We present a review of the emerging class of hybrid solar cells based on organic-semiconductor (Group IV, III-V), nanocomposites, which states separately from dye synthesized, polymer-metal oxides and organic-inorganic (Group II-VI) nanocomposite photovoltaics. The structure of such hybrid cell...

Direct alkaline alcohol fuel cells (DAAFCs) have attracted increasing interest over the past decade because of their favourable reaction kinetics in alkaline media, higher energy densities achievable and the easy handling of the liquid fuels. In this review, principles and mechanisms of DAAFCs...

The PEM fuel cell model presented in this paper is based on modelling species transport and coupling electrochemical reactions to species transport in an innovative way. Species transport is modelled by obtaining a 2D analytic solution for species concentration distribution in the plane...

The power converter is one of the essential elements for effective use of renewable power sources. This paper focuses on the development of a circuit simulation model for maximum power point tracking (MPPT) evaluation of solar power that involves using different buck-boost power converter...

Low enthalpy geothermal systems exploited with ground source heat pumps or groundwater heat pumps present many advantages within the context of sustainable energy use. Designing, monitoring and controlling such systems requires the measurement of spatially distributed temperature fields and the...

As the demand for cloud computing continues to increase, cloud service providers face the daunting challenge to meet the negotiated SLA agreement, in terms of reliability and timely performance, while achieving cost-effectiveness. This challenge is increasingly compounded by the increasing...

A high penetration of wind energy into the electricity market requires a parallel development of efficient wind power forecasting models. Different hybrid forecasting methods were applied to wind power prediction, using historical data and numerical weather predictions (NWP). A comparative study...

Form finding describes the process of finding a stable equilibrium shape for a system under a specific set of loads, for a set of boundary conditions and starting from an arbitrary initial geometry. However, form finding does not traditionally involve performance constraints such as...

Efficient systems for high performance buildings are required to improve the integration of renewable energy sources and to reduce primary energy consumption from fossil fuels. This paper is focused on sensible heat thermal energy storage (SHTES) systems using solid media and numerical...

A hybrid fuel cell system (~10 kWe) for an average family house including heating is proposed. The investigated system comprises a Solid Oxide Fuel Cell (SOFC) on top of a Polymer Electrolyte Fuel Cell (PEFC). Hydrogen produced from the off-gases of the SOFC can be fed directly to the PEFC....