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 CO 2 sensor and use it to measure CO 2 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?