ENST 0842 Lecture Notes - Lecture 7: Stirling Engine, Passive Solar Building Design, Facing Windows
21 Mar 2020
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Document Summary
Varies: latitude, season, time of day, cloud cover. Passive solar energy: putting the sun"s energy to use without requiring mechanical devices to distribute collected heat. Solar sunspaces: utilizes passive solar energy to heat/cool homes. Doesn"t use mechanical devices for heat distribution. Active solar energy: using sun"s energy with collectors to absorb solar energy; pumps/fans to distribute. Used to heat water: 8% of energy in us used. Solar thermal electric generation: means of producing electricity with mirrors/lenses to concentrate sun"s energy to heat fluid-filled pipe/drive a stirling engine. No air pollution, contribution to global warming/acid precipitation. Photovoltaic solar cells: method of converting sunlight to electricity using layers of materials that regularly give up/absorb electrons. Used on any scale: lighted road signs; entire building. Economics: more economical than running electrical lines to rural areas; can be incorporated into building materials (roofing shingles, tile, window glass) Cost of electrical power plants: alt. power services = competitive with traditional power sources.
