Japan has few indigenous energy supplies, and imports the bulk of its energy, so it is hardly surprising that, following the oil crises of the mid 1970's, it has taken renewable energy seriously. Moreover, increasing constrains on energy and the environment, especially the global environmental...

Different renewable energy sources can be used for greenhouse heating, but several problems have to be solved before renewable energies can substitute fossil fuels. Possibilities and criteria are discussed.

The paper deals with the in situ experimental determination of the thermal properties of the underground soil for use in the design of borehole heat exchangers (BHE). The approach is based on recording the unsteady thermal response of a BHE that has been installed for the first time in Saudi...

Geothermal and solar heat can be directly converted into electricity by using thermoelectric generators. Perovskite-type metal oxides are potential materials to improve the efficiency of these devices. Cobaltates with p-type conductivity and n-type manganates are considered for the development...

Market penetration of renewable energy sources, such as geothermal energy, could be promoted even by small cost reductions, achieved through improved development design. This paper deals with optimization of the exploitation system of a low enthalpy geothermal aquifer, by means of the method of...

This two-part paper investigates the potential of ORC (Organic Rankine Cycles) for the exploitation of low-medium enthalpy geothermal brines. Part A deals with thermodynamic analysis and optimization, while Part B focuses on economic optimization.

This two-part paper investigates the potential of ORC (organic Rankine cycles) for the exploitation of low-medium enthalpy geothermal brines. Part A deals with thermodynamic analysis and optimization, while Part B focuses on economic optimization.

The main objective of the present study is twofold: (i) to analyze thermal loads of the geothermally and passively heated solar greenhouses; and (ii) to investigate wind energy utilization in greenhouse heating which is modeled as a hybrid solar assisted geothermal heat pump and a small wind...

Geothermal energy has been successfully applied in many district heating systems. In order to promote better use of geothermal energy, it is important to analyze the operation strategy of geothermal heating system. This study proposes a comprehensive and systematic operation strategy for a...

A reliable heat transfer model was developed to determine the performance of a double pipe heat exchanger retrofitted to an abandoned petroleum well. The proposed model is compared against an analytical heat transfer model and two numerical models, in order to determine the reliability and...