I have used sketchup for a variety of different projects ranging from a small solar air heater made from cans, to a full sized net zero passive house. Below several projects are highlighted.
NET ZERO PASSIVE HOUSEThis house is designed to be net zero, producing as much energy as it consumes via photovoltaics, solar thermal, and passive solar heating. The solar thermal system and shading fins prevent sun from entering the home during the hot summer months and allow for full solar heat gain during the cold winter months. The multiple levels allow the homeowner to take advantage of convective cooling in the summer by opening the top windows in the loft and lower windows in the dining room.
*Additional information on this project posted on the Revit and Renewable Energy pages. |
SOLAR FOOD DEHYDRATORDuring my time as an Undergraduate Research Assistant at ASU I researched, designed, and built two solar thermal food dehydrators. These dehydrators acted as the dump load for our evacuated tube solar arrays during the summer months. The solar thermal systems are used to heat the greenhouses during the cold winter months via root zone heating. During the summer the greenhouses have more than sufficent heat so I designed a food dehydrator that would take advantage of this waste heat while providing the farmers with an alternate stream of income and preventing our systems from over heating.
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SOLAR THERMAL AIR HEATERMy design for this solar thermal can air heater was to reduce my energy consumption and carbon footprint while saving money. My apartment uses very inefficient and poorly designed electric CIELING heat! Yes thats right, my heat is supposed to radiate down from my cieling. Because my heat warms my upstairs neighbors floor better my living room, I designed a heater that uses a material I had an abundance of, EMPTY CANS. The heater was designed so that no penetrations had to be made through building enevelope due to the fact that I was renting my apartment. This design also recycles air from within my room rather than heating the cold outside air. The fan is triggered by an arduino micro processor I programmed to act as a differential controller. The heater was designed to be as cheap as possible using recycled materials, the fan is from an old computer, the collector is made of recycled cans, it is insulated with recycled cardboard, and the frame can be made from one sheet of 1/2" plywood.
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RENEWABLE ENERGY RESEARCH GREENHOUSEI drew this model as road map for the future of ASU's Sustainable Technology research facility. This new design allows future research to be done with four different growing methods; aquaponics, hydroponics, soil, and planters. All of these tables will be heated via root zone heating to more efficiently provide the heat where it is needed rather than heating the entire greenhouse. Heat from the solar thermal array is stored in a 800 gallon thermal battery that is filled with water. Due to water's high specific heat it retains a large number of Btu's for a long period time. The thermal battery is divided into two sections, one 200 gallon section that holds water at 120F and a 600 gallon section that is held at a lower temperature to serve as a thermal mass. Water from the high heat section of the battery is used to heat the plants via root zone heating while the fish pond is warmed with the lower temperature water from the 600 gallon section. A submersible pump is located inside the thermal battery to exchange water from one section to the other to help regulate and maintain temperatures.
*Additional information on this project posted on the Solat Thermal page. |
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT GREENHOUSE
During my senior year at Appalachian State University I lead a group of students in designing and installing a greenhouse heating system that uses 100% renewable energy. ASU's Sustainable Development (SD) Department provides an agroecology class both Spring and Fall semesters, during these classes they use a passive solar greenhouse to start their seeds before transferring them into the SD garden. During the fall semesters the class was forced to use electric heating mats that used copious amounts of electricity provided by a 200 foot drop cord ran from the existing building. The system we installed was comprised of two evacuated tube solar thermal collectors, PV modules, a thermal battery, and a food dehydrator. During the cooler winter months heat from the solar thermal array is stored in a thermal battery before radiating into the greenhouse at night. Electricity is provided by a 30 watt PV module supplying a small DC pump. During the warm summer months excess heat is produced by the solar thermal array, I designed a food dehydrator that utilizes this waste heat to dry and preserve food grown in the SD garden.
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