ABSTRACT
84Energy consumption is increasing globally and demanding more generations. People are aware of environmental issues, and thus they have started relying on renewable energy. The renewable sector started growing in the last two decades. Among all renewable sources, solar energy is the most utilized source because it is easily available and eco-friendly. Solar energy is mainly generated via the deep fusion process, i.e. two atomic nuclei collide at extremely high speed. The temperature of the sun is around 5800 kelvin and, usually, heat engines are used for converting it into mechanical/thermal or electrical energy. The basic principle of functioning of solar thermal systems depends on the second law of thermodynamics and radiation heat transfer. This technology system consists of two components: a flattened solar collector and a concentrator collector. Thermal systems have a storage unit to provide heating at night, and working fluid (i.e. heat transfer fluid, either oil, water, or air) is utilized here to transfer the absorbed heat for suitable usage. Absorbent surfaces are represented as dark surfaces to maximize the absorption of thermal energy. In this chapter, our focus is to elaborate on the existing conversion techniques and to propose advanced techniques for utilizing solar energy more effectively.
