Hybrid Renewable Energy Educational Systems

Presenter

Grainne Flanagan

Campus

UMass Amherst

Sponsor

Jim Lagrant, Department of Mechanical and Industrial Engineering, UMass Amherst

Schedule

Session 2, 11:30 AM - 12:15 PM [Schedule by Time][Poster Grid for Time/Location]

Location

Poster Board A81, Campus Center Auditorium, Row 5 (A81-A100) [Poster Location Map]

Abstract

Renewable energy is a rapidly growing industry that will play an important role in helping to mitigate the climate crisis. Students in grade levels K-12 play a pivotal role in the evolving industry of renewable energy. Students that have early exposure to renewable energy technology may demonstrate greater interest in the shift away from fossil fuels and towards renewable alternatives. This project is being completed within the MIE senior design project curriculum. The goal of this group project is to design and implement an easily replicable hybrid renewable energy demonstration system at Amherst-Pelham Regional High School to help students learn and interact with solar and wind energy. The school historically provided students with a hands-on module for conducting experiments; however, opportunities for improvement were identified. The proposed design, which consists of a metal platform with a solar panel, wind turbine, and battery on top, is larger in scale than the equipment the students had previously been using, but it does not sacrifice interactivity. The intention is for the students to be able to interact with the system by changing the blade length of the wind turbine as well as the angle of the solar panel. An LED strip and a water pump system will act as visual aids, promoting student engagement as they see how altering different variables impacts the power output of the system. An electronic monitoring component will allow students to quantify the performance of the system. This system should deepen interest and motivation in this field, while propelling ongoing advancements in renewable energy.

Keywords

Renewable energy, Wind and Solar, Engineering, Education, Design

Research Area

Engineering

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