar coal for 20 years, 56,000?MW of hydroelectricity, 150,000?MW of wind energy and ～50,000?MW from solar sources. The coal-fired power generation is expected to 11,500?MW in period 2017–2019. The country is moving in the right direction to cater its energy needs. However, there is a need to find local and foreign investment in the country to meet high energy demands in the country in future.     

Experimental study on improving the performance of solar still using air blower

Water is a basic necessity of man. Economical and efficient production or recycling of water is very much needed in today's world. Solar still has emerged as a life-saving technology to distil brackish water and produce drinkable water using solar energy. The aim of this project was to improve the performance of solar still by adding an air blower which creates a bubbling effect in the still due to which the evaporation rate increases. The bubbling effect using the blower makes the raw water to circulate and to distribute heat energy equally. The evaporated raw water was collected in the glass plate as drop particles. The drop condenses due to ambient air and finally distillate output is collected in the jar, which is placed outside the still. The solar still with air blower arrangement gave higher difference in efficiency and higher distilled output when compared with solar still without an air blower.     

Comparative performance evaluation of single-slope and pyramid-shaped solar stills: experimental evaluation

In the present research paper, experimental analysis is based on the fresh water output rate due to different structural arrangements of two different stills. In the performance evolution, the operational parameters such as water temperature, ambient temperature, inner glass temperature, and productivity have been predicted. A comparative performance between two different solar stills was carried out to evaluate the distillation and effective parameters under the same climatic conditions for several days with different depths of water (2.5 and 3.5?cm) and also to provide a large evaporation surface and utilise the latent heat of condensation using jute cloth. The experimental results show that efficiencies of these solar stills confirm that the fresh distilled water output of the pyramid-shaped solar still is higher than that of the single-slope solar still under different effective parameters.