L7 - Applications of Thermal Energy Transfer

Applications of Thermal Energy Transfer
The concept of the transfer of thermal energy have been applied to design various objects. These
include:
1. The glass green house
2. Vacuum flask (thermos)
3. Solar water heater and Home heating
The Greenhouse Effect
Greenhouse are used to help certain plants grow better

by providing a warmer air temperature.
This is particularly helpful in countries where the
weather is cold in winter and cooler in the spring.
Most greenhouse do not need an internal source of
heat because they are able to trap enough solar
radiation by the greenhouse effect, keeping them very
warm.
The greenhouse effect

in glass houses
Invisible infrared
radiation (radiant heat
energy) from the sun
can easily pass through
the glass of a
greenhouse. (short
wavelength)
Once inside the

greenhouse, this infrared radiation is absorbed by the plants and the soil, making them warmer.
The warm soil and plants now also emit infrared radiation, but, since the soil is cool compared
with the sun, radiation is different (longer wavelength) and cannot pass through the greenhouse
glass. In this way, solar radiation becomes trapped inside the greenhouse and causes its
temperature to rise.
Example: cars left in sunshine with the windows closed. The temperature inside becomes
considerable higher than the outside temperature.
The greenhouse effect on planet earth.

The increasing use of fossil fuels across the planet has increased the amount of carbon dioxide
gases in the Earth’s atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and other gases such as methane and nitrous
oxide known as “greenhouse gases” behave like the glass of the greenhouse, trapping heat
energy from the sun around the earth.
Radiant heat from the sun (short wavelength) is allowed in through the atmosphere and is
absorbed by the surface of the planet.
The infrared radiation re-emitted from the surface of the earth has a longer wavelength and most
of it cannot penetrate the earths atmosphere, being reflected back to the earth. By this, the sun’s
radiant heat energy becomes trapped on the earth and cannot escape.
Click to watch video: How greenhouse gases work

The “greenhouse effect” gives rise to global warming.
There is thus a net trapping of heat energy due to the presence of carbon dioxide and other gases
in the atmosphere. This gives rise to the warming up of the whole Earth - a phenomenon we call
global warming.
Too much carbon dioxide and other gases in the atmosphere, from burning fossil fuels such as oil
and coal, causes the Earth to become warmer. This accelerates global warming.
Global warming of even a few degrees Celsius causes the seas to expand and ice at the polar caps
to melt, producing a rise in sea level and subsequent flooding in low-lying areas. Global
warming is also thought to be responsible for some long-term changes in the climate in different
regions of the Earth.
Long term consequences of the effect are likely to be:
• Global warming and climate change
• Melting of ice caps and glaciers
• Causing sea level to rise
The Vacuum Flask
To keep a drink hot or cold inside a flask, heat flow by all three heat transfer processes must be
reduced to a minimum
Vacuum Flask: keeps hot liquids hot and keeps cold
liquids cold.
Vacuum flask brings all three method of heat transfer
together or we can say that a vacuum flask helps
prevent all three methods of heat transfer.
Hollow plastic stopper – is made of air-filled plastic or cork to reduce heat lost by conduction.
The stopper also prevents hot air from escaping, so reduce heat loss by convection.
Double-walled glass bottle – made of glass or plastic, which are poor conductors of heat
Vacuum between glass walls – heat energy cannot travel by conduction nor convection.
Silvered surfaces on both sides of walls – reduce flow of radiation.
The inner wall – Reflect back the electromagnetic waves given off from the contents inside the
flask.
The outer wall – heat loss to the environment by radiation is reduced (i.e shiny surfaces are poor
radiators)
Foam sponges/ foam plastic supports – supports for the glass container are made of sponges, a
poor conductor of heat. (also serves as a mechanical shock absorber for protection of the glass
container)
Conduction – is totally prevented

through the sides of the flask by the
vacuum between the double glass walls of
the bottle. The cork or plastic stopper
contains a lot of trapped air, which is also
bad conductor of heat.
Convection – prevented by vacuum as
well.
Radiant heat loss – is more difficult to
prevent because it can travel through
vacuum. This loss is greatly reduced by
the two silver coatings on the glass walls
of the bottle. Radiant heat travelling either
into or out of the flask is reflected by one
of the shiny surfaces back the way it
came.
Activity: Vacuum flask
Solar Water Heater
A solar water heater is a device that captures

sunlight to heat water.
Features of a solar panel are used as a water
heater.
Glass cover – traps heat in the same way as the glass in a greenhouse.
Collector plate – is made of a very good conductor of heat such as copper or aluminum. It’s
painted black so that it efficiently absorbs the solar radiation entering the panel. The plate either
has water channels with it or a long, folded copper (or aluminum) tube welded on it.
Polyurethane backing – The panel is blocked by a sheet of polyurethane to reduce heat loss by
conduction.
The heated water leaving the solar panel rises and travels along an insulator tube to the heat
exchanger in the storage tank.
Heat exchanger – the cold water
entering the storage tank is warmed
up at the heat exchanger. The hot
water outlet is placed near the top of
the tank because hot water rises
within the tank by convection.
Solar panels produce the hottest
water on sunny days.
Storage tank – well insulated, to
keep the water warm for long periods
during the night.
Home Heating
Keep home warm
➢ In colder countries people build houses with cavity walls around the outside. The outside
wall of the house is made from two layers of brick, a few centimeters apart with air
between them. Air acts as a good insulator to stop heat energy from escaping the house.
➢ Often the gaps are filled with foam, a better insulator.
➢ A layer of loft insulation, made from thick, fluffy fiberglass padding, is put above the
ceiling to reduce heat energy escaping upwards.
➢ Double-glazed windows have two sealed layers of glass with air or a partial vacuum
within them.
➢ Heat pumps – AC removes heat from the air inside a building by forced convection. Hot
air from the inside is given off to the outside through radiation from the cooling fins of
the radiator.
If the AC were “turned around”, it would transfer heat from the outside to the inside of
the building.
Modern heat pumps are used like this, as air conditioners in the summer and as room
heaters during winter.
Keep home cool

➢ Paint walls white on the outside to reflect
the sun’s heat radiation.
➢ Paint roofs white as well or give them a
shiny surface.
➢ Make walls of hollow concrete blocks to
reduce conduction of heat energy, air in
hollow blocks is a p oor conductor of heat.
➢ Make more use of windows to encourage
greater natural heat exchange by
convection.

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Applications of Thermal Energy Transfer

The Greenhouse Effect

Greenhouse are used to help certain plants grow better

The greenhouse effect

Once inside the

The greenhouse effect on planet earth.

Click to watch video: How greenhouse gases work

Conduction – is totally prevented

A solar water heater is a device that captures

Keep home cool

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