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Despite the rapid growth in the uptake of renewable energy technologies, the educational profile and the skills gained at University level do not always comply with the practical needs of the organisations working in the field. Furthermore, even though the residential sector has very high potential in curbing its CO2 emissions worldwide thus meeting the challenging goals set out by the international agreements, such reduction has been limited so far. Within this context, the ‘Skybelt’ project, co-funded by the EU under the framework of the Erasmus + programme aims at enhancing in several Universities of Asia and Europe the engineering skills of students of all level for application of sustainable renewable energy solutions in the built environment. With the target of increasing the employability of graduates and the impact of the project, a survey on the labour market needs for specialists with enhanced knowledge and skills in the topic of the project has been conducted in the related Asian countries. Hence, relevant industries, labour market organisations and other stakeholders have been interviewed and the main results of this analysis is reported in the present paper. As first outcome of this activity, the obtained results have been considered in the selection of the modules to be improved according to a student centred study approach.

This paper presents a study on development of a packed-bed storage system for CSP applications. In this system, demolition wastes from urban regeneration projects in Turkey has been investigated as potential STESM for cost effective storage systems. Schumann’s two-phase one-dimensional model was used to evaluate the optimal design parameters. Effect of operational and geometrical design parameters such as mass velocity, porosity, aspect ratio of packed bed, packing diameter were assessed on storage performance. The system showed the best performance with low bed void fraction, low mass flow rate and low Rep.

Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production using photoelectrodes with sophisticated hierarchical architecture designs combined with effective photoactive materials, has been found to be an impressive route for achieving high photoelectrocatalytic efficiency. Here, we investigated the photoelectrocatalytic hydrogen production of CdS quantum dot (QD)-sensitized TiO2 nanorod arrays (NRAs) decorated with Ag nanoparticles synthesized using simple and cost-effective routes. TiO2 NRAs were grown on a fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) substrate via a hydrothermal method, followed by loading with Ag nanoparticles and deposition of CdS QDs using electrochemical and successive ionic layer adsorption and reaction (SILAR) approaches. In this arrangement, the Ag nanoparticles were found to be sandwiched between the photo-electron collector TiO2 and the photosensitizer CdS QDs that act as an electron relay, thus speeding the electron transport and improving photogenerated charge separation. CdS QDs significantly enhance the solar light absorption capability of the photoelectrode from the ultraviolet to the visible portion of the solar spectrum, improving the photoconversion efficiency. The surface morphology and optical properties of the as-prepared photoanodes were investigated using scanning electron microscopy and a UV-vis spectrometer. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) images confirm that increasing the number of SILAR cycles caused agglomeration of the CdS QDs on the TiO2 NRAs surface. Photoelectrochemical hydrogen production performance was investigated with linear sweep voltammetry (LSV) and electrochemical impedance spectroscopy (EIS) under simulated solar light of 100 mW cm-2. The LSV results confirm that the bare TiO2 NRAs exhibit a maximum photocurrent density of 0.17 mA cm-2 at 1.23 VRHE. However, upon the deposition of CdS QDs, an optimum photocurrent density of 0.623 mA cm-2 at 1.23 VRHE was observed for the 10 SILAR cycle samples, which was further improved to 0.931 mA cm-2 at 1.23 VRHE upon the introduction of Ag nanoparticles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this study, a phase change material (PCM) sandwich panel was developed and tested to evaluate the resulting decrease in heating and cooling loads of a test cabin in Adana, Turkey where Mediterranean climate prevails. The panel was formed by a macropackage of microencapsulated PCM layer together with an insulation panel. Two different PCMs, with melting points 26 [degrees] C and 23 [degrees]C, were used in the panel. Temperature distribution in the cabin was measured for four different cases. In summer, the maximum average temperature reduction achieved in the cabin was 2.5[degrees]C when only the PCM was used. This corresponded to a summer cooling load reduction of 7%. In winter, the maximum average temperature increase achieved in the cabin was 2.2[degrees]C with the PCM sandwich panel. The winter heating load was decreased by 17%. Energies conserved in cooling and heating were calculated as 186 kWh/year and 206 kWh/year, respectively. [DOI: 10.1115/1.3197839] Keywords: buildings, phase change material, sandwich panel, microencapsulation, insulation

Nowadays, research and development of phase change materials (PCMs) become popular parallel with the increased importance of thermal energy storage (TES). In this study, n-heptadecane was encapsulated via natural mineral shell magnesium carbonate (MgCO3) and these capsules were coated with silver to enhance the thermal conductivities of capsules. The thermal, physical and chemical properties of MgCO3 and MgCO3@Ag capsules were compared. The morphologies of capsules are seen as bar-shaped. The latent heat capacities of capsules are compatible with the literature while remaining the phase change temperature range. The thermal conductivities of MgCO3@Ag capsules were found higher than MgCO3 capsules at four times. The results show that these new capsules candidates can be used for TES building applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]