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Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy
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Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy

A special issue of Energies (ISSN 1996-1073). This special issue belongs to the section "A2: Solar Energy and Photovoltaic Systems".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 January 2023) | Viewed by 7748

Special Issue Editor

Prof. Dr. Ashmore Mawire

E-Mail Website
Guest Editor
Department of Physics and Electronics, Material Science Innovation and Modelling (MaSIM) Research Focus Area, North-West University, Private Bag X2046, Mmabatho 2735, South Africa
Interests: solar thermal energy storage; solar food processing; heat transfer; thermodynamics; solar heating and cooling; solar radiation measurement and instrumentation

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Rural areas, especially in developing countries, face energy challenges since they are usually decentralized from centralized energy supplies. As a result, people in rural areas usually utilize biomass and fossil based energy resources for their day-to-day domestic activities. These energy resources are not clean and contribute to global warming and lung-related diseases due to smoke generated from their usage. Some remote villages, especially in the developing world, are blessed with an abundance of renewable energy resources, particularly solar energy. Solar energy can be used for day-to-day energy intensive domestic requirements such as water heating, bathing, cooking and refrigeration. The problem with solar energy is that it is intermittent, and it cannot be used during low sunshine periods such as during the night; thus, thermal energy storage (TES) can cater for this drawback. Small TES systems can be used to enhance the performance of solar devices such as solar cookers, water heaters, food dryers and refrigerators. Additionally, other non-essential energy requirements, such as space heating and cooling, can also be enhanced with TES in rural areas. Small scale power generation using both solar photovoltaic and solar concentrating technologies can also be enhanced with the use of small TES systems in rural areas.

In this Special Issue, papers addressing the application of small solar TES systems for decentralized rural communities are presented for catering energy demand requirements in rural areas. This is conducted in a bid to promote energy sustainability for rural communities. Different applications of TES are presented, including the following; solar water heating; cooking; power generation; food drying; space heating and cooling; and water purification.

Prof. Dr. Ashmore Mawire
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

  • solar thermal
  • thermal energy storage
  • small scale power generation
  • solar energy
  • rural areas 
  • solar heating and cooling

Published Papers (5 papers)

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Research

27 pages, 9157 KiB  
Article
Heat Storage for Cooking: A Discussion on Requirements and Concepts
by Ole Jørgen Nydal
Energies 2023, 16(18), 6623; https://doi.org/10.3390/en16186623 - 14 Sep 2023
Cited by 1 | Viewed by 946
Abstract
Methodologies for direct and indirect solar energy for cooking are discussed. Clean and renewable energy solutions for cooking are, in particular, in demand in the sub-Saharan region where fuel wood is the main source of energy for a large part of the population, [...] Read more.
Methodologies for direct and indirect solar energy for cooking are discussed. Clean and renewable energy solutions for cooking are, in particular, in demand in the sub-Saharan region where fuel wood is the main source of energy for a large part of the population, in particular in off-grid communities. As solar radiation is intermittent, energy storage solutions are required to provide cooking power during off-sun hours. Electrical batteries can be feasible for low-power applications (lights, electronics, and chargers) but tend to be costly and short-lived solutions for high-power cooking requirements. Heat battery concepts are discussed here together with prototype examples of latent and sensible heat storage solutions which have been laboratory tested for cooking and frying. Simplified computational comparisons between latent and sensible heat storage options show that oil and rock bed sensible heat systems, with a natural convection heat transfer, can be designed to provide variable cooking power levels. Oversized sensible heat storage systems can approach the near constant temperature and heat storage properties of a latent heat system. Latent heat storage systems can be more suitable for frying than for cooking applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy)
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19 pages, 4948 KiB  
Article
Performance Analysis of Thermal Energy Storage System Integrated with a Cooking Unit
by Denis Okello, Robinson Omony, Karidewa Nyeinga and Jimmy Chaciga
Energies 2022, 15(23), 9092; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15239092 - 30 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1347
Abstract
This paper presents an experimental study on a single tank thermal energy storage (TES) system integrated with a cooking unit. The tank had a capacity of 45 L of oil. The cooking chamber was embedded in the storage tank, thereby eliminating the use [...] Read more.
This paper presents an experimental study on a single tank thermal energy storage (TES) system integrated with a cooking unit. The tank had a capacity of 45 L of oil. The cooking chamber was embedded in the storage tank, thereby eliminating the use of pumps and connecting pipes between the cooking unit and the storage unit. The system was designed to make good physical contact, circumferential and basally, with the cooking pot, to improve the rate of heat transfer. Experimental tests were performed with oil only and oil–rock pebbles as sensible heat storage materials. The charging unit was connected to the TES unit in such a way that it allowed circulation of oil between them during charging, using the thermosiphon principle. An electric heater rated at 800 W 240 V was inserted into the charging unit to charge the system. The thermal performance of the TES systems was evaluated in terms of the charging temperature, heat retention capacity, energy stored and cooking efficiency, and the overall heat lost coefficient. The results showed that the oil–rock system performed best, with a cooking efficiency of 64.9%, followed by the oil-only TES system, with 60.3%. Further tests on cooking indicated that the system was able to cook beans in 2.25 h and 2.0 h using the oil only and oil–rock pebbles thermal energy storage systems, respectively. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy)
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19 pages, 2520 KiB  
Article
Experimental Energetic and Exergetic Performance of a Combined Solar Cooking and Thermal Energy Storage System
by Katlego Lentswe, Ashmore Mawire and Prince Owusu
Energies 2022, 15(22), 8334; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15228334 - 08 Nov 2022
Cited by 3 | Viewed by 1249
Abstract
Most solar cookers usually perform a single task of solely cooking food during sunshine hours. Solar cookers coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) material for off-sunshine cooking are usually expensive and require complex engineering designs, and cannot be used for dual purposes, for [...] Read more.
Most solar cookers usually perform a single task of solely cooking food during sunshine hours. Solar cookers coupled with thermal energy storage (TES) material for off-sunshine cooking are usually expensive and require complex engineering designs, and cannot be used for dual purposes, for example, solar water heating and cooking. In this paper, a solar cooker that can perform dual tasks of cooking as well as storing thermal energy to be used during off-sunshine periods is presented. The experimental setup is composed of a parabolic dish, a solar receiver coupled with a flat plate and an oil-circulating copper coil for charging and discharging a storage tank. The objective of the experiment is to evaluate the energy and exergy thermal performance parameters of the dual-purpose system during charging and discharging cycles. The effect of the flow rate and the mass of the load are investigated while using sunflower oil as both the heat transfer fluid and the storage material. Charging and discharging experiments are conducted using four different flow rates (2, 3, 4, 5 mL/s), and with different masses (0.5, 1, 1.5, 2.0 kg) with water and sunflower oil as the test loads. The charging results show that the average energy and exergy rates as well as their corresponding efficiencies increase with an increase in the charging flow rate. On the other hand, the increase in the mass load tends to decrease marginally the average charging energy and exergy rates for water, and their corresponding efficiencies. For sunflower oil, the average charging energy and exergy rates and efficiencies showed a more pronounced decrease with an increase in the mass. Water generally shows higher charging and discharging energy and exergy efficiencies compared to sunflower oil with an increase in the flow rate. For discharging results, the correlations between the energy and exergy thermal performance parameters with respect to the flow rate and the heating load are not well defined possibly due to different initial storage tank temperatures at the onset of discharging and the inefficient discharging process which needs to be optimized in future. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy)
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16 pages, 19511 KiB  
Article
Investigation of Heat Transfer Fluids Using a Solar Concentrator for Medium Temperature Storage Receiver Systems and Applications
by Pawan Kumar Kuldeep, Sandeep Kumar, Mohammed Saquib Khan, Hitesh Panchal, Ashmore Mawire and Sunita Mahavar
Energies 2022, 15(21), 7868; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15217868 - 24 Oct 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1636
Abstract
Solar concentrator collectors have the potential of meeting the medium- and high-temperature thermal energy demands of the world. A heat transfer fluid (HTF) is a vital component of a concentrating system to transfer and store thermal energy. This paper presents the design development [...] Read more.
Solar concentrator collectors have the potential of meeting the medium- and high-temperature thermal energy demands of the world. A heat transfer fluid (HTF) is a vital component of a concentrating system to transfer and store thermal energy. This paper presents the design development of a solar paraboloidal dish concentrator (SPDC) and a study of selected HTFs using the storage receiver system of the concentrator. The locally designed SPDC (diameter 1.21 m and height 0.20 m) has features like light weight, effortless tracking, convenient transportation along with high optical and thermal performance. Three HTFs, silicone oil (SO), engine oil (EO) and ethylene glycol (EG), are selected based on their favorable properties for medium temperature (150–300 °C) applications. The characteristic parameters of HTFs, heating rate (Rh), instant thermal efficiency (ηith) and the overall heat loss coefficient (UL), are illustrated and determined experimentally. A new characteristic parameter, the normalized maximum fluid temperature (Tnf), is also introduced in the paper. In the heating test, the maximum attained temperatures by fluids, SO, EO and EG are found to be 240 °C, 180 °C and 160 °C, respectively. The thermal efficiencies of SO, EO and EG are determined to be 45, 36 and 31%, respectively. The heating rate of 6.56 °C/s is found to be the maximum for SO. Through the cooling test, the overall heat loss coefficient (UL) is computed to be 14 W/mK, which is the least among the three fluids compared. The high thermal performance, environmental safety and chemical stability of silicone oil make it suitable for use in concentrators for medium-temperature heat transfer and storage applications. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy)
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11 pages, 4311 KiB  
Article
Excess Energy from PV-Battery System Installations: A Case of Rural Health Center in Tigray, Ethiopia
by Mulu Bayray Kahsay and Johan Lauwaert
Energies 2022, 15(12), 4355; https://doi.org/10.3390/en15124355 - 14 Jun 2022
Cited by 2 | Viewed by 1155
Abstract
PV-Battery systems are commonly sized based on the lowest solar radiation of the site of implementation. This implies that during days of high solar radiation excess energy is available. This study investigated the potential of excess energy for thermal storage from PV systems [...] Read more.
PV-Battery systems are commonly sized based on the lowest solar radiation of the site of implementation. This implies that during days of high solar radiation excess energy is available. This study investigated the potential of excess energy for thermal storage from PV systems for a case of a rural health center. The system components of a typical PV installation in a rural health center in Tigray, Ethiopia, were considered. The electricity load profile of the health center and solar radiation data available from Mekelle city were used as inputs to a TRNSYS model. Analysis of excess energy in the system at hourly and ten-minute time intervals was conducted. The analysis results indicate that during the months from September to May excess energy was available that could be thermally stored and utilized. During these months, the excess peak power ranged from 737 to 841 W and daily average excess energy ranged from 2070 to 2959 Wh. In contrast, in the months from June to August, no excess energy was available due to low solar radiation. Full article
(This article belongs to the Special Issue Small Scale Solar Thermal Energy Storage Systems for Rural Energy)
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