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Active solar
 
 
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Active solar technologies are employed to convert solar energy into usable light, heat, cause air-movement for ventilation or cooling, or store heat for future use. Active solar uses electrical or mechanical equipment, such as pumps and fans, to increase the usable heat in a system.






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Active solar technologies are employed to convert solar energy into usable light, heat, cause air-movement for ventilation or cooling, or store heat for future use. Active solar uses electrical or mechanical equipment, such as pumps and fans, to increase the usable heat in a system. Solar energy collection and utilization systems that do not use external energy, like a solar chimney
Solar chimney

A solar chimney ? often referred to as a thermal chimney ? is a way of improving the natural Ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy....
, are classified as passive solar
Passive solar

Passive solar technologies are means of using solar energy for useful energy without use of active mechanical systems . Such technologies convert sunlight into usable heat , cause air-movement for ventilating, or future use, with little use of other energy sources....
 technologies.

Solar hot water
Solar hot water

Solar hot water is water heated by the use of solar energy.Solar heating systems are generally composed of solar Solar thermal energy collectors, a fluid system to move the heat from the collector to its point of usage....
 systems, except those based on the thermosiphon
Thermosiphon

Thermosiphon refers to a method of passive heat exchange based on natural convection which circulates liquid in a vertical closed-loop circuit without requiring a conventional pump....
, use pumps or fans to circulate water, an anti-freeze mixture, or air through solar collectors, and are therefore classified under active solar technology. The solar collectors can be nonconcentrating or 'flat-plate', or of various concentrating designs. Most solar-thermal collectors have fixed mounting, but can have a higher performance if they track the path of the sun through the sky. Solar tracker
Solar tracker

A solar tracker is a device for orienting a Daylighting array or concentrating solar reflector or lens toward the sun. The sun's position in the sky varies both with the seasons and time of day as the sun moves across the sky....
s, used to orient photovoltaic arrays or daylighting
Daylighting

File:Daylighting - Skylight.jpgDaylighting is the practice of placing windows, or other openings, and reflective surfaces so that, during the day, natural light provides effective internal illumination....
, may be driven by either passive or active technology.

Solar technology comparison

Active solar-thermal systems, via small pumps or fans, can have significantly higher solar savings fraction
Solar savings fraction

In discussing solar energy, the solar savings fraction or solar fraction is the amount of energy provided by the solar technology divided by the total energy required....
s than passive solar technologies
Passive solar

Passive solar technologies are means of using solar energy for useful energy without use of active mechanical systems . Such technologies convert sunlight into usable heat , cause air-movement for ventilating, or future use, with little use of other energy sources....
 due to greatly-enhanced heat transfer and transport. An interesting hybrid approach is to use photovoltaics to power pumps or fans. A computer analysis, using thermodynamics
Thermodynamics

In physics, thermodynamics is the study of the conversion of heat energy into different forms of energy ; different energy conversions into heat energy; and its relation to macroscopic variables such as temperature, pressure, and volume....
 and heat transfer
Heat transfer

Heat transfer is the transition of thermal energy or simply heat from a hotter object to a cooler object . When an object or fluid is at a different temperature than its thermodynamic system or another object, transfer of thermal energy, also known as heat transfer, or heat exchange, occurs in such a way that the body and the surround...
 software, can be used to compare the performance of various active and passive solar thermal strategies

See also

  • Autonomous building
    Autonomous building

    An autonomous building is a building designed to be operated independently from infrastructure support services such as the electric power grid, municipal water systems, sewage treatment systems, storm drains, communication services, and in some cases, public roads....
  • Architectural engineering
    Architectural engineering

    Architectural engineering, also known as Building Engineering, is the application of engineering principles and technology to building design and construction....
  • Passive solar
    Passive solar

    Passive solar technologies are means of using solar energy for useful energy without use of active mechanical systems . Such technologies convert sunlight into usable heat , cause air-movement for ventilating, or future use, with little use of other energy sources....
  • Renewable energy
    Renewable energy

    Renewable energy is energy generated from natural resources—such as sunlight, wind, rain, tidal energy and geothermal energy—which are Renewable resource ....
  • Renewable heat
    Renewable heat

    Renewable heat is an application of renewable energy and it refers to the renewable generation of heat, rather than electrical power .Many colder countries consume more energy for heating than electrical power....
  • Solar Power
    Solar power

    Solar energy is the radiant light and heat from the Sun that has been harnessed by humans since ancient history using a range of ever-evolving technologies....
  • Solar Chemical
    Solar chemical

    Solar chemical refers to a number of possible processes that harness solar energy by absorbing sunlight in a Photoelectrochemical cell in a way similar to photosynthesis in plants but without using living organisms....
  • Zero energy building
    Zero energy building

    A zero energy building or net zero energy building is a general term applied to a building with zero net energy consumption and zero carbon emissions annually....