Following my earliest post, some other solar technologies


8. Solar Dryer:
Solar drying is in practice since the time im-memorable for preservation of food and agriculture crops. This was done particularly by open sun drying under open the sky. This process has several disadvantages like spoilage of product due to adverse climatic condition like rain, wind, moist, and dust, loss of material due to birds and animals, deterioration of the material by decomposition, insects and fungus growth. Also the process is highly labor intensive, time consuming and requires large area. With cultural and industrial development artificial mechanical drying came in to practice. This process is highly energy intensive and expensive which ultimately increases product cost. Thus solar drying is the best alternative as a solution of all the drawbacks of natural drying and artificial mechanical drying.
Solar dryers used in agriculture for food and crop drying ,for industrial drying process, dryers can be proved to be most useful device from energy conservation point of view. It not only save energy but also save lot of time, occupying less area, improves quality of the product, make the process more efficient and protects environment also. Solar dryers circumvent some of the major disadvantages of classical drying. Solar drying can be used for the entire drying process or for supplementing artificial drying systems, thus reducing the total amount of fuel energy required.


9. Solar still:
A solar still is a simple way of distilling water, using the heat of the Sun to drive evaporation from humid soil, and ambient air to cool a condenser film. Two basic types of solar stills are box and pit stills. In a solar still, impure water is contained outside the collector, where it is evaporated by sunlight shining through clear plastic. The pure water vapor condenses on the cool inside plastic surface and drips down from the weighted low point, where it is collected and removed. The box type is more sophisticated. The basic principles of solar water distillation are simple, yet effective, as distillation replicates the way nature makes rain. The sun?s energy heats water to the point of evaporation. As the water evaporates, water vapor rises, condensing on the glass surface for collection. This process removes impurities, such as salts and heavy metals, and eliminates microbiological organisms. The end result is water cleaner than the purest rainwater.


10. Solar cooker:
A solar cooker, or solar oven, is a device which uses the energy of direct sun rays (which is the heat from the sun) to heat, cook or pasteurize food or drink. The vast majority of solar cookers presently in use are relatively inexpensive, low-tech devices. Because they use no fuel and cost nothing to operate, many nonprofit organizations are promoting their use worldwide in order to help reduce fuel costs (for low-income people) and air pollution, and to slow down the deforestation and desertification caused by gathering firewood for cooking. Solar cooking is a form of outdoor cooking and is often used in situations where minimal fuel consumption is important, or the danger of accidental fires is high, and the health and environmental consequences of alternatives are severe.
Solar cooking can improve a woman?s health, her children?s health, her household budget, her field?s ability to grow crops, her personal safety, and her educational opportunities. The sun?s free,
zero-emissions energy produces no household air pollution, preserving the environment as people cook food and pasteurize drinking water.


11. Solar desalination:
Solar desalination employs two separate systems a solar collection array, consisting of photovoltaic and/or fluid based thermal collectors, and a separate conventional desalination plant. Production by indirect method is dependent on the efficiency of the plant and the cost per unit produced is generally reduced by an increase in scale. Many different plant arrangements have been theoretically analyzed, experimentally tested and in some cases installed. They include but are not limited to Multiple Effect Humidification (MEH), Multiple Stage Flash Distillation (MSF), Multiple Effect Distillation (MED), Multiple Effect Boiling (MEB), Humidification Dehumidification (HDH), Reverse Osmosis (RO), and Freeze effect distillation.
Indirect solar desalination systems using photovoltaic (PV) panels and reverse osmosis (RO) have been commercially available and in use since 2009. Output by 2013 is up to 1600 liters (400 USgal) per hour per system, and 200 liters/day per square meter of PV panel. Municipal-scale systems are planned. Utrik Atoll in the Pacific Ocean has been supplied with fresh water this way since 2010. Indirect solar desalination by a form of humidification/dehumidification is in use in the Seawater Greenhouse.


12. Solar Cooling:
Solar Cooling is a technology which converts heat collected from the Sun into useful cooling for delivery to applications such as building space conditioning. In this process, solar heat is collected and is used by a thermally-driven cooling process, which generates chilled water or conditioned air for use in the building. Chilled water is not widely used for cooling in residential applications but is used extensively in commercial buildings.


13. Process Steam:
A team of researchers at Rice University has developed a new technology that uses light-absorbing nanoparticles to convert solar energy directly into steam. Even though it is already significantly more efficient than solar panels at producing electricity, the technology will likely find its first applications in low-cost sanitation, water purification and human waste treatment for the developing world.
Approximately 90 percent of the world?s electricity is produced from steam turbines. Most industrial steam is produced in large, expensive boilers, but because of its very small footprint and high efficiency, this new development promises to make steam economically viable on a much smaller scale. Sterilizing medical waste and surgical instruments, preparing food and purifying water could soon become within reach of a large chunk of the developing world, that doesn?t have access to the electrical grid.
The Rice technology relies on light-absorbing nanoparticles. When they are submerged and then illuminated, these particles can very quickly reach temperatures well above the boiling point of water. At this stage, they quickly dissipate heat through their very small surface area, which almost instantly results in 150? (300?) steam generated right at the surface of the particle. The system is so effective that it can even turn icy-cold water directly into vapor with ease.


14. Solar furnace:
A solar furnace is a structure that uses concentrated solar power to produce high temperatures, usually for industry. Parabolic mirrors or heliostats concentrate light (Insolation) onto a focal point. The temperature at the focal point may reach 3,500 ? (6,330 ?), and this heat can be used to generate electricity, melt steel, make hydrogen fuel or nanomaterials. The largest solar furnace is at Odeillo in the Pyrénées-Orientales in France, opened in 1970. It employs an array of plane mirrors to gather sunlight, reflecting it onto a larger curved mirror.


15. Solar Space Heating:
The average American family spends over $2,000 a year in heating costs. Heating systems that rely on fossil fuels, such as oil, propane, and natural gas will continue to rise in cost.
By using a solar space heating system, you can take advantage of the sun?s free, abundant energy to heat your home for free. Heating your home with a solar heating system can significantly reduce your winter fuel bills. Another excellent benefit is that a solar space heating system also heats domestic hot water. A solar space heating system will also reduce the amount of air pollution and greenhouse gases that result from the use of fossil fuels such as oil, propane, and other petroleum products.