ABSTRACT
This chapter demonstrates the importance of thermal radiation energy transfer, and its ubiquity in science, technology, and our daily lives. Many applications, particularly those involving nanoscale effects and metamaterials, are still emerging from the laboratory toward commercial use, while others await development of lower cost manufacturing processes. The chapter outlines the characteristics of solar energy incident upon the earth. Solar energy can be used to supply home heating and cooling systems, swimming pool heaters, central solar power systems, endothermic chemical reactions, and photovoltaic systems. Solar energy may be converted to electricity in a number of ways, including photovoltaic and thermal pathways. A wide range of low-cost heating, ventilation, and air conditioning systems have been developed for residential and commercial spaces; many of these systems are economically competitive with non-solar systems, particularly for providing domestic hot water, heating of swimming pools, and space heating.
