Solar Technologies for Buildings

Book excerpt: * A complete overview of solar technologies relevant to the built environment, including solar thermal energy for heating and cooling, passive solar energy for daylighting and heating supply, and photovoltaics for electricity production * Provides practical examples and calculations to enable component and system simulation e.g. Calculation of U-values, I-V curve parameters and radiance distribution modelling * Discusses the new trends in thermal energy use, including the architectural integration of collector systems, integrated ventilation photovoltaics facades and solar powered absorption cooling systems * Coverage of cutting-edge applications such as active and passive cooling techniques and results from ongoing research projects