SACM - United States of America
Permanent URI for this collectionhttps://drepo.sdl.edu.sa/handle/20.500.14154/9668
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Item Restricted Navigating Renewable Energy Markets in Saudi Arabia: Residential Rooftop Solar Panels and Potential Consumer Preferences(ProQuest, 2024-05-03) Alwulayi, Sami; Debbage, KeithThis three-article dissertation investigated the main factors shaping consumer preferences for residential rooftop solar panels in Saudi Arabia. Particular attention is focused on how individual socio-economic characteristics, the built environment, social networks, and fiscal incentives influence the willingness to adopt and pay for solar panels. Much of this sort of research has been neglected in a non-Western setting. Drawing from data collected through an online survey of 1,647 respondents in Saudi Arabia, the three papers employed chi-square tests of association to unravel these interactions for three different, nonwestern geographic settings in Saudi Arabia: a large urban area (Riyadh City), a medium-sized urban area (Buraydah City), and the rural areas of Al-Qassim Province. The first study revealed that the willingness to adopt was influenced by personal environmental values, financial incentives, previous cost-benefit perceptions, and the built environment. The second study found that the willingness to pay was strongly associated with prior perceptions and expectations linked to household energy budgets and solar panel costs, fiscal incentives, and existing environmental beliefs. In the third study, the focus shifted to the actual price individuals were willing to pay for solar installations, where socio-economic factors such as gender and income levels emerged as significant determinants. Geographic variation was evident in the associated factors with the willingness to adopt, pay, and price preference for rooftop solar panels. The study's results underscore the necessity for customized policy approaches to promote renewable energy use in Saudi Arabia, contributing to a more nuanced understanding of the local solar energy market and offering insights for policymakers to foster inclusive and sustainable energy transitions.17 0Item Restricted Improving the Performance of Thin-film BIPV on Facades by Using Shapememory Alloy Composite Materials(Proquest, 2023-07-26) Almazam, Khaled Ali; Chang, Jae; Barrett-Gonzalez, Ronald M.; Cai, Hongyi; Silva, Kapila; Fernando, NishaThis dissertation investigates the possibility of improving the efficiency of buildingintegrated photovoltaic (BIPV) systems by employing thermally adaptive composite materials. The goal is to increase energy output by maximizing the efficiency with which solar tracking and solar irradiance are used. The first step in this investigation is a thorough literature review of prior research on topics such as BIPV systems, solar tracking technologies, and the use of thermally adaptive materials. The review pinpoints the blank spots in our understanding and provides the foundation for our research hypothesis. To confirm the viability of employing thermally adaptive composite materials in BIPV systems, a pilot study is carried out. The research combines experimental and simulated data to evaluate the thermal response and effect on energy production of fixed and dynamic BIPV systems' ability to capture solar irradiance. The effectiveness of BIPV curvature is examined through extensive simulations. Solar irradiance, temperature variations, and panel tilt angle orientation are just some of the variables considered. The simulations confirm the optimal BIPV curvatures, which prompted the design and fabrication of thermally adaptive BIPV and shed light on the potential benefits of using thermally adaptive materials for solar tracking and energy optimization. A one-year experimental study was conducted in Lawrence, Kansas, at the University of Kansas campus Research and Design Center outdoor space to measure the energy production of fixed vertical BIPV, optimal fixed flat BIPV, optimal fixed curved BIPV, thermally adaptive BIPV systems at different tilting angles based on the simulation results. Hourly measurements of current and voltage, as well as surface temperature, outdoor ambient temperature, and wind speed and direction, are taken to assess performance throughout the day. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and other statistical methods are used to determine the significance of the differences. According to the results, thermally adaptive BIPV systems generate 35.8 percent more energy on average than fixed vertical BIPV systems, 12.3 percent more energy than fixed optimal flat BIPV systems, and 9.6 percent more energy than fixed optimal curved BIPV systems. The findings also show how crucial solar tracking is and how thermally adaptive composite materials can improve solar irradiance utilization. In conclusion, this dissertation offers a comprehensive look into the effect of using thermally adaptive composite materials in BIPV systems.13 0