Solar Panel Demonstration Ideas?
Hey i am going to build a scale model house and demonstrate how you would use solar panels to provide energy. I am thinking of buying some kit solar panels and wiring up some lights to show how they power the home. Also i might hook up a battery in the house to show how you can store the energy. I might also have a large battery hooked up outside the house to represent a power plant that could provide emergency power. Any ideas or comments would be great. Thanks
Hey Al, great idea. I don't know how big the model is, or what you're using for lighting and such. Here's what I've been doing. We have a solar and wind powered home in the Northern Great Lakes. The last few years, I've been going into the local school and teaching a solar power seminar to the 5th graders. I don't have a model home, but we just pile some stuff on a table, like a small radio, a couple lamps and portable DVD player. For fun I've added a string of LED Christmas lights and a DC fan from a truck stop. All this stuff is hooked to a 12 volt battery for a trolling boat motor. The Christmas lights and one compact flourescent bulb are powered by a small inverter from the auto parts shop, which is also connected to the battery. I show the kids our little, "home," and then we pull the plug from the wall, which isn't actually doing anything anyway, and they see that a power failure doesn't affect it. Next I have a 50 watt solar panel with a DC plug on a long wire that the kids take outside and set up facing the sun, and when we plug it into the battery, they can see the voltage come up some. A couple ammeters will demonstrate how much the house is using, and how much the panel is delivering. On a good day, the panel can run all the stuff in our house and have a little left over to charge the battery. This is a great way to illustrate how a solar power home works, and the kids like getting involved.
Afterward, we have a field trip up to our house so they can see an actual working solar home first hand, but the classroom activity is really fulfilling even without the field trip. What I would suggest is you look for a battery like this, maybe 75 to 100 amp hours if you can find one, or larger, then shop for a panel, not more than 50 watts. This way the panel will not overcharge your battery if it is plugged in for an hour or so without any load on the battery. I don't know if your model will hold this battery, or you could add a shed in the yard for it. Then for effect, put in a switch that switches the entire model home load from the battery to a 12 volt converter that plugs into the wall. You could simulate a power failure by unplugging it, and then turn on the battery. Lots of possibilities.
There's a great mag out that gets into the nuts and bolts of all this stuff, Home Power Magazine. Our home was even featured in it a couple times. I suggest subscribing to it online, it isn't expensive, then use their search engine to look for an article called, "Trying the Small System First." It is all about what you are doing. Good luck with your project, and take care...Rudydoo
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