The campus will remain closed until 12 noon Thursday, 02/13/25. Students should log into Canvas for specific class information from their instructors. Please contact event organizers for information on specific activities. Normal operations will resume at 12pm on Thursday.
Student: Mark Dreidger
Advisor: Dan Faoro
Solar energy has been harnessed by man for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks and Chinese used reflectors to start fires for cooking. Since the beginning of recorded time, people have oriented their buildings to take advantage of the predictable movement of the sun across the sky. The vast quantity of energy that the Earth receives from the sun in one hour, is roughly equal to the amount of energy human civilization uses every year. The goal of this thesis is to develop a new method of solar heating that will bring the sun to the building, rather than passively waiting for the sun to enter the building. The energy captured will then be stored in a controllable thermal mass for later use.
By case studying existing solar thermal energy plants, lens science, existing thermal mass technologies, and looking at the way nature has evolved its system of gathering energy, a new method of heating could be developed. The system would use technology from both active and passive solar technologies. Active sensors attached to large parabolic mirrors would seek out the sun, and focus the sunlight on a Fresnel lens. The lens would then direct a concentrated beam of light into a passive thermal storage unit. In theory, this storage mass could operate at very high temperatures, depending on the material and the location. The thermal mass would also have to be thermally separated from the environment, ensuring there are no combustibility or safety issues. The building could access this energy, either via a liquid transfer system, or more simply through an air transfer system. When the system has calculated that the thermal storage requirements for the building have been satisfied, the mirrors could be focused on photovoltaic panels to satisfy the electrical requirements for the building.
A system such as this will take another step towards mimicking the way nature draws energy from the sun, while actually using the site to provide energy rather than the typical practice of piping energy in to the building from other places. Instead of passive solar technology that relies on fixed geometry, this system would actively find the sunlight, and deliver it to the building. This form of heating would be truly green, natural and plentiful. By reducing the heating requirement of buildings, it is possible that the energy usage could be drastically reduced.
Use Your Cell Phone as a Document Camera in Zoom
From Computer
Log in and start your Zoom session with participants
From Phone
To use your cell phone as a makeshift document camera
