The present disclosure provides systems for a continuous generation of a heat supply from renewable energy. The systems generally comprise a hydrogen generator to be electrically connected to a photovoltaic panel and to be thermally connected to a thermal loop, the thermal loop including a solar thermal system, a heat load, and a radiator.

A closed-loop system and method for heating of target contaminant treatment zones (150) having environmental contaminants of concern present in the groundwater and the soil by thermal conduction, and subsequent enhancement of physical, biological and chemical processes to attenuate, remove and degrade contaminants in the target contaminant treatment zones, is disclosed. The system and method collects solar or other heat and transfers that heat via a closed-loop and a set of borehole exchangers (120) to subsurface soil in the proximity of and/or directly to the target contaminant treatment zones. The target contaminant treatment zone may comprise contaminated soil, contaminated groundwater in an aquifer, or industrial waste comprising water and/or solids. Solar collectors or heat exchangers capturing waste heat from industrial processes may be used as the heat source (110).

A solar aided coal-fired power generation system participating in primary frequency regulation and a control method thereof propose a system configuration with two regulation schemes by coupling medium-low-temperature solar collectors and a coal-fired generation unit. The two regulation schemes are a high-pressure feedwater bypass scheme and a low-pressure condensate bypass scheme. The present invention formulates a primary frequency regulation control logic, so as to efficiently and accurately participate in the primary frequency regulation, thereby keeping the power grid frequency rapidly stable. The present invention also formulates a working fluid outlet temperature control logic for the solar aided coal-fired thermal system, which adjusts a heat exchange working fluid flow of the solar collectors to ensure that the temperature in each section is stable during the primary frequency regulation. The present invention uses operation matching of the turbine system and the solar collectors to improve effectiveness of the primary frequency regulation.

The instant system is a panel made of several layers that is a highly decorative, fire resistant, water resistant, sound proof, R valued insulated, light weight, and energy efficient panel. Such layers include: glass fiber reinforced concrete, glass fiber reinforced concrete with alkaline resistant fibers, alkaline resistant hurricane tested scrim mesh, a solar powered radiant tubing, a fire resistant foam that contains a steel reinforcement, and an epoxy adhesive.

A system for selectively heating and cooling including a three-way heat exchange apparatus, a source apparatus for selectively heating and cooling a source fluid, a phase change material for selectively storing heating and cooling potential, and a distribution apparatus for selectively distributing heating and cooling a distribution fluid, wherein the three-way heat exchange apparatus is connected to the phase change material by an interface between the heat exchange apparatus and the phase change material.

A method for transferring heat from a lower temperature heat source to a higher temperature heat sink using only the energy in the heat source and heat sink. The method uses a converting material which is adapted to receive external radiation from the lower temperature heat source, absorb the external radiation exciting an element of the converting material, non-radiatively transfer heat within the converting material by relaxing an element of the converting material, and conductively transferring heat from the converting material to the exterior of the converting material, where the heat can be used for an external process or application.

A mounting device including a base having an open bottom, a longitudinal axis, and a linear guide on the base. The linear guide guides support hardware in linear movement along the longitudinal axis. An internal cavity is under the base for containing a sealant against and in cooperation with a roof when the mounting device is secured to the roof. An opening is though the base is for receiving a fastener when the mounting device is secured to the roof. The opening is in communication with the internal cavity. The linear guide extends beyond the internal cavity.

A mounting device including a base having an open bottom, a longitudinal axis, and a linear guide on the base. The linear guide guides support hardware in linear movement along the longitudinal axis. An internal cavity is under the base for containing a sealant against and in cooperation with a roof when the mounting device is secured to the roof. An opening is though the base is for receiving a fastener when the mounting device is secured to the roof. The opening is in communication with the internal cavity. The linear guide extends beyond the internal cavity.

Disclosed are methods and functional elements for enhanced thermal management of predominantly enclosed spaces. In particular, the invention enables the construction of buildings with reduced power requirements for heating and/or air-conditioning systems since under certain conditions less energy for heating or cooling is required to maintain, within certain boundaries, desirable temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other enclosed spaces.

In some instances the invention is in part based on dynamically changing functional elements with variable properties, or effective properties, in terms of their electromagnetic radiative behavior and/or their thermal energy storage properties, or the spatial distribution of the stored thermal energy, which permits the application of methods and algorithms to control the overall thermal behavior of the entire structure in such a way that desired levels of inside temperature can be reached with reduced consumption of external energy (typically electricity, gas, oil, or coal).

In some instances no conventional heating of cooling is required at all, whereas in other instances the expenditure of external energy for conventional heating or cooling is reduced. In some instances the invention enables the reduction of the time to reach desired temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other predominantly enclosed spaces.

In some instances the obtained sensor data may be used to detect the occurrence or imminently predicted occurrence of a catastrophic event, including but not limited to fire or flooding, internal or external to the predominantly enclosed space.

In some embodiments this information may support any single or any combination of locally or remotely alerting humans, alerting rescue units, activating countermeasures, uploading at least partially said sensor data to off-site computers, determining the cause(s) of said catastrophic event, determining liability, determining insure payments, determining insurance premiums.

The present disclosure describes a hybrid photovoltaic (PV) panel that includes: a first photovoltaic (PV) layer comprising photovoltaic cells capable of converting energy from incident solar power into electricity; a second transparent layer arranged underneath the first PV layer such that a portion of the incident solar power passes through; and a third thermal collection layer arranged underneath the second transparent layer and comprising absorbing material capable of absorbing energy from the portion of the incident solar power that has passed through the second transparent layer, wherein the second transparent layer includes a thermally insulating material to provide a thermal barrier between the first PV layer and the third thermal collection layer such that when the PV panel is operated, the first PV layer operates at a temperature lower than a temperature of the thermal collection layer.