Preface to the

Third Edition

It is nearly 35 years since the first oil shock in 1973. Since then the words
energy crisis and energy security continue to dominate the news. Added to
these worries now are the issues of climate change. In spite of efforts to promote
and develop renewable sources of energy and other new sources, fossil fuels
(coal, oil and natural gas) continue to dominate the energy scene. While the need
for alternative sources of energy is recognized, no set of alternatives has emerged
which can take over the role played by fossil fuels. Meanwhile, the price of oil
continues to rise ominously and has crossed $100 per barrel!
The above trends have serious implications for India which imports a significant
amount of its oil requirements. It is by now reasonably clear that the high economic
growth rate of 8 to 10% which we have been witnessing over the last few years
may well be compromised because of the high costs of importing crude oil.
Hence the importance of developing alternative sources of energy for India cannot
be over emphasized.
The first edition of this book in Solar Energy was published in 1984 and
focused essentially on devices used for collection and storage of solar energy for
thermal applications. In the second edition (published in 1996), two chapters
were added. This was done on the basis of feedback received which suggested
that the scope of the book be enlarged beyond thermal applications. Thus, one of
the chapters was devoted to describing other direct and indirect methods for
solar energy utilisation like photovoltaic conversion, wind energy, energy in
biomass, etc. The other chapter described techniques for making economic
assessments of solar systems. The present edition is a careful update of the
material presented in the second edition and also contains a number of new
relevant topics.
Some of the modifications made in the third edition are as follows:
(i) Chapter 1 describes the overall energy scenario in the world and in India
and discusses various alternative energy options. The figures and tables in
this chapter giving data on the consumption and production of various
commercial sources of energy have been updated. In addition, the
contributions being made now by miscellaneous sources (like wind energy)
are included. The chapter also has small write-ups on the report of the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change concerned with global warming,
 Preface to the Third Edition
xii
on the use of hydrogen as a secondary energy alternative and on the ITER
project for the development of the first nuclear fusion reactor for generating
electricity.
(ii) Chapter 2 is an overview of solar thermal applications. Changes in this
chapter include a separation of the discussion on active and passive methods
for space heating, a description of the unglazed transpired collector and an
expansion of the write-ups on the solar chimney and on solar drying. The
information on solar thermal-electric power has been updated and in
cooking, the Scheffler cooker and the spherical bowl are described.
(iii) In Chapter 3 on solar radiation, a few empirical equations used for predicting
solar radiation have been updated based on recent literature. However,
correlations for predicting daily and hourly diffuse radiation have been
deleted since they are not used much.
(iv) Chapter 4 is on liquid flat-plate collectors. In this chapter, the numerical
example for analyzing the performance of a flat-plate collector has been
re-worked with new data. Many developments have taken place in the last
decade with regard to selective surfaces. These have been described. The
section on Alternatives to the Conventional Collector has also been
modified with the transparent insulation honeycomb collector being deleted.
(v) In Chapter 5 on solar air heaters, the section on Novel Designs has been
substantially modified. Air heaters which do not appear to be promising
anymore like the overlapped glass plate air heater, the honeycomb porous-
bed air heater and the jet plate solar air heater have been deleted, while the
unglazed transpired collector (which has been commercially developed) is
described.
(vi) In Chapter 6, on concentrating collectors, recent advances in cylindrical
parabolic collector technology, paraboloid dish collectors, heliostats and
receivers are described.
(vii) Chapter 7 is on methods for storing thermal energy. In this chapter,
correlations for calculating heat transfer and pressure drop in packed-bed
storage units have been updated. Phase-change materials are now being
used more extensively. Their application in buildings and telecommunication
sheds has been described.
(viii) Chapter 8 is on the solar pond. In the seventies, it was generally felt that
solar ponds would be economically more effective than flat-plate collectors
for obtaining temperatures in the range of 60 to 90C. However, this promise
has not been realized commercially because of the difficulties associated
with maintaining and operating solar ponds over long periods of time. In
this edition, the current status of solar ponds is discussed.
(ix) From the point of view of the modifications, Chapter 9 on Other Methods
for Solar Energy Utilisation has undergone the most change. The section
on photovoltaic conversion has been expanded by including a discussion
on performance characteristics of a solar cell with a solved example. The
discussion on the current status of different types of solar cells has been
 Preface to the Third Edition
xiii
updated and values of efficiencies attained both in the laboratory and in
commercial modules have been given. In the section on wind energy,
statistical distributions which fit wind-speed data are described and their
use illustrated with the help of a solved example. The performance
calculation procedures have also been refined.
Significant advances have been made in the last decade in the area of
biomass utilisation for energy. This is illustrated by the introduction of a
discussion on bio-diesel and by updating the information on biogas and
biomass gasification.
(x) The scope of Chapter 10 on economic analysis has been extended so that
the discussion is now valid for solar systems in general and not just solar
thermal systems. Stand-alone systems and add-on systems are dealt with
separately with the help of solved examples. The chapter ends with an
introductory description of the clean development mechanism, which is of
considerable significance for Indian manufacturers of renewable energy
systems.
In all the chapters, some new problems have been added at the end and some
more examples have been solved. In addition, the number of photographs has
been increased and many more useful references have been added at the end of
each chapter. These will enable the reader to acquire more information on topics
of interest to him.
The accompanying Online Learning Center of the book can be accessed at
http://www.mhhe.com/sukhatme/se3e. Instructors can access the Solution
Manual and Power Point Lecture Slides while students can avail of the
References, List of Symbols, and links for additional learning materials.
As was the case earlier, this book is written so that it will be useful as a
textbook for teaching and will also serve as a reference book for practicing
engineers. The material to be covered while teaching will depend upon the subject
being taught. If the subject is Non-Conventional Energy Sources or Renewable
Energy Sources, the instructor would find it useful to cover Chapters 1, 2, 9, 10
fully and Chapter 3 to 8 partially. On the other hand, if the subject is Solar
Thermal Energy, it would be useful to cover Chapters 2 to 8 fully, delete parts of
Chapters 1 and 10, and leave out most of Chapter 9.
It is highly gratifying that the first two editions of the book have been well
received and appreciated. It is our fond hope that readers will welcome the third
edition too and benefit from the changes made.

SUHAS P SUKHATME
JAYANTA K NAYAK