A system of solar thermal collectors and an HVAC controller draw heated air through a solar thermal absorbing needle-punched propylene geotextile with limited permeability to air flow, into the interior of poultry livestock house. In various embodiments, the poultry livestock house is divided into zones. Groups of collectors are joined with breather holes on opposite sides of the collectors and solid sides on the ends of each group. Groups of collectors serve each zone of the poultry livestock house. In an embodiment of the system the Environmental Optimization System (“EOS”) provides a system for the intelligent control and monitoring the broiler poultry livestock structure environment through the utilization of a variety of environmental and livestock behavior sensors, apparatus for controlling the thermal collection and existing interior heating/air conditioning/ventilation (“HVAC”) systems, and Internet or cloud based intelligent control and monitoring capabilities of the system. In various embodiments central sensor data aggregation is utilized to provide improved optimization control for livestock zones within individual structures based on data from multiple structures.

A solar heat collector tube in which at least an infrared reflective layer, a sunlight-heat conversion layer and an anti-reflection layer are provided on the outer surface of a tube, through the interior of which a heat medium can flow, wherein the infrared reflective layer is an Ag layer in which silicon, silicon nitride or a mixture thereof is dispersed, and a method for producing the solar heat collector tube wherein the infrared reflective layer that is an Ag layer, in which silicon, silicon nitride or a mixture thereof is dispersed, is formed by sputtering in the presence of a gas including nitrogen gas, with Ag and silicon being used as targets.

A solar heat collector tube in which at least an infrared reflective layer, a sunlight-heat conversion layer and an anti-reflection layer are provided on the outer surface of a tube, through the interior of which a heat medium can flow, wherein the infrared reflective layer is an Ag layer in which silicon, silicon nitride or a mixture thereof is dispersed, and a method for producing the solar heat collector tube wherein the infrared reflective layer that is an Ag layer, in which silicon, silicon nitride or a mixture thereof is dispersed, is formed by sputtering in the presence of a gas including nitrogen gas, with Ag and silicon being used as targets.

A solar concentrator comprising: a base; a framework, the framework being hingedly joined to the base such that the framework can be rotated relative to the base; and a plurality of mirrors arranged relative to a first axis of the framework, such that all of the mirrors are located on one side of a plane which contains the first axis, each mirror being fixed to the framework and each mirror being arranged to reflect light travelling parallel to the first axis towards a common focus which lies on the first axis.

The invention relates to a method for producing syngas by means of solar radiation, in which the reactor of a receiver-reactor is periodically heated via an aperture provided in the same for solar radiation by means of the solar radiation to an upper reduction temperature for a reduction process and subsequently cooled to a lower oxidation temperature for an oxidation process in the presence of an oxidation gas, wherein the sunlight is guided through an absorption chamber onto an absorber configured as a reactor, which includes a reducible/oxidizable material, and wherein a gas that absorbs the black-body radiation of the absorber is guided through the absorption chamber and the absorption chamber is configured so that the back radiation of the absorber through the aperture is essentially absorbed by the gas. Radiation losses caused by back radiation of the black-body radiation exiting the optical aperture are thus avoided in accordance with the invention. The heat of the back radiation, however, can be utilized directly in the heat-transporting fluid and is available for a flexible usage. The receiver-reactor has a simple design and is suitable as a low-cost receiver-reactor.

A passive cooler of the disclosure includes a thermal emitter having a substrate and a coating disposed on at least a portion of a first side of the substrate. The cooler has a beam guide made from a material having a high absorption to solar wavelengths and high reflectance at mid-infrared wavelengths. The beam guide is configured such that at least a portion of incident light is acted on by the beam guide before reaching the thermal emitter. In some embodiments, the beam guide has a graded optical index.

A passive cooler of the disclosure includes a thermal emitter having a substrate and a coating disposed on at least a portion of a first side of the substrate. The cooler has a beam guide made from a material having a high absorption to solar wavelengths and high reflectance at mid-infrared wavelengths. The beam guide is configured such that at least a portion of incident light is acted on by the beam guide before reaching the thermal emitter. In some embodiments, the beam guide has a graded optical index.

A method, system, apparatus, and/or device for preheating air for a rooftop air handling unit (RTU). The method, system, apparatus, and/or device may include a barrier system configured to surround the RTU. The barrier system may include a structure to provide a frame for the barrier system, a first barrier configured to connect to a first side of the structure, and a collector configured to connect to a second side of the structure. The method, system, apparatus, and/or device may include a duct configured to connect between the collector and a chamber. The method, system, apparatus, and/or device may include a chamber configured to connect to an air intake hood of the RTU. The chamber may include a first opening to receive air stored in the cavity, a second opening to receive external air, and a diverter configured to switch between a first position and a second position.

A solar concentrator (100) comprising: a base (190); a framework (170), the framework (170) being hingedly joined to the base (190) such that the framework (170) can be rotated relative to the base (190); and a plurality of mirrors (110) arranged relative to a first axis (200) of the framework (170), such that all of the mirrors (110) are located on one side of a plane which contains the first axis (200), each mirror being fixed to the framework (170) and each mirror being arranged to reflect light travelling parallel to the first axis (200) towards a common focus which lies on the first axis (200).

A solar heat collector tube in which at least an infrared reflective layer, a sunlight-heat conversion layer and an anti-reflection layer are provided on the outer surface of a tube, through the interior of which a heat medium can flow, wherein the infrared reflective layer in the solar heat collector tube has a multilayer structure in which an Ag layer, having dispersed therein at least one metal selected from the group consisting of Mo, W, Ta, Nb and Al, is sandwiched between two metal protective layers.