Chapter 1
Introduction to Solar Energy: Systems,
Challenges, and Opportunities
Himanshu Tyagi, Prodyut R. Chakraborty, Satvasheel Powar
and Avinash Kumar Agarwal
Abstract Solar energy-based technologies have seen remarkable development in
the last decades. This is observed all across the world. The concerns related to
cost and availability of fossil fuels, effects of climate change due to use of fossil
fuels are the primary drivers behind the usages of these technologies. With such
motivation, several research groups around the world are working in the field of
solar energy. Since this field is quite diverse, it includes academicians of diverse
background such as physics, chemistry, materials science, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering etc. This monograph is an effort to present the collection of
such effort with an aim to present the developments at the system-level as well as
the challenges and opportunities that are present at the technical level. It includes
chapters covering the following themes—overview of energy usage in developing
countries, solar thermal systems (heating and cooling), energy storage, and solar
cells.
Keywords Solar energy · Energy storage · Heating · Cooling · Phase change
materials · Solar cells · Sustainability
H. Tyagi (B)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar,
Punjab 140001, India
e-mail: himanshu.tyagi@iitrpr.ac.in
P. R. Chakraborty
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Jodhpur,
Rajasthan 342037, India
e-mail: pchakraborty@iitj.ac.in
S. Powar
School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
175005, India
A. K. Agarwal
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
H. Tyagi et al. (eds.), Solar Energy, Energy, Environment,
and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0675-8_1
3
Introduction to Solar Energy: Systems,
Challenges, and Opportunities
Himanshu Tyagi, Prodyut R. Chakraborty, Satvasheel Powar
and Avinash Kumar Agarwal
Abstract Solar energy-based technologies have seen remarkable development in
the last decades. This is observed all across the world. The concerns related to
cost and availability of fossil fuels, effects of climate change due to use of fossil
fuels are the primary drivers behind the usages of these technologies. With such
motivation, several research groups around the world are working in the field of
solar energy. Since this field is quite diverse, it includes academicians of diverse
background such as physics, chemistry, materials science, mechanical engineering,
electrical engineering etc. This monograph is an effort to present the collection of
such effort with an aim to present the developments at the system-level as well as
the challenges and opportunities that are present at the technical level. It includes
chapters covering the following themes—overview of energy usage in developing
countries, solar thermal systems (heating and cooling), energy storage, and solar
cells.
Keywords Solar energy · Energy storage · Heating · Cooling · Phase change
materials · Solar cells · Sustainability
H. Tyagi (B)
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Ropar, Rupnagar,
Punjab 140001, India
e-mail: himanshu.tyagi@iitrpr.ac.in
P. R. Chakraborty
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Jodhpur, Jodhpur,
Rajasthan 342037, India
e-mail: pchakraborty@iitj.ac.in
S. Powar
School of Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Mandi, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh
175005, India
A. K. Agarwal
Department of Mechanical Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Kanpur, Kanpur,
Uttar Pradesh 208016, India
© Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2020
H. Tyagi et al. (eds.), Solar Energy, Energy, Environment,
and Sustainability, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-15-0675-8_1
3