Solar Energy Engineering, 2nd Edition

Appendix 2

Definitions

This appendix presents the definitions of various terms used in solar engineering. A valuable source of definitions is the ISO 9488:1999 standard, which gives the solar energy vocabulary in three languages.

Absorber Component of a solar energy collector that collects and retains as much of the radiation from the sun as possible. A heat transfer fluid flows through the absorber or conduits attached to the absorber.

Absorptance The ratio of absorbed solar radiation to that of incident radiation. Absorptivity is the property of absorbing radiation, possessed by all materials to varying extents.

Absorption air conditioning Achieves a cooling effect through the absorption–desorption process without the requirement of large shaft ...