Richard Opoku

• PhD
• Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology

Globally, small and medium‐sized enterprises (SMEs) mainly depend on the national grid to provide energy for their daily activities. The quality of energy supplied affects the operation of their appliances and work. In this study, an analysis has been conducted on the power quality of three different sources of energy: solar PV power only, hybrid s...

The deployment of solar photovoltaic (PV) systems has led to significant challenges in managing redundant energy, also known as excess, wasted, or surplus energy, necessitating comprehensive analysis of existing research and future directions. This study employed bibliometric analysis to investigate global research trends and innovations in managin...

In recent years, there has been a significant emphasis on transitioning to sustainable energy technologies. Among these, electric cooking (e-cooking) has emerged as a promising alternative to traditional cooking methods. This study employed a systematic review and bibliometric analysis to investigate emerging trends and advancements in solar PV-bas...

The International Energy Agency reports a surge of over 250 million tons in global carbon dioxide emissions from the transportation sector in 2022, reaching close to 8 gigatons, predominantly fuelled by increased passenger and cargo activities post the COVID-19 pandemic. The aviation sector, constituting 3% of human-induced CO2 emissions, played a...

Thermal energy storage (TES) systems are pivotal in enabling wider adoption of renewable energy sources by overcoming their intermittent nature. However, many existing TES systems suffer from high costs or limited scalability. TES systems using sand as a storage medium have gained significant research attention in recent years due to availability a...

Thermal energy storage systems, also known as thermal batteries integrated with phase change materials, have gained significant attention in recent years as a promising solution for sustainable energy supply. Thermal batteries can significantly promote a sustainable energy supply by boosting the efficiency and reliability of renewable energy system...

Ghana has developed energy policies to help increase the use of renewable energy in its energy mix. With abundant water reservoirs and solar irradiation, the potential to deploy floating solar photovoltaic is feasible to increase the country's renewable electricity generation. RETScreen Expert software was used for studying a proposed FPV-Hydro hyb...

In this paper, we use the power of artificial intelligence to ascertain and predict the presence of redundant (excess/unused) energy on a typical solar PV mini-grid in Ghana. It was found that there is redundant energy as high as 57 to 120 kWh per day across the whole year. This energy could be used for productive and profitable purposes such as co...

Ghana has the potential to deploy solar energy technologies, with its solar irradiation varying between 4 and 6.5 kWh/m2/day. However, the country’s dependence on fossil fuels for generating electricity and heat remains prevalent. This study aims to assess the technical and financial feasibility of installing solar water heating (SWH) systems in ho...

Abstract The impact of the COVID pandemic has resulted in many people cultivating a remote working culture and increasing building energy use. A reduction in the energy use of heating, ventilation, and air-conditioning (HVAC) systems is necessary for decreasing the energy use in buildings. The refrigerant charge of a heat pump greatly affects its e...

Solar energy is considered a promising source of power generation in sub-Saharan Africa due to the high sunshine in these areas. Deploying decentralised solar-powered mini-grid systems to provide access to electricity in rural areas is fraught with difficulties in accurately predicting consumption, automatic monitoring, and operation sustainability...

Purpose Green roofs are strategies for the ecological intensification of cities and a measure of meeting some of the sustainable development goals (SDGs). They have widely been adopted as an adaptation strategy against an urban heat island (UHI). However, they are conventionally soil-based making it difficult and expensive to adopt as a strategy fo...

The increasing effect of climate change as a result of CO2 emissions emanating from utilization of conventional energy resources is driving national and regional policies towards global energy transformation in all sectors, including the transportation sub-sector. Internal combustion engine vehicles (ICEV), which use fossil fuel are the main contri...

In this study, the aerodynamic performance characteristics of three new EYO-Series low Reynolds number (Re) airfoils were tested at Re = 100,000 to 500,000, which are typical range of Re numbers encountered by airfoils of small wind turbine blades. The results generally demonstrated aerodynamic performance improvements of all three airfoils with in...

The aviation industry is responsible for 12% of transport-related GHG emissions and 2–3% of the global GHG emissions, thus raising concerns for sustainable alternatives such as aviation biofuels. This study sought to analyze the potential of producing aviation fuel from rubber seed oil. Rubber seed oil (RSO) was extracted and the physicochemical pr...

Building load varies continuously throughout the year, causing heat pumps to operate at part load. At such situations, the capacity of the heat pump needs to be controlled to meet the building load. The use of variable speed compressors to control the capacity of heat pumps is found to be the most energy-efficient. However, the efficient control of...

Global level improvement of resource use efficiency in agro-ecosystems has always been the target of experts who are keen on reducing the environmental impact emanating from agriculture. To this end, energy audit analysis in agro-ecosystems to determine the energy use at the various subsectors and levels of the agricultural sector, including poultr...

Many households in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) depend on wood-fuel and biomass for cooking, with associated health and negative environmental impacts. Indoor air pollution from these traditional cooking technologies and practices lead to a number of deaths each year. Clean and smokeless cooking technologies are necessary to minimize respiratory relate...

In this paper, studies have been conducted on the performance of solar PV modules with integration of four different thermal management (cooling) techniques, namely, perforated-ribs-heat-sink under natural convection (PRNC), phase change materials (PCM), galvanized duct with forced convection (GDFC), and ducted fins under forced convection (FDFC)....

The aim of this special issue is therefore to understand the cutting-edge research and technologies being implemented in developing countries to achieve clean, affordable and sustainable energy for the built environment. In addition, efficient technologies that deliver effective thermal cooling of buildings in a sustainable manner to enhance signif...

In hot-humid climates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), ambient temperatures and relative humidity are as high as 35 °C and 84%, respectively, requiring the use of mechanical cooling systems for indoor thermal comfort. Split-type vapour-compression air-conditioners (SVAC) are mainly used for space cooling in SSA and consume 60-80% of total...

Optimizing electricity consumption to minimize wastage and reduce cost is a major challenge in many industries. This is because, in many cases, the effect of the independent variables contributing to the total electricity consumption and cost are latent. The purpose of this study is to apply numerical techniques to identify and optimize these indep...

The performance of solar PV panels is affected by the module temperature. Controlling the PV module temperature to optimize performance is of interest to researchers and project developers. In this paper, studies have been conducted on the performance of solar PV modules with integration of four different thermal management (cooling) techniques, na...

This case study investigates the total cost of ownership (TCO) of four plug-in electric vehicles (PEV) compared with an internal combustion engine vehicle (ICEV) in Ghana over 20 years. The TCO model incorporated the manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP), tax, fuel cost, charging cost, maintenance cost, social cost, and residual value includ...

This research presents a study on the heat transfer coefficient for an unglazed solar plate collector in an unsteady humid outdoor environment. The purpose for undertaking this research is to investigate the correlation between the heat transfer coefficient and air speed and also verify whether heat transfer from unglazed solar thermal collectors u...

In line with government efforts to increase renewable energy in the energy generation mix to 10 percent by the year 2030 and to promote cleaner production in the power sector, ambitious efforts are being made to promote the implementation of utility-scale solar PV plants with ample policy backing. However, performance information is not readily ava...

In engineering, ceramic liners are used as heat retention, insulation, and wear-resistant components for industrial and domestic applications. However, due to lack of production standards, particularly under small industrial operations, there is variation in liner-hole diameter and inter-hole spacing of liners used in clean biomass stoves. This stu...

In this study, interviewer-based questionnaires of 67 variables were administered to local fabricators and end-users of single-pot biomass stoves (SPBS) in Ghana. Additionally, two randomly selected traditional and improved SPBS were lab-tested using standard performance metrics. From the study, the relationship between fabricators and end-users wa...

Energy management through waste heat recovery can result in significant savings in energy costs in industries. In this study, the heat recovery potential of hot air from the heat exchangers of two industrial air-compressors was assessed for process heating at a cocoa processing company, using a novel staggered tube cross-flow heat exchanger (STC-HX...

Purpose The use of air-conditioners (ACs) is on the increase in the developing world, with exacerbating compounding effect on carbon footprints. With this development, there is the expectation that developing countries would begin to appreciate and understand occupant behaviours in the use of ACs towards combating climate change, especially as buil...

Petroleum activities like production, transportation and storage have placed Ghanaian waters among zones negatively impacted by human activities. These places are occupied by human occupations and its associated risks. Oil pollution in the environment affects biota and degrades human health. Predictive and descriptive tools have made the assessment...

Coconut husks with the shells attached are potential bioenergy resources for fuel-constrained communities in Ghana. In spite of their energy potential, coconut husks and shells are thrown away or burned raw resulting in poor sanitation and environmental pollution. This study focuses on quantifying the waste proportions, calorific values and polluta...

In this work, studies have been conducted on heat transfer performance of both smooth and modified wicking surfaces in a spray cooling experiment for high heat flux applications. The heat transfer performance of the two surfaces in terms of critical heat flux (CHF) and heat transfer coefficient (HTC) were determined in an experiment using a two-pha...

Over 600 million people living in sub-Saharan Africa do not have access to electricity. Modern healthcare services, including vaccine refrigeration, which require electricity are therefore lacking in such energy-deprived communities. In this work, analysis has been conducted on how electricity access can help improve healthcare service delivery and...

Increasing effect of climate change coupled with global warming has necessitated the need for mechanical cooling in buildings to provide indoor thermal comfort. Many countries in tropical climates, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa, use sandcrete blocks for constructing building envelopes which have relatively high thermal conductivity. This leads...

Small wind turbine power generation systems have the potential to meet the electricity demand of the residential sector in developing countries. However, due to their exposure to low Reynolds number (Re) flow conditions and associated problems, specific airfoils are required for the design of their blades. In this research, XFOIL was used to develo...

High electricity consumption and corresponding cost in public tertiary institutions in many developing countries is a major challenge to their respective governments. Low efficiency electrical appliances are common in these institutions. In this work, studies have been conducted on sustainable energy efficiency measures and solar energy to reduce e...

Adoption of higher energy efficiency for electrical appliances by consumers in Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) is challenged with a number of barriers despite its long term energy savings and economic benefits. Inefficient electrical appliances continue to flood the markets of most SSA countries with just a few of the counties having resolute energy effic...

Available data and market surveys conducted in Ghana have shown that 60–80% of electricity consumed in offices of public and commercial buildings is used to run air-conditioners to provide indoor thermal comfort for productive office work. Electricity consumptions of these air-conditioners are relatively high and are in the range of 3000–5400 kWh/y...

The study applies a data-driven statistical tool called Probit Econometric Model to household data to explain the factors that influence the choice of road transport modes in Ghana. The data used for the study was extracted from the 7th round of the Ghana Living Standards Survey. Core living standard indicator variables employed include travel choi...

A reliable and energy efficient approach of providing refrigeration needs is a major challenge in most developing countries, particularly sub-Saharan Africa. In this study, a comparative techno-economic assessment of a converted direct current refrigerator and a conventional alternating current refrigerator both powered by solar photovoltaic system...

Renewable energy technologies offer many advantages in sub-Saharan Africa, but widespread deployment will require strong endogenous innovation capabilities. Universities in general and doctoral research in particular play a key role in tailoring technologies to local contexts and equipping future educators, policymakers and entrepreneurs with relev...

The goal of this paper is to provide the framework for the implementation of sustainable Rural Cold Storage (RCS) systems for farm produce in agro-based rural communities in developing countries. RCS, a post–harvest technology system for farm produce, is an appropriate technology for marginalized rural communities in developing countries that helps...

Fluid droplet interaction/dynamics on modified surfaces is very pertinent in understanding the heat transfer mechanism associated with evaporative cooling of such surfaces. In the present paper, wicking grooves experimentation in enhancing Heat Transfer Coefficients (HTC) in spray cooling is carried out. Cross and unidirectional grooves were studie...

Buoyancy driven flow over a vertically heated flat plate ensues due to fluid density gradient in a gravitational field caused by density gradients due to temperature effects. In this configuration when the density gradient is orthogonal to the gravitational vector, any density gradient results into immediate flow. Buoyancy-driven convection over a...