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Solar passive building—science & design
Heat RecoverySystems Vol. 7, No. 2, pp. 199-201. 1987. Printed in Great Britain.
0890-4332/87 $3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Journals Ltd
BOOK REVIEWS Fluid Control & Measurement (in 2 Volumes). Proceedings of an International Symposium, Tokyo, 2-6 September 1985. Edited by M. Ha~da, Meiji University, Japan, l l30pp. 1041 illustrations. US$172.50 (1986). These conference proceedings contain 164 papers covering eight principal topics. These are, in Vol. I, pneumatics, bioengineering, fluidics, hydraulics, and flow control, and in Vol. 2, sensors, flow visualization, and flow measurement. There is a useful balance in the contents between applied fluid control and measurement, involving applications in areas as diverse as robotics, medical physics, and aerodynamics, and the more basic work in developing techniques for flow measurement. The work reported in two-phase flow measurement is of particular interest to readers of the Journal of Heat Recovery Systems, covering flow meters for pulverized coal/air mixtures, in addition to liquid/vapour mixture flow measurements. The proceedings are introduced by 4 'Special Lectures', coveting flow measurement using fluidic technology, recent developments in flow visualisation, advances in power finidics, and recent advances in noise prediction for control valves. In the one area where I have, although not recently, bad some considerable experiem:e--flow visualisation---I found the paper a little disappointing, as it was more of a literature review, with much of the data being historically of interest, rather than being immediately topical. With 128 references, however, it does make a worthy source of information. A rapid scan of Vol. 2 to give a geographical breakdown of first named authors confirmed that the Conference was hosted in Japan. Of 78 papers counted, 60 were of Japanese origin, 7 from the USA or Canada, 5 from Western Europe, 2 from Eastern Europe and 4 from other countries (e.g. China, S. Korea). The balance in Vol. 1 is similar. The proceedings give an insight into activities in the above areas in Japan, which would otherwise be diffguit and/or time consuming to obtain. For this reason alone the purchase price is a___,3cep_ table. In addition, those who wish to receive an up-to-date grounding in fluidics will also find the volumes of considerable interest. D. A. Reay
A glance at the contents of almost any library will show that there are numerous books on the subject of renewable energy, however, these works vary greatly in style, content and quality and it seems that the market for books on the subject is far from saturated. Certainly there is a growing realisation amongst technical and non-technical personnel that fossil fuels are exhaustible and their price and availability is even now governed by political and economic factors which appear to be beyond the control of the most powerful national governments. There are few organisations, from households to governments, which would not like to be free of their dependence on fossil fuels. While nuclear energy might present a viable alternative it is regarded with considerable apprehension by many and, because nuclear power production is a centralised process, it does not lead to the consumer having control of his own energy supply. There is thus interest in renewable energy from many Sources: governments, in particular those of the developing countries, see renewable energy as a substitute for valuable oil, even with the currently low oil prices; isolated communities seek to exploit locally available resources and individuals, throughout the world and for differing reasons, hope that they might gain independence from the centralised energy producers. Not only do the motives and aims of those attempting to increase their knowledge of renewable energy vary widely; their technical backgrounds and abilities also cover a wide spectrum. Four new books from Pergamon Press all have their place in a library which is striving for a comprehensive coverage of this wide ranging topic.
Renewable Energy Technologies--Their Applications in Developing Countries. L. A. ~ N and V. ~ . The Beijer Institute, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. Pergamon Books, Oxford. US$60.00 (1986). New and renewable sources of energy will not Solve the energy problems of the developing world overnight, however introduction of renewable energy technologies will be of considerable importance. Provision of energy within the Third World presents not one, but many, problems; because there is more than one problem we cannot expect to find a single solution, in their introduction to *Renewable Energy Technology' the authors refute the simplistic view that developing countries can avoid the development of fossil fuel based economies by immediately employing abundant solar-derived renewable energy resources. Only a site-specific evaluation which includes an investigation of social and economic issues as well as technical feasibility can determine the value of any technology. Renewable energy sources alone will not solve the energy problems of the Third World but these problems cannot be solved without renewable energy. It is a fallacy to assume that because an energy source is renewable it is inexhaustible: wood is the dominant fuel supply for most households in developing countries and is likely to remain so for the f o i b l e future. Although it may be comddensi to be • renewable energy Source, serious thortfells in the svallability of wood are becomlne more apparent; hence intensive, planned tree planting is required together with the development of more efficient wood-burning devices ff adequate fuelwood supplies are to be maintained in rural areas. Increased utilisation of wond as an energy source by urban households and industry without • parallel increase in forestry development will exacerbate the rural shortfalls. . *Renewable Energy Technologies' is based upon sixteen background reports by specialists commimmned by the Belier Institute and published in 1984 hence a massive amount of expertise baa clearly been tapped in writing this volume and the result is a well balanced treatment of the diverse technologies covered. The format is that of a textbook rather than 199
200
Book Reviews
a collection of papers and a consistent style and presentation exists throughout the twenty seven chapters grouped in four main sections covering bioenergy production and utilisation, biomass engines and fuel, solar energy and hydro wind and water power. The absence of an index is partly compensated for by the presence, directly after the contents and introduction. of a set of chapter abstracts. These abstracts, read in conjunction with the introductory remarks, provide a concise summary of potential new and renewable energy technology sources which might be exploited to the benefit of communities in developing countries including outlines of the social, economic and technical problems which must be overcome before each technology finds more widespread acceptance. No attempt is made to provide a detailed theoretical background to the technologies covered and the book is intended for the layman rather than for the specialist, however since few could claim to be expert in all aspects of renewable energy most readers with an interest in the energy problems of the Third World could gain by reading 'Renewable Energy Technologies'. Sufficient data covering costs, performance etc. are provided to permit a qualitative assessment of the potential of the different technologies on a general basis. However, furthermore detailed data would be required before site-specific evaluations could be made. Comprehensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter point the way to further reading on specific topics. The presentation of'Renewable Energy Technologies', an A4 size book, with copious illustrations well spaced throughout the text makes for relaxed reading. Unfortunately the quality of the illustrations varies from poor to atrocious. Crudely drawn and annotated illustrations are a feature of many non-specialist texts extolling the virtues of 'soft' energy options, probably to convey the impression of the artisan with a sketchpad labouring to save the world from a future dominated by power stations constructed from precise but impersonal engineering drawings. The intellectual content of 'Renewable Energy Technologies" is of high quality, the illustrations should not be vague and imprecise. Overall 'Renewable Energy Technologies' provides an excellent and realistic overview of the prospects and problems associated with the realisation of new and renewable energy sources with particular reference to the Third World. It would provide a valuable introduction to any engineer or economist entering this area of development and be worthwhile reading for a non-technical person with an interest in the problems of the Third World. Its major fault is the poor quality of the illustrations.
Solar Passive Building--Science & Design. M. S. SOOHA, N. K. BANSAL,A. KUMAR,P. K. BANSALand M. A. S. MALIK. Pergamon Books, Oxford. US$68 (1986). Throughout the world traditional building designs evolved in such a way that maximum thermal comfort was obtained for the users of the building using only locally available building materials and having regard for the local climate. Ancient architects were thus aware of many of the principles of the technique now known as passive solar design, a technique which is particularly relevant in climates where there are significant diurnal or seasonal changes in the ambient temperatures. Socrates appreciated the importance of building houses with a south facing ~ (in the northern hemisphere); the sun would then be above the roof when high in the sky during the Summer and the roof would provide shade; during the cooler winter the rays from the low, southern sun would penetrate into the porticos. American Indians in a hot, arid climate with high daytime temperatures but with uncomfortably low night temperatures realised that by coasmgtiag buildings of high thermal capadty and maximum ratio of internal volume to exposed surface it was po~ble to introduce a time lag so that the heating effect of the incident solar radiation was felt, inside the dwellings, during the cold night rather than the hot day. With the advent of g!ag-¢as a readily available building material in the west, traditional designs were largely abandoned and windows were positioned for maximum lighting or for aesthetic effect. The result of 'transplanting' designs from temperate to hot regions with the widespread use of glass has been the construction of buildings which require excessive expenditure of energy for temperature control or in which the occupants suffer considerable discomfort. Scientific application of the intuitive concepts of the ancient architects is a recent phenomenon, some isolated instances of work in this area have been reported over the last hundred years but passive solar architecture was first recognised as a mature science at a conference on the subject held in Alberquerqne in 1976. 'Solar Passive Building' treats the subject as a science, while the experience of the ancient civillsations provides some general guidelines for the positioning and design of buildings, it is now necessary for the engineer or architect to be capable of formulating preche designs if p m i v e buildings are to meet the comfort standards of modern, air-conditioned structures at competitive whole-life cost. Hunum beings function moat efficiently when they are comfortable and, since once a building has been constructed little can be done to adjust the pcmive response of the building, it is eaentlal that the dasigner should have a knowledge of the conditions which moat individuals will find comfortable while engaged in their normal activities. Similarly, the performance of a pamive building will be critically dependent upon its location and the prevaitino climate. It is only when a rational de~fign point (or set of design points) for the internal conditions hag been selected and the likely ambient conditions, including seusonal and diurnal values for air movement, temperature, humidity and insulation, have been predicted that the architect or engineer can begin to determine the optimum building design. The early chapters of 'Solar Passive Building' are devoted to the study of human comfort and the prediction of climatic factors. Most of the data and information presented is of particular relevance to hot climates where passive cooling is required, however the background theory may be applied to more temperate climates. The content of 'Solar P a d r e Cooling' is comprehemive, covering the concepts of pauive cksiiln, heat ~ o n in buildings, mathematical modelling and prediction of building peffornmnge, and typical dmdgns togather with 'rule of thumb' design methods. The appendk~ ilglude tabulated heat tranef~ and thermal comfort data, brief summaries of the capabilities of established computer programs and numunl W__nc~__uresto aseist in solar design. Sufficient information and references are provided to permit the reader to locate the sponsor or supplier of each program or to obtain further details of the manual procedure. Clearly this text is not intended for the reader with only a general interest in the subject; a large amount of technical information is conveyed in every paragraph and the hobbyist would find it very heavy reading. Students and practising engineers, building scientists and architects will find the book a useful reference, for those who wish to speclalise in passive solar design having had experience in more conventional architecture it will be especially valuable.
0890-4332/87 $3.00 + 0.00 Pergamon Journals Ltd
BOOK REVIEWS Fluid Control & Measurement (in 2 Volumes). Proceedings of an International Symposium, Tokyo, 2-6 September 1985. Edited by M. Ha~da, Meiji University, Japan, l l30pp. 1041 illustrations. US$172.50 (1986). These conference proceedings contain 164 papers covering eight principal topics. These are, in Vol. I, pneumatics, bioengineering, fluidics, hydraulics, and flow control, and in Vol. 2, sensors, flow visualization, and flow measurement. There is a useful balance in the contents between applied fluid control and measurement, involving applications in areas as diverse as robotics, medical physics, and aerodynamics, and the more basic work in developing techniques for flow measurement. The work reported in two-phase flow measurement is of particular interest to readers of the Journal of Heat Recovery Systems, covering flow meters for pulverized coal/air mixtures, in addition to liquid/vapour mixture flow measurements. The proceedings are introduced by 4 'Special Lectures', coveting flow measurement using fluidic technology, recent developments in flow visualisation, advances in power finidics, and recent advances in noise prediction for control valves. In the one area where I have, although not recently, bad some considerable experiem:e--flow visualisation---I found the paper a little disappointing, as it was more of a literature review, with much of the data being historically of interest, rather than being immediately topical. With 128 references, however, it does make a worthy source of information. A rapid scan of Vol. 2 to give a geographical breakdown of first named authors confirmed that the Conference was hosted in Japan. Of 78 papers counted, 60 were of Japanese origin, 7 from the USA or Canada, 5 from Western Europe, 2 from Eastern Europe and 4 from other countries (e.g. China, S. Korea). The balance in Vol. 1 is similar. The proceedings give an insight into activities in the above areas in Japan, which would otherwise be diffguit and/or time consuming to obtain. For this reason alone the purchase price is a___,3cep_ table. In addition, those who wish to receive an up-to-date grounding in fluidics will also find the volumes of considerable interest. D. A. Reay
A glance at the contents of almost any library will show that there are numerous books on the subject of renewable energy, however, these works vary greatly in style, content and quality and it seems that the market for books on the subject is far from saturated. Certainly there is a growing realisation amongst technical and non-technical personnel that fossil fuels are exhaustible and their price and availability is even now governed by political and economic factors which appear to be beyond the control of the most powerful national governments. There are few organisations, from households to governments, which would not like to be free of their dependence on fossil fuels. While nuclear energy might present a viable alternative it is regarded with considerable apprehension by many and, because nuclear power production is a centralised process, it does not lead to the consumer having control of his own energy supply. There is thus interest in renewable energy from many Sources: governments, in particular those of the developing countries, see renewable energy as a substitute for valuable oil, even with the currently low oil prices; isolated communities seek to exploit locally available resources and individuals, throughout the world and for differing reasons, hope that they might gain independence from the centralised energy producers. Not only do the motives and aims of those attempting to increase their knowledge of renewable energy vary widely; their technical backgrounds and abilities also cover a wide spectrum. Four new books from Pergamon Press all have their place in a library which is striving for a comprehensive coverage of this wide ranging topic.
Renewable Energy Technologies--Their Applications in Developing Countries. L. A. ~ N and V. ~ . The Beijer Institute, The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences, Stockholm, Sweden. Pergamon Books, Oxford. US$60.00 (1986). New and renewable sources of energy will not Solve the energy problems of the developing world overnight, however introduction of renewable energy technologies will be of considerable importance. Provision of energy within the Third World presents not one, but many, problems; because there is more than one problem we cannot expect to find a single solution, in their introduction to *Renewable Energy Technology' the authors refute the simplistic view that developing countries can avoid the development of fossil fuel based economies by immediately employing abundant solar-derived renewable energy resources. Only a site-specific evaluation which includes an investigation of social and economic issues as well as technical feasibility can determine the value of any technology. Renewable energy sources alone will not solve the energy problems of the Third World but these problems cannot be solved without renewable energy. It is a fallacy to assume that because an energy source is renewable it is inexhaustible: wood is the dominant fuel supply for most households in developing countries and is likely to remain so for the f o i b l e future. Although it may be comddensi to be • renewable energy Source, serious thortfells in the svallability of wood are becomlne more apparent; hence intensive, planned tree planting is required together with the development of more efficient wood-burning devices ff adequate fuelwood supplies are to be maintained in rural areas. Increased utilisation of wond as an energy source by urban households and industry without • parallel increase in forestry development will exacerbate the rural shortfalls. . *Renewable Energy Technologies' is based upon sixteen background reports by specialists commimmned by the Belier Institute and published in 1984 hence a massive amount of expertise baa clearly been tapped in writing this volume and the result is a well balanced treatment of the diverse technologies covered. The format is that of a textbook rather than 199
200
Book Reviews
a collection of papers and a consistent style and presentation exists throughout the twenty seven chapters grouped in four main sections covering bioenergy production and utilisation, biomass engines and fuel, solar energy and hydro wind and water power. The absence of an index is partly compensated for by the presence, directly after the contents and introduction. of a set of chapter abstracts. These abstracts, read in conjunction with the introductory remarks, provide a concise summary of potential new and renewable energy technology sources which might be exploited to the benefit of communities in developing countries including outlines of the social, economic and technical problems which must be overcome before each technology finds more widespread acceptance. No attempt is made to provide a detailed theoretical background to the technologies covered and the book is intended for the layman rather than for the specialist, however since few could claim to be expert in all aspects of renewable energy most readers with an interest in the energy problems of the Third World could gain by reading 'Renewable Energy Technologies'. Sufficient data covering costs, performance etc. are provided to permit a qualitative assessment of the potential of the different technologies on a general basis. However, furthermore detailed data would be required before site-specific evaluations could be made. Comprehensive bibliographies at the end of each chapter point the way to further reading on specific topics. The presentation of'Renewable Energy Technologies', an A4 size book, with copious illustrations well spaced throughout the text makes for relaxed reading. Unfortunately the quality of the illustrations varies from poor to atrocious. Crudely drawn and annotated illustrations are a feature of many non-specialist texts extolling the virtues of 'soft' energy options, probably to convey the impression of the artisan with a sketchpad labouring to save the world from a future dominated by power stations constructed from precise but impersonal engineering drawings. The intellectual content of 'Renewable Energy Technologies" is of high quality, the illustrations should not be vague and imprecise. Overall 'Renewable Energy Technologies' provides an excellent and realistic overview of the prospects and problems associated with the realisation of new and renewable energy sources with particular reference to the Third World. It would provide a valuable introduction to any engineer or economist entering this area of development and be worthwhile reading for a non-technical person with an interest in the problems of the Third World. Its major fault is the poor quality of the illustrations.
Solar Passive Building--Science & Design. M. S. SOOHA, N. K. BANSAL,A. KUMAR,P. K. BANSALand M. A. S. MALIK. Pergamon Books, Oxford. US$68 (1986). Throughout the world traditional building designs evolved in such a way that maximum thermal comfort was obtained for the users of the building using only locally available building materials and having regard for the local climate. Ancient architects were thus aware of many of the principles of the technique now known as passive solar design, a technique which is particularly relevant in climates where there are significant diurnal or seasonal changes in the ambient temperatures. Socrates appreciated the importance of building houses with a south facing ~ (in the northern hemisphere); the sun would then be above the roof when high in the sky during the Summer and the roof would provide shade; during the cooler winter the rays from the low, southern sun would penetrate into the porticos. American Indians in a hot, arid climate with high daytime temperatures but with uncomfortably low night temperatures realised that by coasmgtiag buildings of high thermal capadty and maximum ratio of internal volume to exposed surface it was po~ble to introduce a time lag so that the heating effect of the incident solar radiation was felt, inside the dwellings, during the cold night rather than the hot day. With the advent of g!ag-¢as a readily available building material in the west, traditional designs were largely abandoned and windows were positioned for maximum lighting or for aesthetic effect. The result of 'transplanting' designs from temperate to hot regions with the widespread use of glass has been the construction of buildings which require excessive expenditure of energy for temperature control or in which the occupants suffer considerable discomfort. Scientific application of the intuitive concepts of the ancient architects is a recent phenomenon, some isolated instances of work in this area have been reported over the last hundred years but passive solar architecture was first recognised as a mature science at a conference on the subject held in Alberquerqne in 1976. 'Solar Passive Building' treats the subject as a science, while the experience of the ancient civillsations provides some general guidelines for the positioning and design of buildings, it is now necessary for the engineer or architect to be capable of formulating preche designs if p m i v e buildings are to meet the comfort standards of modern, air-conditioned structures at competitive whole-life cost. Hunum beings function moat efficiently when they are comfortable and, since once a building has been constructed little can be done to adjust the pcmive response of the building, it is eaentlal that the dasigner should have a knowledge of the conditions which moat individuals will find comfortable while engaged in their normal activities. Similarly, the performance of a pamive building will be critically dependent upon its location and the prevaitino climate. It is only when a rational de~fign point (or set of design points) for the internal conditions hag been selected and the likely ambient conditions, including seusonal and diurnal values for air movement, temperature, humidity and insulation, have been predicted that the architect or engineer can begin to determine the optimum building design. The early chapters of 'Solar Passive Building' are devoted to the study of human comfort and the prediction of climatic factors. Most of the data and information presented is of particular relevance to hot climates where passive cooling is required, however the background theory may be applied to more temperate climates. The content of 'Solar P a d r e Cooling' is comprehemive, covering the concepts of pauive cksiiln, heat ~ o n in buildings, mathematical modelling and prediction of building peffornmnge, and typical dmdgns togather with 'rule of thumb' design methods. The appendk~ ilglude tabulated heat tranef~ and thermal comfort data, brief summaries of the capabilities of established computer programs and numunl W__nc~__uresto aseist in solar design. Sufficient information and references are provided to permit the reader to locate the sponsor or supplier of each program or to obtain further details of the manual procedure. Clearly this text is not intended for the reader with only a general interest in the subject; a large amount of technical information is conveyed in every paragraph and the hobbyist would find it very heavy reading. Students and practising engineers, building scientists and architects will find the book a useful reference, for those who wish to speclalise in passive solar design having had experience in more conventional architecture it will be especially valuable.