• Solar Energy
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• v.18 no.4
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• pp.87-94
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• 1998

This work presents a method to compute the sun position(azimuth and elevation), sunrise and sunset times. Accurate computation of sun position is very important to the precise tracking of the sun for the solar concentrator, which enables the maximum collection of solar energy. Methods to compute the sun position are available in the literature already. However most of them do not have accuracy verification, thus makes hard in selecting the most accurate sun position computation method. We first select the most accurate sun position computation method among the methods presented in the literature by comparing the computed sun position with Korean Almanac of Korea Astronomy Observatory. Then a procedure to compute the sunrise and sunset times is presented. Computed sun position shows $0.02^{\circ},\;0.6^{\circ}$ and one minute differences in azimuth, elevation and sunrise/sunset times respectively compared with Korean Almanac.

• Journal of Energy Engineering
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• v.26 no.1
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• pp.34-44
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• 2017

This paper deals with the effectiveness of a fiber optic solar lighting system that uses a Fresnel lens mounted on a two-axis solar tracker. A series of comparative analyses were made concerning its performance as compared to fluorescent lighting by using a simulation model based on ECOTECT and RADIANCE as well as referring to actual data. ECOTECT was used to model the test room (space) while RADIANCE was used for its indoor lighting conditions (environment). It was found that the average indoor light levels of fluorescent lighting fully satisfy the KS standard (KS A 3011, general office, class [G]: 300-400-600lux) whereas those of the solar lighting with light diffusers depends on the occlusion factor of roller shades installed on the south window.

• Journal of the Korea Academia-Industrial cooperation Society
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• v.18 no.10
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• pp.777-784
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• 2017

Energy harvesting through a thermoelectric module normally makes use of the temperature gradient in the system's operational environment. Therefore, it is difficult to obtain the desired output power when the system is subjected to an environment in which a low temperature gradient is generated across the module, because the power generation efficiency of the thermoelectric device is not optimized. The utilization of solar energy, which is a form of renewable energy abundant in nature, has mostly been limited to photovoltaic solar cells and solar thermal energy generation. However, photovoltaic power generation is capable of utilizing only a narrow wavelength band from the sunlight and, thus, the power generation efficiency might be lowered by light scattering. In the case of solar thermal energy generation, the system usually requires large-scale facilities. In this study, a simple and small size thermoelectric power generation system with a solar concentrator was designed to create a large temperature gradient for enhanced performance. A solar tracking system was used to concentrate the solar thermal energy during the experiments and a liquid circulating chiller was installed to maintain a large temperature gradient in order to avoid heat transfer to the bottom of the thermoelectric module. Then, the setup was tested through a series of experiments and the performance of the system was analyzed for the purpose of evaluating its feasibility and validity.