Our Assignment
These three assignments included designing and testing a solar water heater where our only source of heat and energy was the sun. Also we had to design a house that was lit mostly by sunlight and was as energy efficient as possible. We worked with wind turbines and tried to find a very efficient blade model. Lastly we had to design and model an energy efficient tiny home.
Solar Water Heater
For our solar water heater we were assigned to heat the water using only the sun and these principals.
Conduction-the process by which heat or electricity is directly transmitted through a substance when there is a difference of temperature or of electrical potential between adjoining regions, without movement of the material.
Convection-the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat.
Radiation-the energy transmitted by radiation, as heat, light, electricity, etc.
Convection-the movement caused within a fluid by the tendency of hotter and therefore less dense material to rise, and colder, denser material to sink under the influence of gravity, which consequently results in transfer of heat.
Radiation-the energy transmitted by radiation, as heat, light, electricity, etc.
Our Water Heater
For our design we went very simple. To start out, we have a plastic shoe box that is layered with tinfoil on the inner walls and inner base. This tin foil is to catch as much light from the sun as possible and reflect it back into that water that is in the box.
We then put a layer of bent and twisted copper pipes around the base of the box. These copper pipes, when heated by the sun, capture the energy and stay hot. Since these copper pipes are staying at a high temperature, our water will be heated very efficiently. We the added a piece of plastic wrap along the top of the copper pipes so that the water had a place to sit and it wasn't directly touching the tin foil and the copper pipes. Our last component was a piece of plastic wrap along the top of the box to keep any water that did evaporate in the heating process from escaping the box because we wanted to keep as much water as possible.
We then put a layer of bent and twisted copper pipes around the base of the box. These copper pipes, when heated by the sun, capture the energy and stay hot. Since these copper pipes are staying at a high temperature, our water will be heated very efficiently. We the added a piece of plastic wrap along the top of the copper pipes so that the water had a place to sit and it wasn't directly touching the tin foil and the copper pipes. Our last component was a piece of plastic wrap along the top of the box to keep any water that did evaporate in the heating process from escaping the box because we wanted to keep as much water as possible.
Solar House Design
Our solar house was a project where the goal was to light up the house using the least amount of light bulbs possible. We used (from top left to bottom right) solar tubes, light shelves, skylights, and clerestory windows to light up our house. We had to know the angles of the sun during the winter and summer months in order to determine where to place most of our windows. We wanted to keep most of the light out during the hot summer months, but we also wanted to capture as much light as possible during the cold winter months to keep the house as warm and lit as possible.
As you can see from the model we made, we used an open design with many of the light features mentioned before so that we could make this an ideal solar house.
Wind Turbine
The wind turbine section of this project involved creating different designs for blades of a wind turbine. There are many different possibilities for the shape, size, and orientation of the blades in order to get an efficient design. We found that the most efficient blade design would be a small blade towards the center of the turbine that gets larger as it gets farther away from the center of the turbine. We also found that the more of these blades that there are the better. You want to be able to catch as much wind as you possibly can but you don't want all of the wind to be caught in the blades because this will bring the spinning of the turbine to a stop. You also want to make sure that all of the blades are angled to the same side. If multiple blades are contradicting each other then the turbine will either not move at all or move extremely slowly.
Tiny House
For our tiny house, we had to combine all of the knowledge we had from the last project to build the most ideal, energy efficient, tiny house possible. For this house our group was aiming for a budget of only 25,000 dollars. Some features for our house were it is a beach house in the Santa Cruz area, it is a total of 300 square feet, and it only costs about 11,000 dollars in total. Some energy efficiency factors for our house are there are windows on every side of the house, we have an open concept, and white walls to reflect light and heat throughout the house. Our design is compact but open, we have one bedroom and one bathroom, we have an open kitchen/living area, and a simple exterior design.
Some materials we used for our house were a cork floor as a comfortable choice that is also a good insulator, we have textured white drywall on the interior of the house, we have brown roof shingles, and blue exterior walls.
Some materials we used for our house were a cork floor as a comfortable choice that is also a good insulator, we have textured white drywall on the interior of the house, we have brown roof shingles, and blue exterior walls.
Reflection
This was by far our longest project of the year and it was very difficult. We had to design multiple projects and go though trial and error to get to where our final result is. Even though there were difficulties throughout the project, it was very fun to be able to build and design multiple projects and go through the process to get to that perfect design.