PV Gap

Audrey Said:

Need help with science project?

We Answered:

You could start by looking into how much power you get from each one and how much each one would cost to be effective as a power source then compare the two on those factors.

Clinton Said:

solar energy project?

We Answered:

You can make a solar water heater (as in pool heater, spa heater, shower water heater).
This would be composed of a supply tank (at the higher level) with a thermometer, a flow control valve, a solar energy collector (a trough lined with aluminum foil, shaped like a parabola, with a tube running along the trough at the focus of the parabola) and a storage tank with a thermometer. With a fountain water pump to recycle up to the supply tank, you could chart the gallons per hour, the heat rise per hour, the area of the sun's rays illuminating the trough tube, and the efficiency. You could substitute various tubes and coatings on them, various flow rates, and even do a closed cycle system that would circulate the heated water through a coiled copper tube heat exchanger in the cold water.
To get really fancy, you could motorize the trough to follow the sun across the sky, giving the best orientation for maximizing the collection area. This could be a single axis one (elevation or high/low tilt) or a two axis one (tilt and swing E/W). You could even drive it with a motorized stand controlled by a computer program, like a telescope follows moving sky targets.
Other design has a flat black painted metal panel with copper tubes on it, absorbing the heat from the metal. Glass covering the metal and insulation on the back makes it more efficient.