Lab for Sustainable Energy

Fred Loxsom

Eastern Connecticut State University

American College & University

Presidents’ Climate Commitment

Climate Action Plan

Green Campus Committee

Energy Research

Campus and Community Outreach

Earth Day Activities

Speaker Series

Student Clubs

Recycling Program

Service learning in the community

Campus as Laboratory

Submetering and Energy Dashboard

Institute for Sustainable Energy

Statewide energy efficiency programs

Energy Education programs for secondary schools

Employs energy students as interns

Center for Sustainable Energy Studies

Endowed Chair in Sustainable Energy Studies

Environmental Earth Science Department

Position has separate budget, reduced teaching load, and excellent teaching and research space in a new science building.

Sustainable Energy Studies

General Education Courses: Global Climate Change Sustainable Energy Sustainable Energy Lab

Minor in Sustainable Energy Studies

Sustainable Energy concentration in Environmental Earth Science B.S. Major

Sustainable Energy Lecture

General Education – “Science and Society”

250 students in 6 sections

Climate change as main indicator of environmental impact.

Emphasis on electricity and transportation alternatives.

Sustainable Energy Laboratory

110 students in 5 sections

22 students per section

Two hour lab sessions

Mixture of general education non-science students and energy track majors

Learning Objectives

Learn experimental method.

Get “hands on” experience with key technologies – e.g. solar and wind.

Consistently use scientific units, perform basic calculations, use some statistics

Master some basic measurement techniques.

Enjoy sustainable lab work.

Types of Lab Experiences

Table top experiments

Group experiments

Outdoor measurements

Campus field observations

Take home (and bring back) measurements

Use “rule of three”.

Repeat key experiences until students really get it.

Lab Equipment

Pasco Xplorer GLX graphing data logger, (Vernier is another excellent option.)

Various lab equipment

Existing campus facilities

Low-cost expendables

Power and Energy

Measure power used by small appliances (lamp, fan) using a Kill-A-Watt meter

Calculate energy corresponding to normal weekly use. Use W and kWh.

Take Home: Students complete energy audits of their residence hall room and use energy dashboard to study energy consumption in their residence hall.

Current and Voltage

Series and Parallel Circuit

Measure current and voltage

Draw and read simple schematic circuits

Calculate power and energy

Use amperes, volts, and watt units.

Solar Electric Cell and Module

Measure current and voltage.

Determine open circuit voltage, short circuit current, and maximum power point of modules.

Measure solar intensity.

Understand connection between solar cells and solar module.

Measure the energy performance of an operating solar ventilator.

Campus Solar Electric Lights

Determine voltage and current parameters for campus bus shelter solar lighting systems.

Draw simple schematic for system.

Calculate annual energy savings for this lighting system.

Campus Field Trip: Visit bus shelter and other campus solar electric installations.

Electric Vehicle

Use solar module to charge model electric car.

Measure charging energy for module electric car.

Measure mpk (miles per kWh) rating for model electric car.

Calculate average and SD for several rating values

Take Home: Visit Nissan LEAF website and compare performance of electric vehicle and gas vehicle.

Fuel Cell Vehicle

Use solar module to produce hydrogen gas by hydrolysis.

Use hydrogen to power model Fuel Cell Vehicle

Measure miles per gallon gasoline equivalent rating for model FCV.

Measure miles per kWh rating using solar module.

Wind Power

Use model wind turbine to power LED lamp.

Measure wind speed and calculate wind power intensity.

Measure efficiency of model wind turbine.

Calculate performance of small-scale wind turbine operating on campus.

Lighting Efficiency

Measure and compare lighting efficiency of incandescent, CFL, and LED bulbs

Calculate energy savings in science building by switching to CFL or LED lights.

Compare lighting energy to total energy consumption of science building using energy dashboard.

R-Value

Measure the R-value of foam board insulation.

Requires students to use knowledge of electric energy and basic measuring techniques.

Calculate energy loss through windows in science building during entire heating season.

Heat Capacity

Measure the heat capacity of water

Requires students to use knowledge of electric energy and basic measuring techniques.

Use measured heat capacity to calculate energy required to heat water stored in hot water tank.Campus Field Trip: Tour solar hot water system on campus

Cooling Rate

Measure the rate of energy loss for water in an insulated mug.

Requires understanding of heat capacity from previous lab exercise.

Use linear curve fit to determine the cooling rate.

Take Home: Measure energy required to provide hot water for student’s shower. Devise plan to reduce energy consumption.

IR Radiation

Calibrate IR sensor using digital thermometers.

Develop linear equation for determining surface temperature using IR intensity.

Use IR measurements to determine the effective temperature of the sky.

Determine the IR transmission characteristics of glass and plastic sheets.

CO2 Concentration

Calibrate CO2 sensor and

use it to measure CO2 concentration of exhaled breath, in the greenhouse, and at other campus sites.

Compare measured values to long-term values of carbon dioxide concentration acquired on campus.Campus Field Trip: Visit campus site where carbon dioxide ground flux is measured.

Experiments Under Development

Basic hydroelectricity experiment using Pasco energy transfer apparatus.

Nuclear counting experiment using Geiger Counters. Measure shielding parameters and assess uranium ore samples.

Comments about Lab

The lab meets the needs of both majors and general education students.

Majors consider this to be a valuable “hands on” introduction to their major field and non-science students find the lab interesting and worthwhile.

Questions?