DESIGN OF A SMALL – SCALE SOLAR CHIMNEY FOR SUSTAINABLE POWER
Impact/Purpose:
Access to energy sources is a major limitation in many areas of the world. This is particularly true for developing economies which have limited resources to devote to traditional power generation. This project proposes to design and test a small-scale solar chimney for use as a renewable energy source. The project seeks to minimize the initial cost through better design while creating a system with little to no long term cost (i.e. the power source is free, renewable, and maintenance is minimal).
Description:
After several months of design and testing it has been determined that a small scale solar chimney can be built using nearly any local materials and simple hand tools without needing superior construction knowledge. The biggest obstacle to over come was the weather conditions. The Minnesota climate, especially during winter is quite harsh, with temperatures dipping into the negative 20 degrees Fahrenheit range with winds up to 60 mph, thus creating the need to build the structure of the solar chimney out of heavy duty materials so it can withstand snow, ice, rain, and high winds. In a developing country such as Ghana, these conditions are not applicable, winds only in the 10 mph range and temperatures between 70 and 100 degrees Fahrenheit. Thus in different climates the solar chimney structure will vary depending on the conditions it must endure.
After multiple collector designs it has been determined that the collector should be composed of a panelized structure. Depending on the climate the panels should range between 4’ x 4’ all the way up to a 10’ x 10’ panel. The paneled design has several benefits; including ease of construction and assembly, collector area can easily be increased or decreased depending on conditions and damaged panels can easily be repaired individually without endangering the rest of the collector.
Record Details:
Record Type:PROJECT(
ABSTRACT
)
Start Date:08/21/2008
Completion Date:04/30/2009
Record ID:
200863
Keywords:
SOLAR ENERGY, RENEWABLE ENERGY,
Related Organizations:
Role
:OWNER
Organization Name
:MINNESOTA STATE UNIVERSITY - MANKATO
Mailing Address
:228 Wiecking Ctr
Citation
:Mankato
State
:MN
Zip Code
:56001
Project Information:
Approach
:Traditionally designed for large-scale power production, this project will examine various manufacturing and component alternatives to produce a smaller, cheaper, version of a solar chimney which can be employed for low power applications with potential for large quality of life impacts. The technical challenge can be described as creating a balance between manufacturing method, power output, cost, and application of the generated power. The engineering design will focus on use of cheap readily available materials and locally feasible manufacturing methods. Collaborations will be undertaken between the local students and students in Ghana. A collaborative design process will be used. Evaluation of local feasibility in Ghana will be facilitated by input from the Ghana students and faculty advisor in Ghana. Overall evaluation will also include cost and energy conversion studies. Design of the solar chimney will be undertaken locally as the student’s undergraduate senior projects.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:Pollution Prevention/Sustainable Development
Approach
:Traditionally designed for large-scale power production, this project will examine various manufacturing and component alternatives to produce a smaller, cheaper, version of a solar chimney which can be employed for low power applications with potential for large quality of life impacts. The technical challenge can be described as creating a balance between manufacturing method, power output, cost, and application of the generated power. The engineering design will focus on use of cheap readily available materials and locally feasible manufacturing methods. Collaborations will be undertaken between the local students and students in Ghana. A collaborative design process will be used. Evaluation of local feasibility in Ghana will be facilitated by input from the Ghana students and faculty advisor in Ghana. Overall evaluation will also include cost and energy conversion studies. Design of the solar chimney will be undertaken locally as the student’s undergraduate senior projects.
Cost
:$10,000.00
Research Component
:P3 Challenge Area - Energy
Project IDs:
ID Code
:SU833917
Project type
:EPA Grant