An energy collector is disclosed. The energy collector contains an absorber and a working fluid. The working fluid is held in a state of two-phase equilibrium to minimize sensible heating and thus heat losses to the environment. The energy collector may be held under a vacuum to further prevent heat losses to the ambient environment. One or more energy collectors may be connected to other energy collectors, end uses, or thermal energy storage.

The invention relates to a product for heating comprising at least one heating unit (2), which comprises a base material layer with an emission reducing structure on top of said an energy converting structure, combined together to form a selective absorber layer on at least one of the sides of the base material layer, at least one insulation layer (4, 5, 6, 7) of transparent flexible material located on the heating unit (2), which heating unit and the at least one insulation layer on the heating unit (2) of the product (1) are attached to each other air-tightly on the sides such that between at least some of the layers at least one closed air pocket (10, 11) is formed, characterized in that the content to be heated by the product is located below to the base material of the heating unit of the product (1), that temperature of the content of the product (1) will be 90 C.-160 C., as result of the placing the product (1) exposed to radiation of selected wavelengths, and that the energy converting structure in the selective absorber layer has an absorption factor (aS) of a minimum of 0.9 and the emission reducing structure has an emission factor (E) of a maximum of 0.1 and that ratio between the absorption factor (aS) and the emission factor (E) is equal or higher than 9 and that when the selective absorber is exposed to wavelengths ranging from 350 nm to 4000 nm, the energy converting structure converts the wavelengths to thermal energy ranging from 4000 nm to 40.000 nm and the emission of thermal energy is reduced by the emission reducing structure and the contained energy is being used for heating the content of the product (1).

A water tank that is used with a solar air conditioning system where the water tank, in addition to serving as a transfer medium, also functions as a cold energy storage device, to provide cold air to the associated dwelling during nighttime conditions and/or cloudy weather. In one embodiment, the tank application can begin at 32 F degrees and drop down to many degrees colder, such as, but not limited to, minus 100 F degrees. In one non-limiting embodiment, the tank can hold 2000 gallons of water. However, the size of the tank is not limited to any particular amount and can also vary on the size of the dwelling or building that the system is used with.

A thermal energy storage (TES) bin assembly for a high temperature, particle-based solar power plant, the TES bin assembly including a TES bin for storing hot particles therein and a feeder assembly configured to insert the hot particles inside of the TES bin. The TES bin has a base, a lid separated from the base, and a hollow body extending between the base and the lid. The hollow body is made of a plurality of cylindrically shaped structures. The innermost cylindrically shaped structure defines an interior of the TES bin together with the lid and the base. The innermost cylindrically shaped structure is made with abrasion resistant bricks. A second cylindrically shaped structure is made of an insulating material and surrounds the second structure. A third cylindrically shaped structure surrounds the second structure and includes expansion joints. The base has a funnel shape and the lid has a removable component.

There is provided a heat collector for solar thermal power generation that suppresses oxidization using a silicon-carbide ceramic sintered body as a base body. The heat collector includes the base body made of a silicon-carbide ceramic sintered body in which channels (cells) for passing through a heat medium are formed, a first glass layer of silicate glass that coats at least a part of surfaces of the base body and contains an alkali metal constituent and/or an alkaline-earth metal constituent, and a second glass layer of silicate glass that coats the first glass layer and has a sum of contents of an alkali metal constituent and an alkaline-earth metal constituent, which is smaller than a sum of contents of the alkali metal constituent and the alkaline-earth metal constituent in the first glass layer.

A solar-thermal conversion member includes a -FeSi.sub.2 phase material. The solar-thermal conversion member exhibits a high absorptance for visible light at wavelengths of several hundred nm and a low absorptance for infrared light at wavelengths of several thousand nm and, as a consequence, efficiently absorbs visible light at wavelengths of several hundred nm and converts the same into heat and exhibits little thermal radiation due to thermal emission at temperatures of several hundred C. The solar-thermal conversion member may therefore efficiently absorb sunlight, provide heat, and prevent thermal radiation due to thermal emission.

A spectrally selective absorbing coating for receivers acting in air of thermal and thermodynamic solar systems having a substrate and at least a protective structure capable of protecting the metal component of the protective structure and the metal components of the absorbing coating against the atmospheric oxidizing agents, the protective structure which in turn includes a metal layer upon which a ceramic layer is arranged.

A dual-plate heat exchanger, in combination with a parabolic trough, ensures efficient absorption of solar rays by redirecting any lost or scattered rays, enhancing overall system performance and energy yield. Another heat exchanger comprises a cylindrical quartz tube.

There is a high-temperature tube bundle reactor built from material derived from metal oxides such as alumina-zirconia. The heat exchange surfaces of the reactor have a specific surface finish, and the bulk matrix of the material of the various components of the reactor has a specific grain, pore size and porosity characteristics. There is also a high-temperature redox process using the reactor.

A heat exchanger assembly includes a first stage heat exchange section defining one or more intakes for receiving a fluid. The first stage heat exchange section includes one or more preheater elements radially insertable into the first stage heat exchange section with respect to a centrally disposed axis of the heat exchanger assembly. The preheater elements define one or more preheat flowpaths extending radially inward from the intakes. The preheater elements transfer thermal energy to or from the fluid as the fluid flows from the intakes through the preheat flowpaths. A centrally disposed second stage heat exchange section defines an axial flowpath that is fluidly connected to the preheat flowpaths to receive the fluid from the preheat flowpaths. The second stage heat exchange section transfers thermal energy to or from the fluid as the fluid flows through the axial flowpath.