Volume 14

Foreword

Dear Reader,

I am delighted to present to you the 14th International Conference on Sustainable Energy Technologies SET 2015 conference proceedings volume I.

We are all aware of the impact of climate change on our environment and the importance of sustainable energy technologies to reduce energy consumption. The SET conferences are multi–disciplinary, peer-reviewed international events on sustainable energy sources and technologies that provide a forum for the exchange of latest technical information, the dissemination of the high-quality research results, the presentation of the new developments in the area, and the debate and shaping of future directions and priorities for sustainable development and energy security.

The SET conferences have been running for the past 14 years. Previous conferences were held in Portugal (Porto 2002), China (Chongqing, 2003), United Kingdom (Nottingham, 2004), China (Jinan, 2005), Italy (Vicenza, 2006), Chile (Santiago, 2007), South Korea (Seoul, 2008), Germany (Aachen, 2009), China (Shanghai, 2010), Turkey (Istanbul, 2011), Canada (Vancouver, 2012) and, China (Hong Kong, 2013) and Switzerland (Geneva, 2014).

We have had a very successful SET conference at Nottingham in 2015 organized by the University of Nottingham, United Kingdom, and the World Society of Sustainable Energy technologies (WSSET). The SET 2015 conference covered a wide range of topics on sustainable technologies including energy, buildings, transport and industry. Lectures were given by eminent keynote speakers and technical sessions focused on important research topics related to sustainable technologies and eco-buildings.

Over 300 delegates from 42 countries attended the event. The SET 2015 conference received over 500 abstracts and 214 papers have been published in the conference proceedings.The proceedings have therefore been divided into three volumes; I introduce here Volume I which is a collection of excellent works on energy technologies and renewable energy.I hope you enjoy as much as I did the breadth of work you will find in this book.

On behalf of the Organizing Committee, I would like thank the conference co-chairpersons Professor Mark Gillott and Dr Lucelia Rodrigues for their dedicated work to organize the conference and also our sponsors including Solar Ready Ltd, Vale Windows Company Ltd, Ecosmart Solution, PCM Products Ltd and Oxford press. I would also like to thank the Advisory Committee, the Scientific Committee and all staff and students who gave their time and energy to make this a very successful event.

Professor Saffa RiffatChair in Sustainable Energy TechnologiesPresident of the World Society of Sustainable Energy TechnologiesSET 2015 Chairman