Methods and functional elements for enhanced thermal management of predominantly enclosed spaces to enable the construction of buildings with reduced power requirements for heating and/or air-conditioning systems. The methods may be 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 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. In some instances the invention reduces the time to reach desired temperatures inside such buildings, habitats, or other predominantly enclosed spaces.

A system includes an evacuated tube solar adsorption heat pump (ETSAHP) module. The ETSAHP module includes a transparent or semi-transparent tube configured to receive heat input from solar energy, the tube having a hollow interior, a top section, and a bottom section opposite the top section, an adsorbent bed comprising a plurality of adsorbent beads and positioned at the top section of the tube and configured to absorb solar energy, an adsorbent bed cage configured to contain the adsorbent bed at the top section of the tube, a threshold configured to stabilize the adsorbent container within the tube, and a condenser/evaporator positioned at the bottom section of the tube and spaced apart from the adsorbent bed.

An absorber coating is provided for solar heat power generation that has excellent thermal oxidation resistance and a high spectral absorptance and manufacturing method thereof. The absorber coating for solar heat power generation has a network structure of composite particles comprising: particles of metal oxide containing mainly two or more metals selected from Mn, Cr, Cu, Zr, Mo, Fe, Co and Bi, and titanium oxide partly or entirely coating on the surface of the particle of the metal oxide. The arithmetic mean estimation of the surface of the coating is 1.0 μm or more, and a ratio of a network area of the composite particle to a plane area of the coating is 7 or more.

A solar vapor generator includes an absorber to absorb sunlight and an emitter, in thermal communication with the absorber, to radiatively evaporate a liquid under less than 1 sun illumination and without pressurization. The emitter is physically separated from the liquid, substantially reducing fouling of the emitter. The absorber and the emitter may also be heated to temperatures higher than the boiling point of the liquid and may thus may be used to further superheat the vapor. Solar vapor generation can provide the basis for many sustainable desalination, sanitization, and process heating technologies.

A cladding panel that collects and/or emits thermal energy, which includes: a first panel; a second panel with an extrados adhered to an intrados of the first panel, forming a leaktight seal, with a low-relief channel, the channel being attached to the intrados of the first panel to form a conduit; an inlet connector for heat-conducting fluid, connected to a first end of the channel; and an outlet connector for heat-conducting fluid, connected to a second end of the channel, wherein the first panel is made of calibrated laminated ceramic with a flat, smooth intrados and a flat, smooth extrados and has a uniform thickness of 3-6 mm, and the second panel is made of waterproof heat-insulating plastic that is stable up to 120 C.

A solar thermophotovoltaic system includes a heat exchange pipe containing a heat exchange fluid, and a thin-film integrated spectrally-selective plasmonic absorber emitter (ISSAE) in direct contact with an outer surface of the heat exchange pipe, the ISSAE including an ultra-thin non-shiny metal layer comprising a metal strongly absorbing in a solar spectral range and strongly reflective in an infrared spectral range, the metal layer having an inner surface in direct contact with an outer surface of the heat exchange pipe. The system further includes a photovoltaic cell support structure having an inner surface in a concentric configuration surrounding at least a portion of the ISSAE; and an airgap separating the support structure and the outer surface of the metal layer. The support structure includes a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged on a portion of the inner surface of the support structure and configured to receive emissions from the ISSAE, and a solar energy collector/concentrator configured to allow solar radiation to impinge a portion of the metal layer.

A solar thermophotovoltaic system includes a heat exchange pipe containing a heat exchange fluid, and a thin-film integrated spectrally-selective plasmonic absorber emitter (ISSAE) in direct contact with an outer surface of the heat exchange pipe, the ISSAE including an ultra-thin non-shiny metal layer comprising a metal strongly absorbing in a solar spectral range and strongly reflective in an infrared spectral range, the metal layer having an inner surface in direct contact with an outer surface of the heat exchange pipe. The system further includes a photovoltaic cell support structure having an inner surface in a concentric configuration surrounding at least a portion of the ISSAE; and an airgap separating the support structure and the outer surface of the metal layer. The support structure includes a plurality of photovoltaic cells arranged on a portion of the inner surface of the support structure and configured to receive emissions from the ISSAE, and a solar energy collector/concentrator configured to allow solar radiation to impinge a portion of the metal layer.

A solar thermal energy device is provided. Also provided is a method of making a solar thermal energy device.

A solar thermal energy device is provided. Also provided is a method of making a solar thermal energy device.

The present invention relates to a solar selective coating for a metal substrate comprising at least one absorber layer and at least one semi-absorber layer selected from the structures of AlTiN and AlTiSiN. In preferred embodiments, the solar selective coating according to the present invention is a double layer coating with AlTiN-AlTiN or AlTiSiN-AlTiSiN formation. The process for producing the coating includes a step of treatment of the metal substrate with a reactive magnetron sputtering system.