Solar Engineering of Thermal Processes, 4th Edition

Preface to the Second Edition

In the ten years since we prepared the first edition there have been tremendous changes in solar energy science and technology. In the time between 1978 (when we made the last changes in the manuscript of the first edition) and 1991 (when the last changes were made for this edition) thousands of papers have been published, many meetings have been held with proceedings published, industries have come and gone, and public interest in the field has waxed, waned, and is waxing again.

There have been significant scientific and technological developments. We have better methods for calculating radiation on sloped surfaces and modeling stratified storage tanks. We have new methods for predicting the output of solar processes and new ideas on how solar heating systems can best be controlled. We have seen new large-scale applications of linear solar concentrators and salt-gradient ponds for power generation, widespread interest in and adoption of the principles of passive heating, development of low-flow liquid heating systems, and great advances in photovoltaic processes for conversion of solar to electrical energy.

Which of these many new developments belong in a second edition? This is a difficult problem, and from the great spread of new materials no two authors would elect to include the same items. For example, there have been many new models proposed for calculating radiation on sloped surfaces, given measurements on a horizontal surface. Which of these ...