Contributors to this Conference have shown the wide range of active and passive solar heating systems which have been researched, installed and monitored in recent years throughout western Europe and elsewhere. Yet much remains to be done if solar heating is to reach its full potential. The Conference Committee hopes that this record of the proceedings will provide a basis for the further development of these systems. Many difficulties have been surmounted in arriving at today's position. The foundations of the growing confidence of architects and engineers are to be found in the concerted programmes of research and development mounted by ty,'o of the sponsors of the Conference the European Community and the International Energy Agency. Some of the more tangible products of these programmes have been reported here: component and system behaviour has been subjected to rigorous scientific study; new test facilities have been founded; test procedures devised; simulation methods developed and evaluated; design rules formulated and checked against measured performance. It has been apparent here that the willingness to exchange information and experiences, which has always been a feature of the solar energy scene, remains as strong as ever. A further information-sharing initiative was noted on the part of another sponsor, UNESCO - the setting-up of the European Cooperative Network on Solar Energy, involving countries from both eastern and western Europe.

The book details sources of thermal energy, methods of capture, and applications. It describes the basics of thermal energy, including measuring thermal energy, laws of thermodynamics that govern its use and transformation, modes of thermal energy, conventional processes, devices and materials, and the methods by which it is transferred. It covers 8 sources of thermal energy: combustion, fusion (solar) fission (nuclear), geothermal, microwave, plasma, waste heat, and thermal energy storage. In each case, the methods of production and capture and its uses are described in detail. It also discusses novel processes and devices used to improve transfer and transformation processes.