Solar cooker (SC) is one of the applications of renewable energy technologies, which enables food to be cooked using solar radiation. However, one of the limitations of conventional solar cookers is their inability to perform effectively during periods of low or decreasing solar radiation. To overcome this limitation, integration of “Thermal energy storage system” with or within the solar cooker can be a proposed method to store incident solar energy during high solar radiation periods and get back the energy during the period of decreasing solar radiation so as to extend the duration of working time of solar cookers uniformly. In the present work, “Radiant heating-based solar cooker” (RHSC) integrated with paraffin wax (PW) used as a phase change material (PCM) was employed and tested under the climatic condition (summer) of Prayagraj (latitude 25 ∘ 27’ N and longitude 81 ∘ 44’), Uttar Pradesh, India. The experiments on the RHSC with and without PCM during April-May, 2025, were conducted under the loading conditions (pots containing water) and data recorded between 07:00[Formula: see text]h and 21:00[Formula: see text]h. An equal amount of water was taken in the cooking pots to ensure uniformity during the performance analysis. The experimental performances of RHSC with and without PCM show better performance as compared to “Standard box type solar cooker” (SBSC) and other box-type SC integrated with PW.

Dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs), categorized as 3rd generation photovoltaic devices, have exhibited remarkable advancements in both power conversion efficiency and operational stability. Various processing parameters involved during preparation of photo-anode affects the performance of DSSCs, however annealing temperature and annealing time are most significant. The annealing process of semiconductor layer which is a part of photo-anode, plays a crucial role owing to change the morphology and crystallinity of the same, which directly affects dye adsorption, charge transportation, and overall efficiency of DSSCs. Therefore, the objective of the present study is to investigate the influence of annealing temperature and annealing time of TiO 2 used as a semiconducting material on the performance of dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSCs). In this work, Fluorine-doped tin oxide (FTO) glasses were coated with TiO 2 taken as a semiconducting material and further subjected to different annealing temperatures ranging from 400℃ to 500℃ as well as annealing time 30 to 90 minutes. Thereafter various characterization techniques such as UV-Vis Spectroscopy, PL Spectroscopy, Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy FTIR Spectroscopy were employed to see the electronic properties of the dye used. In order to assess the Photovoltaic performance parameters such as short-circuit current density (Jsc), open-circuit voltage (Voc), fill factor (FF), and power conversion efficiency (PCE) were measured employing all the TiO 2 coated FTO glasses under standard AM 1.5 illumination on solar simulator.

Photovoltaic (PV) module efficiency deteriorates with rising operating temperature due to thermal losses in open-circuit voltage, reduced fill factor, and increased resistive effects. This study proposes a novel Evaporative Clay Pot-Grass Passive Cooling (ECGPC) technique, integrating a porous earthen clay pot with a natural grass-based moisture-retaining thermal interface mounted on the rear of a PV module. Unlike conventional evaporative or water-spray methods, ECGPC provides sustained cooling with ultra-low water consumption, eliminating the need for continuous spraying, external control, or high energy input. An experimental investigation was conducted under real indoor conditions using two identical 50 W polycrystalline PV modules-one with ECGPC and one uncooled. Module temperature, open-circuit voltage (Voc), short-circuit current (Isc), output power, and efficiency were continuously monitored. ECGPC achieved a 30-35% reduction in operating temperature, mitigating thermal losses in Voc and enhancing electrical efficiency by up to 15.29%. The cooled module consistently delivered higher output power, with minimal variations in Isc. A key novelty of ECGPC is its extremely low water requirement of similar to 0.003 L/min, enabled by the grass layer's ability to retain moisture. Operating with an 8 W DC pump, the system demonstrated a positive net energy gain, confirming practical feasibility. Due to its simplicity, scalability, minimal water usage, and negligible energy penalty, ECGPC offers a sustainable concept that requires field validation of a cooling solution for PV installations in hot and arid regions. The method's low-resource design makes it especially suitable for enhancing PV performance where conventional cooling is impractical.

This paper presents a review of various dynamic daylight modeling approaches used for the assessment of daylight in built environments. The most effective method to determine the daylight performance of the building is daylight illuminance ratio (DIR). It is sensitive to orientation, time of day and intended locale of the building; it is known as climate-based daylight modeling. To achieve the optimum daylight for sufficient illuminance level for the occupant’s comfort, it is desirable to limit the floor to aperture ratio. The daylight aperture size to floor ratio, orientation and intended locale of the building have a great impact of the occupant’s visible task. Through an exploration of these methodologies, the paper aims to provide insights into their applications, advantages and challenges, offering a roadmap for researchers, practitioners and building professionals seeking to enhance daylighting strategies in their projects.

With the global population surpassing 8.1 billion people, there is a growing strain on freshwater resources. The world is currently facing the challenge of addressing the escalating demand for fresh water, a fundamental necessity crucial for human survival and various other essential activities. Solar desalination addresses the growing demand for freshwater sustainably. By utilizing solar energy, desalination systems convert seawater into potable water. The study delves into various methods and technologies aimed at optimizing the performance of these systems. Specifically, it explores the incorporation of high-frequency ultrasonic wave atomizers in single-slope solar stills, demonstrating an effective evaporation technique resulting in a significant 56

The presence of water is crucial for the sustenance of human life and is needed for a broad range of activities, including drinking, cooking, cleaning, and sanitation. Solar distillation is a water purification technology that utilizes solar power and produces distilled water without any external use of electricity. Many researchers developed several types of designs of distillation setups a new model (Triple Slope solar distillation) has been designed in the renewable energy lab of Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology Allahabad, Prayagraj, India, and the performance parameters of the setup compared with single slope solar distillation setup performance for the same day in the winter climate condition of Prayagraj, India. It has three sloping surfaces, instead of one like the single slope distillation system, to improve the condensation area and improve the efficiency of the system. The total yield production from the triple slope distillation system in the month of November 2022 was 3.2 l/m2 for a 2.0 cm depth of brackish water in the basin and on the same day, the yield production from the single slope solar distillation system was 1.3 l/m2 for the same water depth. Triple Slope distillation system yield output was enhanced by 146.15

Background Water scarcity is one of the most severe global issues. Desalination is the most preferred solution for this problem. Use of renewable energy for desalination purpose is the key for sustainable development. Solar stills are used to produce potable water using solar energy in a sustainable manner. However, the performance of solar stills is degraded majorly due to intermittent nature of sun. Phase change materials (PCM) are generally used with solar distillation systems in order to overcome this serious limitation. Methods This paper reviews the application of different phase change materials in solar distillation systems and their effects. The choice of appropriate phase change material along with their advantages and limitations are discussed in detail. The enhancement in the performance of solar stills using various phase change materials is reported. Significant findings Phase change materials are found to be very beneficial for enhancement of the performance of solar stills. These enhance the yield of solar stills along with improving their reliability. Paraffin wax is found to be the most widely applied phase change material for solar stills due to its physical properties, easy availability and economic reasons.

Energy indirectly affects the productivity of the industrial and economic sectors, which is a major factor in any country's economic health. In the least developed Asian countries, most people still struggle to meet their basic energy needs. Without addressing inequality in the least developed Asian countries, a World Bank report states that universal access to renewable energy will remain unattainable. The answer is to switch to renewable energy sources, such as wind, solar, and biofuels. Among all renewable energy sources, photovoltaic (PV) technologies have shown to be a viable source of inexpensive, clean energy. This research delves into a thorough discussion of economic and geographical condition of Asian least developed countries. Consequently, in order to maintain the development of solar technology capacity, a thorough analysis of the renewable energy policies of the least developed Asian countries is required, along with a discussion of the policy's shortcomings. The location of solar energy potential in the least developed Asian nations—Bangladesh, Bhutan, Afghanistan, Myanmar, Republic of Yemen, Timor-Leste, Nepal, Cambodia, and Lao People's Democratic Republic—is provided in depth by this study.

Aluminium foam can be used as a porous and lightweight material having comparatively high impact energy absorption. To reduce the death rate caused by collisions of vehicles, there is a need of analysing the crash-worthiness properties of materials. In this present work, the Aluminium foam was prepared using the powder metallurgy method for the crash-worthiness analysis. The Al6061 powder as a matrix material having particle sizes ranging from 5 to 30 mu m and Sucrose particles as a space-holding material were mixed. The compaction process was done up to a pressure of 450 MPa to make the green compact and was further subjected to sintering up to a temperature of 500 degrees C for 1 hour resulting into the Aluminium foam. The compressive strength significantly decreased by 26.56%, 51.39%, 72.49%, and 64.34% approximately while volume fractions of sucrose particles varied as 20%, 30%, 40%, and 50%. On the other hand, the measured maximum porosity was found as 51.8% approximately in the Aluminium foam corresponding to the addition of 50% sucrose particles by volume. Out of all the examined samples, the foam developed by containing 20% (vol.) sucrose has exhibited the maximum strain energy absorption, specific energy absorption (SEA), and crushing force efficiency (CFE).

In this study, the Magnesium AZ91 alloy underwent a process known as Friction Stir Processing (FSP) at different tool rotational speeds: 1160 r.p.m., 850 r.p.m., and 580 r.p.m. subjected to a constant transverse speed/feed rate (50 mm/min). The average grain size of the FSP-processed samples fell dramatically due to dynamic recrystallisation (DRX), from 43.65 mu m in the as-received Mg AZ91 to less than 4.21 mu m in the alloy processed at 850 rotational speed. The UTS was enhanced from 145.49 MPa to 184.51 MPa for as-received material to alloy processed at 850 rotational speeds due to the dissolution of secondary phases and the grain refinement. Also, this increase in rotational speed resulted in an increase in total elongation (TE), which increased from 5.465% to 9.92% due to the removal of defects during the processing. The wear resistance of FSPed materials was better than that of the as-received material at all tool rotational speeds. Better wear resistance was observed in the case of samples processed at 850 r.p.m. All these alterations in properties were found due to the existence of refined grains and the removal of defects due to stirring action.

Environmental sustainability and energy security are two major issues, which are globally attracting the attention of the scientists and researchers. The sustainable development goal (SDG-7) calls for sustainable and modern energy for all. Solar energy has great potential and it can be transformed in other usable forms through various energy harvesting technologies. The photovoltaic cell utilizes solar radiation to generate green electricity. Photovoltaic cells follow the mechanism of photon to electron conversion for electricity production. Recently, organic solar cell, which is a type of photovoltaic cells, has shown potential to overcome demerits faced by photovoltaic cell like low flexibility, weight and environmental biodegradability issues. Dye sensitized solar cell (DSSC) is a kind of the organic solar cell. A (DSSC) has been fabricated using Punica Granatum (pomegranate juice) as sensitizer. The maximum efficiency of the solar cell is observed to be 0.16 %. The effect of various climatic parameters the performance of fabricated dye sensitized solar cell has also been evaluated and reported.

The main aim of this study is to experimentally investigate the yield of extraction and the presence of wax in the extracted yield from Musaacuminata (banana) biomass based on various functional groups that are present in natural wax. Extraction of natural wax from Musaacuminata (banana) biomass has been done by using the Soxhlet apparatus method in the presence of both polar (ethyl acetate and ethanol) and non-polar (toluene and hexane) solvents. The extracted yield has been found as 3.58% from hexane, 5.16% from toluene, 7.03% from ethyl acetate, and 10.26% from ethanol. The wax was also found in the extracted yield only in the case of nonpolar solvents (toluene and hexane). The novelty of this work is that Musaacuminata (banana) waste biomass has been utilized to recover the natural wax using nonpolar solvents and also compared with that of polar solvents to check the scope of wax extraction using polar solvents. Also, statistical analysis has been performed of the extracted yield using both solvents. Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC) and Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) methods have been used to determine the various hydrocarbon chains present in the extracted yield which is similar to that of natural wax.

In the recent agriculture innovation, the integration of smart storage materials such as phase change materials (PCMs) in greenhouse environment stands as a promising frontier. The purpose of PCMs utilization in agriculture greenhouses to conserve energy, temperature regulation, energy efficiency and provide comfortable climates for crop growth and development in greenhouse setting during day and night time. By harvesting of energy in the form of latent heat and release capabilities of PCMs, Smart storage solution can be designed to create more stable and controlled climate condition within agriculture greenhouses. This is not only the mitigates extreme temperature but also enhance the overall productivity and yield of corps. This review content presents the technological advancements and innovations in the field, displaying the real-world implementation and demonstrated the effectiveness of such integrated smart storage system. It aims to provide a comprehensive understanding for current state of smart storage solution in agriculture, unveiling a landscape where innovation converges with climates to cultivate a more resilient and resource efficient future for the agriculture sector.

Our scientists have struggled for the last few decades to save the nation from the harmful emission caused by burning fossil fuel and restore enormous solar radiation energy. Despite their hard labor in this field, only 12-16% of solar radiation is converted into electrical energy. The major part of it is wastage as heat that causes to rise of panel temperature and lowers its efficiency. The aim of the review is to find out the cost-effective and efficient active cooling methods of solar photovoltaic (SPV) cell to improve their overall performance. Therefore, thirty-two active cooling techniques are thoroughly studied, compared their results from more than a hundred papers. Cooling of the SPV panel is a function of optimum spraying timing, coolant flow rate, wind condition, the distance between flow points (nozzle) to the panel, and solar radiation. The major facts revealed that the efficiency of the PV panel is optimum within 25-30 0 C, and the panel's performance decreases by 0.5% for each 1 0 C rise of panel temperature from standard temperature. The best active cooling method revealed that the electrical efficiency of the PV module could be increased by 57% with a lowering of module temperature by 32% in hot summer.

Solar Cooking is helpful forsaving conventional sources of energy, money, and the environment from pollution. It provides healthy and tasty cooked food in sufficient time. An improved solar cooker in terms of input solar radiation, the material of construction and performance, is presented in this paper (over a conventional solar cooker). Fiber-reinforced plastic (FRP) and polycarbonate, both transparent and opaque, were used to make the body of the solar cooker. Two polycarbonate sheets were used with an air gap of 10 mm, replacing the G.I. sheet and glass wool using the concept of equivalent thickness for the same heat flux and temperature difference. The top side of the inner box is provided with a polycarbonate sheet that acts similar to glass but with insulating nature (Kpolycarbonate = 0.2 W/mK, Kglass = 1.2 W/mK) for trapping heat. With the help of these materials, life is increased due to transparent polycarbonate sheets. Using transparent material increases the input solar radiation, i.e., the amount of heat that increases the inside temperature of the cooker and cooking pots (blackened) are exposed directly to the solar radiation not only from the top cover but also from its walls. Due to this, the cooking time reduces, and effective utilization of solar radiation takes place. The cooking power obtained P50 = 13.63 W, and Figure of merits F1 = 0.11456 and F2 = 0.20. Performance testing of the modified solar cooker on climatic conditions of Prayagraj Prayagraj (25.4358° N,81.8463° E, Old Name: Allahabad), Uttar Pradesh, India.

In the present research, different indoor tests were carried out on modified and standard solar cookers.The size of a standard solar cooker (SSC) and a modified solar cooker with an inclined cover (MSCIC) are the same, and also the capacity of cooking pots is the same.A solar simulator with the same intensity and spectral composition as solar radiation provides a controlled environment testing condition for the solar cooker in a laboratory.The results show that the performance of the SSC is found to be good as compared to a MSCIC at the same intensity.The average cover temperature attained 96.28%, the average pot water temperature 95.5%, the average absorber plate temperature 97.25%, and the average inner walls temperature 95.4% of SSC.

Sustainability of human life is dependent on drinking water. The availability of fresh water is a global concern today because more than 97.5 % of the water is saline water. Present data indicate that 1.9 billion people will suffer from the scarcity of basic hygiene facilities by 2030. Desalination is a purification technique for the purification of contaminated water, especially brackish water. Conventional desalination techniques are mostly driven by fossil fuels and contribute to global carbon footprint and global warming. Ensuring access to clean water and sanitation (SDG-6) and "sustainable green energy for all (SDG-7)" are major sustainable development goals. It is a sustainable technique to produce potable water from saline water. Adopting solar technologies, including solar desalination, can be very helpful for the reduction of CO2 emissions and global warming. But the performance of solar desalination is yet to match with conventional desalination technologies. Several methods are employed to enhance the performance of solar desalination and using heat exchangers as hybrid mode is one of them. This paper critically reviews the application of heat exchangers for performance enhancement of solar desalination. Contributions of solar desalination, towards the reduction of CO2 emission and global warming have also been discussed in detail.

Solar energy is a renewable source with three major applications: photovoltaics (PV), thermal, and daylight. A photovoltaic cell has a conversion efficiency of around 16–35%, depending upon its fabrication technology. Hence, it is observed that ~65–84% of incident solar radiation is lost as thermal energy to the surroundings. At the same time, solar thermal has vast applications, e.g., solar water heating, solar greenhouse drying, solar greenhouse crop cultivation, solar distillation, solar aquaculture, etc. Solar thermal applications have a thermal efficiency of around 20–45% depending upon fabrication materials, design, operating, and weather conditions. Integrating photovoltaic and thermal applications proved advantageous over their application with better overall efficiency. Over the years, many researchers have developed various concepts integrating these technologies to get more output, cost, and land use benefits. This chapter elaborates on different ‘PV-integrated solar distillation systems’ and ‘PV-integrated solar water heating systems’ with working principles and performances.

Underground water and supply water of many local places are dirty and polluted, due to which good quality water is not supplied to houses.Humans use many techniques to enhance the water quality, but most need electricity to run.Solar distillation is one of the purification techniques that enhance water quality by using direct solar energy.This paper covers the experimental analysis of water quality enhancement using the Photovoltaic-Integrated Triple Slope Solar Still (PV-TSSS).Total dissolved solids (TDS), pH value, and Electrical conductivity (EC) were measured as 68 -71 ppm, 7.3 -7.4 pH, and 44 -45 µS/ cm, respectively, for enhanced water quality after solar distillation.

Solar cooking has been an attractive way of cooking food using solar energy (which is a form of renewable energy). Two modified solar cookers namely 'Modified solar cooker with an inclined cover (MSCIC)', and 'Modified solar cooker (MSC)' have been designed and tested for the climatic condition of Prayagraj, Uttar Pradesh, India. The present work evaluates the thermal performance of two transparent solar cookers with the same aperture area but with different geometries. The experiments have been conducted with same quantities of water taken in the pots of both the cookers. The effect of various thermal parameters such as 'pot water temperature', 'figure of merits', 'thermal efficiency', 'energy and exergy' with a comparative analysis of modified solar cookers have been analysed. Results show that the First figure of merit for both transparent cookers have been found nearly identical (F1MSCIC = 0.11 and F1MSC = 0.106) and Second figure of merit have been found F2_MSCIC = 0.77 and F2_MSC = 0.72. Similarly, instantaneous exergy and energy efficiencies have been found 6.1% and 7.8% respectively for MSCIC, and 4.6% and 7.2% respectively for MSC. This indicates that thermal performances of both cookers were comparable. A fair acceptable agreement was found between MSCIC and MSC experimental results also.