Solar Electricity (Energy Engineering Learning Package) [Paperback]

Tomas Markvart (Editor)

Book Description

ISBN-10: 0471941611 | ISBN-13: 978-0471941613 | Publication Date: July 1994 | Edition: 1

Deals with photovoltaics, an increasingly important renewable energy source. Demonstrates how to determine the supply of solar energy for a given location. Explains how solar cells work and how they are manufactured along with a detailed description of crystalline silicon and thin films. Discusses the photovoltaic power system including sizing and design. Reviews solar electricity applications along with the economics of PV installations. Considers environmental and social impacts of energy production. Features a treatment of major specialized topics such as large photovoltaic systems, photovoltaics under concentrated sunlight and hydrogen economy.

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher

Deals with photovoltaics, an increasingly important renewable energy source. Demonstrates how to determine the supply of solar energy for a given location. Explains how solar cells work and how they are manufactured along with a detailed description of crystalline silicon and thin films. Discusses the photovoltaic power system including sizing and design. Reviews solar electricity applications along with the economics of PV installations. Considers environmental and social impacts of energy production. Features a treatment of major specialized topics such as large photovoltaic systems, photovoltaics under concentrated sunlight and hydrogen economy.

From the Back Cover

Solar Electricity Second Edition Edited by Tomas Markvart University of Southampton, UK ".warmly recommended as a comprehensive, introductory text on a subject which should become increasingly important." (Review of the First Edition in Contemporary Physics) The rapid evolution of photovoltaic technology has highlighted the increasing capabilities of solar electricity as a power source for distributed energy generation. Building on the success of the first edition, Solar Electricity presents a balanced introduction to all aspects of solar energy conversion, from cell types to environmental impact and applications. Now fully revised to incorporate the latest industry achievements and featuring: New sections on the role of dye sensitised solar cells, photovoltaics in buildings, diesel hybrid systems, and photovoltaic markets and funding. Solar cell design and manufacturing technology including crystalline silicon and thin film devices. Introduction to a range of photovoltaic applications including rural electrification, grid connection issues, and the supply of electrical power to satellites in space. Illustrative case studies and self-assessment questions and answers at the end of each chapter. Undergraduate and postgraduate science and engineering students, practising mechanical and power engineers and those with a general interest in renewable energy will find this comprehensive text on invaluable reference. Solar Electricity, Second Edition forms part of the Energy Engineering Learning Package. Organised by UNESCO, this distance learning package has been established to train engineers to meet the challengs of today and tomorrow in this exciting field of energy engineering. It has been developed by an international team of distinguished academics, coordinated by Dr Boris Berkovski. This modular course will appeal to advanced undergraduates and post graduate students, as well as practising power engineers in industry. World Solar Summit Process Visit Our Web Page! http://www.wiley.com/ --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

Product Details

• Paperback: 248 pages
• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons; 1 edition (July 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0471941611
• ISBN-13: 978-0471941613
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 6.4 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 13.6 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,663,983 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

43 of 44 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Highly recommended for those interested in PV, April 6, 2001

By 

Michael Ropp (Brookings, SD USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solar Electricity, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

This book is one of the best I have read on the subject of photovoltaic (PV) systems. It has a good balance between all areas of PV system design. Most books with this level of technical content are too skewed toward semiconductor physics and neglect system-level issues. This one covers everything from PV devices (solar cells) to power converters to batteries to system design, and includes useful sections on justification for PV, system application examples, and environmental impacts. The organization and flow are clear and logical. The only problems are some unclear typesetting, exclusion of background on some key equations (references to the literature are included, though), and a little bit of non-standard notation (i.e. G is used for irradiation, not irradiance). Summary: I highly recommend this book for technically literate readers interested in PV systems.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars One of the most helpfule guides for PV System Design, November 17, 2004

By 

Alfonso Riley "Rashaam" (Panama, Panama Panama) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Solar Electricity, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

If you're looking for a start book on Photovoltaics (PV),this is the one to start with. Dr. Markvart takes you from the principle of solar irradiation, to complete design of a PV generator. He explains himself very easily when talking about solar cell's operation and manufacturing process. When he arrives to PV System Engineering, he shows you exactly all the steps you have to follow for sizing a proper PV system. IF what you're looking for is complete design procedures for PV system, including charge controllers, inverters, battery chargers, this is a good start, but will not help much for designing purpouses. For this you should look for Photovoltaic System Engineering by Dr. Roger Messenger. Another good book by Markvart is Practical PV Handbook; together with Solar Electricity, is a great pack for designers or scientifics working with PV systems.

4.0 out of 5 stars book review, February 5, 2010

By 

Aaron Miller "jaaron" (jaaron) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Solar Electricity, 2nd Edition (Paperback)

great book if your looking for well-rounded info about photovoltaics, fairly up to date too.