Building-integrated solar thermal system with/without phase change material: Life cycle assessment based on ReCiPe, USEtox and Ecological footprint

The present study assesses the environmental profile of a building-integrated solar thermal system that has been developed and tested in France. The investigation is based on life-cycle assessment according to ReCiPe, USEtox and Ecological footprint. Two configurations (for the solar collector) have been examined: 1) Without phase change material (using only rock wool as insulation) and 2) With phase change material (myristic acid) and rock wool. The main goal is the evaluation of the effect of the phase change material on the environmental profile of the solar thermal system. Both cases (with/without phase change material) have been studied based on the Mediterranean climatic conditions of Ajaccio (France). The results, according to ReCiPe midpoint (with characterization) demonstrate that the tubes (copper), the aluminium components (absorber, casing, gutter) and the phase change material are responsible for the highest impacts in terms of the material manufacturing phase of the collectors. With respect to ReCiPe/endpoint/single-score life-cycle results (scenarios: with/without PCM; with/without recycling; including the gutter), the values vary from 0.014 to 0.020 Pts/kWh. The configuration with phase change material presents 0.003 Pts/kWh higher impact (in comparison to the option without phase change material). Recycling offers an impact reduction of 0.003 Pts/kWh (for both configurations with/without phase change material). In addition, results according to USEtox (in terms of human toxicity and ecotoxicity) and Ecological footprint (with respect to the impact categories of carbon dioxide, nuclear and land occupation) are presented and discussed.The authors would like to acknowledge networking support by the COST Action TU1205 Building Integration of Solar Thermal Systems. The authors would also like to thank “Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad” of Spain for the funding (grant reference ENE2016-81040-R)

Kalman filtering and classical time series tools for global radiation prediction

For nowcasting and short term forecasting of salar irradiation, the usual technics are based on machine learning predictions such as Artificial Neural Network (ANN) [1], Support Vector Machines (SVM) [2], AutoRegressive–Moving-Average (ARMA) models [3], etc. A significant inconvenience of these methods is related to the large historic data set required during the training phase of the predictors; thus, in this work, we propose a simple methodology able to predict a global radiation time series without the need of historical data, making the method easily applicable for poor instrumented areas. We suggest to call these intuitive methods in the following “training-less” methods. The accuracy of these methods will be compared against other classical prediction methods, taking into account the time horizon of the prediction

Thermal modelling of a solar water collector highly building integrated

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Surveys for OB protostars

The specificity of the formation of OB stars and the importance of understanding the origin of stellar masses up to the highest masses justify an effort to identify the protostellar precursors of high-mass stars. We show that, due to the relatively large distance of essentially all OB protostars, to resolve individual protostellar objects, only millimeter interferometers such as the Plateau de Bure IRAM 6×15 m can be used. Large-scale imaging surveys at (sub)millimeter wavelengths are powerful to identify OB star formation sites and crucial to get a good census of the most nearby OB protostars. These recognized OB protostars will then be the prime targets for the new generation of high resolution instruments (HSO, ALMA and JWST)

Design and Modelling of a New Patented Thermal Solar Collector with High Building Integration

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New patented solar thermal concept for high building integration: Test and modeling.

International audienceA new concept of flat plate solar collector is presented: it has a remarkable shape and is integrated into a rainwater gutter. Several solar modules are connected serially or in parallel. The new patented solar collector and the thermal experimentations are described. A numerical model is developed in Matlab (R) environment using a finite difference model and an electrical analogy. The thermal model is validated from experimental data under various meteorological situations. The adequacy of this model with the experimental data is shown for the water temperatures and for various temperatures inside the solar collector

Optimisation de la configuration d'un nouveau capteur solaire thermique

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Numerical Studies of an Innovative Patented Solar Drainpipe

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