Bibliometric Analysis of the Solar Thermal System Control Methods

Abstract

With the increase of renewable energy sources, the control methods of the energy systems are an increasingly important topic. Control methods have evolved from simple on/off controllers to methods that utilize artificial intelligence and can have a predictive nature. This paper investigates the control methods that are particular for solar thermal systems. A bibliometric method is applied to analyse scientific literature related to the specific application from the Web of Science database. Results show that recent developments in control methods focus on solar thermal to power and hybrid systems while district heating is a potential research gap. Annual publication trends, country, journal and keyword analysis is presented.

Keywords

• district heating
• literature gaps
• model predictive control
• smart controls