Reducing institutional barriers to solar energy through the use of cooperatively-owned solar energy systems
Despite the conceptual attractiveness of solar energy systems for space-heating applications, the market penetration rate of solar systems remains low. The physical, economic, and institutional barriers to acceptance that cause this disappointing performance are closely related to the present political, social, and economic structure, and so are proving difficult and time-consuming to lower. However, aggregating small solar systems into larger cooperative ventures can avoid many of these barriers altogether. This “product-fit” approach could greatly increase the diffusion rate of solar energy systems into the economy, thereby replacing fossil-fuel uses sooner and to a greater extent than previously expected.
Barriers to the widespread utilization of residential solar energy: The prospects for solar energy in the U.S. housing industry
Residential solar energy applications can provide a significant fraction of the U.S. energy budget. However, to do so, they must be combined with other energy-conserving strategies and diffused rapidly throughout the housing industry. Discussed are the potential resistances to the diffusion of solar energy within the U.S. housing industry; implications for the application of residential solar energy are treated.Richard Schoen is an architect and faculty member of the University of California at Los Angeles' School of Architecture and Urban Planning. He is also a staff consultant to the Solar Energy Team at Caltech.An earlier version of this paper was prepared and delivered at the International Solar Energy Conference, “Le soleil au service de l'homme,” Paris, July 2–6, 1973.
Prediction of a representative point for rail temperature measurement by considering longitudinal deformation
Monitoring rail temperature is very important for determining the safe running speed of trains and to prevent buckling. In general, the maximum variation of the internal rail temperature can be >7 ℃ depending on the point of measurement. However, there is as yet no sufficient information about how to predict the measurement point to represent the thermal deformation due to temperature distribution. In this study, the authors report a new point, called the representative measurement point, at which the rail temperature can be measured. This point considers the average deformation of the rail through structural analysis by adopting experimental and actual rail temperature data. The authors designed and installed a measurement system similar to an actual rail environment. Using the system, various data were acquired (internal/surface rail temperature and weather data) for 10 months. On the basis of these data, an analysis was done to calculate the average deformation point through thermal analysis. Finally, the representative measurement point was proposed as the position at which the average deformation point converges regardless of weather or seasons. The authors believe that the method described herein is advantageous in that it could be used in a high-accuracy temperature-monitoring system and for predicting thermal deformation and buckling.