Cabrillo College
Summer Energy Academy
• Funded by a 5 year NSF STEP Grant.
grant # DUE-0757114 (info at nsf.gov)
• The team: Dr. Susan Tappero, math (PI of the grant), Karen Groppi,
(engr), John Welch (phys), and Luis Sonsino (CEM)
• Part of a larger program at Cabrillo called STEEP (Science
Technology Engineering, Expanding Potential)www.cabrillosteep.org
• More info (and this presentation) on my website:
www.cabrillo.edu/~jwelch
• Contact me at jowelch@cabrillo.edu.
Goals of the Energy Academy:
• To increase the number of successful STEM majors at
Cabrillo College, especially from underrepresented
groups.
• To further an understanding of climate change and global
energy issues.
• To help students gain a basic “energy literacy,” with a
focus on electricity and solar technology.
• To give students a start toward careers in “green jobs.”
• To give students a positive, hands-on intro to science,
engineering, and math.
• To give students a “summer bridge” experience to help
them feel comfortable at the college.
• To give students a community service experience.
Our Students:
• 24 Students – all registered for the Fall semester.
• Mostly recent high school graduates.
• Undeclared majors and motivated students preferred.
• Roughly 50% Female Students.
• 25 - 60% Latino Students.
• 6 TA’s – Junior level and above STEM majors.
The Class
• 4 hrs/day M-F for 4 weeks during summer.
• Students receive $1000 stipend (with
perfect attendance).
• No college credits.
• Takes place in our physics lab.
Components of the Academy:
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Lessons on basics of energy and electricity
Educational Games
Hands-on projects and experiments.
Field Trips
Group Discussions
Journal keeping (data, discussion topics, notes)
Community Service
Internships
Lessons / Experiments - basic concepts
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What is energy (and power). Units.
Volts, Amps, Watts. Using multimeters.
Series and parallel circuits.
Energy storage methods.
Solar PV basics – short circuit current, open
circuit voltage, peak power
Bicycle Generator
Gives students a physical feel for what Watts are.
Shows that changing loads can be felt at the generation end.
Video at http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lcJ97dwpQME
Light Bulb Box – all 12VDC
Inverter box with 22F capacitor and
voltage regulator circuit
Model House Project
• After watching video of Solar Decathlon
and visiting a local off-grid home, students
are given 2 days to design and build
model houses that include working PV
with AA rechargeable batteries as storage.
• The houses need to incorporate passive
solar design.
Building a Model House
Wind Generator Project
Students make wind generators and study the effects of several
variables on power output, including: Blade length, blade pitch,
number of blades, generator gearing.
Good practice in manipulating variables and recording data.
Gearbox Motor available at Edmund Scientific ($20)
http://scientificsonline.com/product.asp?pn=3039118&bhcd2
=1248567029
Plastic corks used for hub. Welding rod pieces hot-glued to
blade connect blade to hub.
Peak Oil Game
Jars full of black beans simulate oil fields. As
time goes forward, extraction gets more difficult
and technology improves. Students graph
production for each “year” of the game.
Peak Oil Game Goals
- To get a feel for what ‘peak oil’ means and why it
happens.
- To understand that ‘peak oil’ doesn’t mean the
oil is all gone.
- To practice taking data and graphing it with
Excel.
- To have fun working in groups (an “icebreaker”).
- (Game instructions on my website.)
Fun for Physics Teachers Too!
Oil Game Graph
Production (Grams)
1000
800
600
400
200
0
0
2
4
6
8
10
Year
Discuss Results.
Compare student graphs with real-world graphs.
Electrical Grid Model/Game
Goals- To understand that the grid lacks storage.
- To understand the idea of an energy “mix” and
how it’s adjusted by utility companies.
- To understand “peak demand” and why power
companies must respond to changing loads.
- To see why the existing grid is not ideal for small
scale, local power generation.
- To introduce the concept of a ‘smart grid.’
Last Year- a water model
Students representing various “Power sources” pour
water into a tube, trying to keep water level
(“voltage”) constant as consumers drain tube into
reservoir at varying rates.
Instructor calls out changes such as “now it’s nighttime”,
“now it’s winter”, and consumers respond. One student is
designated as the “power manager” and directs the various
power sources to increase or decrease production.
New this year – Electrical version of
Grid Game
Students representing energy sources turn DC
generators connected in parallel. Power manager
directs the “energy mix” to keep a constant voltage
as instructor varies load and other variables.
Grid Game crude schematic.
Sources and loads can be at different distances from the
center, leading to a discussion on loss and local generation.
Extension Cord Project
After learning about the grid, students make
extension cords to learn about AC wiring
and to learn hands-on electrical skills.
Field Trips
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Local natural gas power plant.
Off-grid solar home
Grid tied solar home
Landfill with a cogeneration facility.
Moss Landing Power Plant –
natural gas
Visiting a local off-grid home.
Discussion/Journaling questions
• Students are given open ended questions to write and think about at
home, to be discussed the next day.
• Journals are also used to record experimental data and class notes.
Some example discussion
questions.
• How important will it be to reduce our population to get to
a sustainable energy situation?
• What are the costs associated with our current energy
use? Who pays them?
• Will science/technology alone be able to solve the
world's energy problems?
• Someone tells you that a tank full of gasoline holds the
same amount of energy as a person working 8 hours a
day for 4 years. Do you believe them? Can you figure a
way to check this?
Community Service Projects
Students prepare educational projects to take out and share with the
community.
The final week of the Academy is devoted to these projects.
Projects have included:
• Presentation to campus staff.
• Solar oven cookies around town.
• Renewable Energy movie for “kids.”
(downloadable at www.cabrillosteep.org)
• “Make and take” projects in elementary schools.
• “Energy Fair” for the public at local town square.
Internships
• Last year we funded 6 interns to do an
extensive energy audit on campus, in
conjunction with Campus Facilities.
• We’re currently looking for placements in
research labs, educational organizations,
etc. Let us know if you have any
connections!
Activity ideas for future years:
Energy Budget Activities
• Energy Budget spreadsheet activities
developed by Pat Keefe and Greg Mulder.
Students create future energy budgets and
face the limitations of their choices.
• These are available at:
http://www.oraapt.org/resources/energy
Salad Spinner Generator Project
Based on article by Timothy Moran in TPT, Jan 09.
Students make a generator using magnet wire,
neodymium magnets, and a salad spinner.
Salad Spinner Generator Project
• After some preliminary discussion and
tips, groups will tinker and see who can
make the most peak power.
• Tools include LED’s, flashlight bulbs, Oscopes, multimeters.
• My generator produced ~¼ Watt, using 4
neodymium magnets and 4 coils in series.
Resources:
• Cabrillo Energy Academy
– john.welch@cabrillo.edu
www.cabrillo.edu/~jwelch
• NEED Curriculum, Workshops, and Supplies,
Youth Awards Program
– www.need.org
• Idaho National Lab Energy site
– www.energyforeducators.org
• Energy Teachers
– energyteachers.org
• 2011 INL Physics Teachers Workshop
– Mostly nuclear for high school teachers