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Solar Energy and Fuel Cells

* Exchange students do not have to consider this information when selecting suitable courses for an exchange stay.

Course Unit Code361-0524/04
Number of ECTS Credits Allocated4 ECTS credits
Type of Course Unit *Choice-compulsory
Level of Course Unit *Second Cycle
Year of Study *Second Year
Semester when the Course Unit is deliveredWinter Semester
Mode of DeliveryFace-to-face
Language of InstructionCzech
Prerequisites and Co-Requisites Course succeeds to compulsory courses of previous semester
Name of Lecturer(s)Personal IDName
VRT20doc. Ing. Mojmír Vrtek, Ph.D.
SZE75Ing. Zbyszek Szeliga, Ph.D.
Summary
The subject acquaints students with the utilisation of solar energy for the production of heat and electricity. It also deals with the issue of fuel cells, their types and specific properties.
Learning Outcomes of the Course Unit
Students learn to understand the problems of Solar Energy and Fuel Cells.
Students will be able to:
- Explain and define basic concepts discussed in the fields of
- Clarify the links and connections within the given fields and external relations to other areas of energy
- Describe the basic technical equipments used in those fields and explain their principles

They will receive:
- An overview of the terminology
- An overview of the basic technological processes of transfer and transform energy in relevant areas

They will be able to:
- Perform basic energy balance and capacity calculations in the areas of the issue
- Select appropriate ways and methods to achieve the desired objectives in practice
Course Contents
1. Solar energy, origin, laws of radiation of bodies, characteristics, transformation into usable forms of energy.
2. Characteristics of solar radiation and its modeling. Description of the model database METEONORM.
3. Passive direct systems using solar energy. Solar power plants.
4. Solar flat plate collectors, the principle of efficiency calculation. Non-stationary and stationary energy balance of collector.
5. Testing, certification of solar collectors. The content of test reports.
6. Solar tanks, storage, stratification.
7. Solar heating systems. Large-scale systems, high-, mesh-, low-flow systems. Energy and economics of solar energy systems. Environmental benefits.
8. Photovoltaic conversion, types of photovoltaic cells, and the total quantum efficiency, utilization. U-I characteristics of the PV cell. Photovoltaic systems - basic types. Inverters, properties, efficacy.
9. Fuel cells introdution. The basic design of the fuel cell. The conversion efficiency of the heat circulation and fuel cells. Efficiency vs heat circulation. efficiency of the fuel cell.
10. Terminal voltage of the fuel cell, the UI characteristic of the fuel cell.
11. Basic types of fuel cells, and the distribution parameters and basic description of the nature chemistry of different types of fuel cells.
12. The fuel cell membrane AFC, PEMFC, PAFC.
13. MCFC technology - fuel cells molten carbonates, SOFC - fuel cells with fixed nitrogen.
14. Hydrogen economy. Production of hydrogen. Energy intensity hydrogen technologies. Storage and transport of hydrogen. Safety aspects.
Recommended or Required Reading
Required Reading:
Thermal use of solar energy. Solar thermal systems and components. AEE - Institute for Sustainable Technologies, 2009.
CIHELKA, J. Solární tepelná technika. Praha: Malina, 1994. 203 s. ISBN 80–900759–5–9.
LADENER, H., SPÄTE, F. Solární zařízení. 1. vyd. Praha : Grada Publishing, 2003. 267 s. ISBN 80-247-0362-9.
MATUŠKA, T. Solární tepelné soustavy. Praha : Společnost pro techniku prostředí, 2009. 194 s. ISBN 978-80-02-02186-5.
MATUŠKA, Tomáš. Solární zařízení v příkladech. 1. vyd. Praha: Grada Publishing, 2013. ISBN 978-80-247-3525-2.
SZELIGA, Z. Základy technologie palivových článků. Ostrava: VŠB - Technická univerzita Ostrava, 2008. 95 s. ISBN 978-80-248-1671-5.
Thermal use of solar energy. Solar thermal systems and components. AEE - Institute for Sustainable Technologies, 2009.
Recommended Reading:
RYAN O´HAYREE, SUK-WON CHA. Fuel Cell Fundamentals, Wiley&Sons Inc., 2006. ISBN 0-471-74148-5.
DUFFIE, J. A., BECKMAN, W. A. Solar enginnering of thermal processes. 3. vydání. Wiley 2006. ISBN 0-471-69867-9.
REMMERS, K.H. Velká solární zařízení. Brno: Era 2007. 315 s. ISBN 8073661101.
RYAN O´HAYREE, SUK-WON CHA. Fuel Cell Fundamentals. Wiley&Sons Inc., 2006. ISBN 0-471-74148-5.
DUFFIE, J., A., BECKMAN, W., A. Solar engineering of thermal processes. 3. vydání. Wiley, 2006. ISBN 0-471-69867-9.
REINDERS, A. H. M. E., Pierre VERLINDEN, Wilfried van SARK a Alexandre FREUNDLICH, ed. Photovoltaic solar energy: from fundamentals to applications. Chichester: Wiley, 2017. ISBN 9781118927472.
Studijní pomůcky (materiály z přednášek, podkladové materiály pro cvičení, test reporty solárních kolektorů, projekční podklady, skripta ap.) pro studenty dostupné na OneDrive katedry energetiky - neveřejný přístup, heslo bude sděleno pedagogem.
Planned learning activities and teaching methods
Lectures, Tutorials, Experimental work in labs
Assesment methods and criteria
Task TitleTask TypeMaximum Number of Points
(Act. for Subtasks)
Minimum Number of Points for Task Passing
Credit and ExaminationCredit and Examination100 (100)51
        CreditCredit45 25
        ExaminationExamination55 26