In this 'Energy Education for the 21st Century' design challenge, students construct …
In this 'Energy Education for the 21st Century' design challenge, students construct and evaluate a solar-powered model car. Students utilize the design process and undergo review by their peers to select an optimal gear ratio and components for their car. As a culminating activity, students compete in a Solar Sprint race modeled after the National Renewable Energy Laboratory's Junior Solar Sprint competition.
Are you interested in Solar Energy? Solar Resource Assessment and Economics explores …
Are you interested in Solar Energy? Solar Resource Assessment and Economics explores the methods, economic criteria, and meteorological background for assessing the solar resource with respect to project development of solar energy conversion systems for stakeholders in a given locale. It provides students with an in-depth exploration of the physical qualities of the solar resource, estimation of the fractional contributions of irradiance to total demand, and economic assessment of the solar resource. The course utilizes real data sets and resources to provide students context for the drivers, frameworks, and requirements of solar energy evaluation.
This activity explores solar energy and the difference between passive and active …
This activity explores solar energy and the difference between passive and active solar design. Students will design and build a solar structure in order to test how radiation and conduction distribute heat.
Student teams design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those …
Student teams design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those used in residences to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy. In this activity, students gain a better understanding of the three different types of heat transfer, each of which plays a role in the solar water heater design. Once the model devices are constructed, students perform efficiency calculations and compare designs.
Students explore energy efficiency, focusing on renewable energy, by designing and building …
Students explore energy efficiency, focusing on renewable energy, by designing and building flat-plate solar water heaters. They apply their understanding of the three forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation), as well as how they relate to energy efficiency. They calculate the efficiency of the solar water heaters during initial and final tests and compare the efficiencies to those of models currently sold on the market (requiring some additional investigation by students). After comparing efficiencies, students explain how they would further improve their devices. Students learn about the trade-offs between efficiency and cost by calculating the total cost of their devices and evaluating cost per percent efficiency and per degree change of the water.
In this activity, students calculate electricity use by state and determine, using …
In this activity, students calculate electricity use by state and determine, using Google Earth, how much land would be required to replace all sources of electricity with solar panels.
This visualization is an interactive Energy System Map, which includes short write-ups …
This visualization is an interactive Energy System Map, which includes short write-ups introducing students to fundamental energy system topics, paired with animated videos and deep dive resources.
This article provides elementary school teachers with background knowledge about science concepts …
This article provides elementary school teachers with background knowledge about science concepts needed to understand the first of seven essential principles of climate literacy--the sun is the primary source of energy for our climate system. Graphs, diagrams, and oneline resources provide more background for the teacher. The article appears in a free online magazine that focuses on the seven essential princples of the climate sciences.
This 11-minute podcast and accompanying lesson guide encourage students to evaluate the …
This 11-minute podcast and accompanying lesson guide encourage students to evaluate the supply chain of green technologies in the context of the United Nation's Sustainable Development Goals.
EME 807 overviews a wide range of contemporary technologies in the context …
EME 807 overviews a wide range of contemporary technologies in the context of sustainability and examines metrics for their assessment. The course explores the main principles that guide modern science and technology towards sustainable solutions. It covers such topics as resource management technologies, waste and wastewater treatment, renewable energy technologies, high performance buildings and transportation systems, application of informatics and feedback to sustainable systems, and more. Learning in EME 807 heavily relies on real-life examples and taps into current practices of technology analysis. This course goes beyond understanding the background, fostering critical thinking and challenging the students to draw connections between social, environmental, and economic aspects of sustainable technologies.
Students explore how the efficiency of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is …
Students explore how the efficiency of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is affected by the ambient temperature. They learn how engineers predict the power output of a PV panel at different temperatures and examine some real-world engineering applications used to control the temperature of PV panels.
In this lesson, students will first discuss where energy comes from, including …
In this lesson, students will first discuss where energy comes from, including sources such as fossil fuels, nuclear, and such renewable technologies as solar. After this initial exploration, students will investigate the three main types of heat transfer: convection, conduction, and radiation. Students will learn how properties describe the ways different materials behave, for instance whether they are insulators or conductors. Students will complete a crossword puzzle to reinforce their vocabulary in this content area. The class will then focus on the acquisition and storage of energy through the design, construction, and testing of a fully functional solar oven.
EME 812 explores the main physical principles of core solar energy conversion …
EME 812 explores the main physical principles of core solar energy conversion systems, including direct power conversion photovoltaics, concentrating photovoltaics (CPV), and thermal conversion to electricity via concentrating solar power strategies (CSP). It also covers the fundamentals of enabling technologies such as light concentration, solar tracking, power conversion cycles, power conditioning and distribution. Learning in EME 812 relies on analysis of design and performance of existing solar plants that have been deployed in areas such as the southwestern USA, Spain, and North Africa.
Solar thermal energy is a vast renewable energy resource that has been …
Solar thermal energy is a vast renewable energy resource that has been harvested by human civilizations for centuries. Now as energy conversion technologies quickly develop, we look at solar thermal energy as a significant contributor to the future world's energy profile. Solar heat, when properly collected and stored, can provide cost-effective benefits to a wide array of industrial and residential applications. In EME 811, Solar Thermal Energy for Utilities and Industry, we talk about both the main principles of solar thermal energy conversion and some implementation scenarios, such as utilization of solar heat in buildings, solar cooling, solar desalination, solar drying, and chemical processing.
Students investigate passive solar building design with a focus on heating. Insulation, …
Students investigate passive solar building design with a focus on heating. Insulation, window placement, thermal mass, surface colors, and site orientation are addressed in the background materials and design preparation. Students test their projects for thermal gains and losses during a simulated day and night then compare designs with other teams for suggestions for improvements.
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