Solar Design Recommendations by Engineering Students
Approximately 20 students in ECE103 “Engineering and Problem Solving” presented their residential solar design specifications on December 14, 2009. Those students, led by Bassam Matar at Chandler-Gilbert Community College, were assigned to create a presentation recommending installation of solar panels and related electricity monitoring and conversion components to their class, just as they would to potential “clients.” As part of this assignment, students had to design a system that would be installed on a 2000-square foot home by addressing the efficiency of the panels, the types of inverters, batteries, charge controllers, and the economic modeling to find the return on investment. These factors were discussed by all students, with some finding a return in as little as 2 years, where others found them in 13 years. “We see so much in the news about solar panel installation, and the general public is not aware of the limiting factors that affect these systems. I wanted to give my students a realistic assignment that would help them understand that there was a lot more to these installations and the implications that has on making them affordable,” said Bassam Matar. Most students said they would recommend a system, but stated that higher rebates and incentives by utilities and government would help spur growth. The area of solar-thermal was seen as an advancing technology that may impact panel efficiency and overall adoption for residents. Students used programs such as Excel, SolidWorks, MatLab, and Google Sketch to illustrate their points. One group (pictured above) created a spreadsheet that would allow users to select different types of configurations and technologies to assess the costs involved. For more information, regarding the class, go to www.cgc.maricopa.edu/engineering.
(Nassar Sobh and Marcus Icedo review the spreadsheet they created using MatLab)
