Micro Renewable Energy Systems As A
Vehicle For International Awareness
Narayanan Komerath
Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering,
Georgia Institute of Technology
Atlanta
ASEE 2010-1585
1
What are MRES and Why Are They Interesting?
•Micro: Less than 3kW (one family or small shop)
•Renewable: “Free” and inexhaustible. Solar, wind, hydro, tide, biomass
•Energy: Capacity to do work. Energy per unit time is “power” in watts or KW.
•System: Includes all the various items that make it successful.
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
SUMMARY OF THE PAPER
•Experience from 3 years of course offerings of a course on Micro Renewable Energy Systems.
•Students come with strong motivation to help solve major global problems.
•Individual assignments reveal the differences between the constraints, resources and perspectives in
the US and elsewhere.
•Opens avenues for students with experiences in other countries to contribute their perspectives.
•International awareness aspect is seen to be a good vehicle and attractor to learn across disciplines.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
COURSE OUTLINE: TECHNICAL ASPECTS
1. General exploration of MRES. Estimate needs of a typical family. 1 to 3 KW range translates into a 6
to 10 square meter footprint, suitable for backyards or rooftop “terraces”.
2. Ideas of conversion efficiency thermodynamics and laws of physics. Absolute upper limits on the
power available, and then on the possibility of capturing that power for useful purposes. Figure of Merit
as the metric for device efficiency.
3. Generation at point of use. Basic conversion efficiency vs. fuel transport, conversion to and from line
power, grid transmission efficiency, and conversion from electric to mechanical work. Local
employment, free & distributed availability of renewable energy, land costs.
5. Broad range of ideas for energy extraction and conversion explored quickly to convey perspective
6. System design concepts and methods
7. Smart Grid and distributed generation.
8. Technology surveys: Wind, Solar PV, Solar thermal, Biofuels
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
GENERATION AT POINT OF USE CAN BE FAR MORE EFFICIENT THAN CENTRALIZED GENERATION
Example: Operate water pump, or grind flour.
Central Architecture Efficiency
MRES Efficiency
Fuel transport: 0.9
Conversion to mechanical work: 0.5
Conversion to electric: 0.5
Grid Transmission: 0.8
Conversion to mechanical work: 0.5
Net: 0.9*0.5*0.5*0.8*0.5=0.09 = 9%
Conversion to mechanical work: 0.2
= 20%?
Note: Need for storage reduces efficiency, but water-head storage is still quite efficient.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
COURSE OUTLINE: PUBLIC POLICY / INTERNATIONAL ISSUES
Climate Change Issues
•US engineering students appear to be unaware of issues, but keenly interested in hearing all aides,
European students keenly aware of European status. Students from other parts of the world bring very
different perspectives.
•Runup to Copenhagen conference enabled discussion from North American, European and African
perspectives.
•Focus on identifying the economics and public policy relevance to viability of technical concepts.
•This discussion set the context for cooperative problem-solving.
Distributed Generation policies and impacts on different stakeholders
Smart Grid issues and opportunities
Implications for micro distributed generation
Strategy Difference Based on Population Density
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
DISTRIBUTED GENERATION IN DENMARK
DG Enables Increased
Role of Renewables
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
ASSIGNMENTS
1. Individual assignment, compare realities in 2 regions, one “developed” and one “developing”
2. Requirements definition for proposed system: Teams of 2.
3. Technical System Final Report. Teams of 2.
4. Final Exam: Individual Business Plan.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
OBSERVATIONS
Students went with original choices of regions, but they also had freedom to choose other regions.
Some of the students have been natives of the regions that they chose, but others are not, and chose the
regions purely out of interest in learning about them.
Some students had already volunteered as testers of Smart Meters at home, and were thus excited to learn
of the prospective advantages of the Smart Grid, and employment opportunities in its various aspects. This
topic again brought out discussions from international students, as such technologies are spreading faster in
Europe and Southeast Asia.
Support for increased depth in coverage of individual technologies. Students proved thirsty for this depth and
willing to do the reading to enable it. Assigned reading material was voluminous, but appeared to be used
quite well in developing project work.
At the culmination of the course, and in fact through the latter third of the semester, students were developing
team project reports.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
GEOGRAPHICAL COVERAGE
Assignment 1: compare realities in 2 regions. Definition broadened from “One US State vs 1 undeveloped nation”.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
CONCEPTS EXPLORED
•Old Lady of the Gobi: Solar Concentrator Woodstove
•Woodstoves with thermoelectric generation
•Solar PV
•Vertical Axis wind turbine
•Bioreactor
•Algae Biodiesel microfarming, land co-use
•Agricultural Energy Use Planner
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Concepts being developed at Georgia Tech MRES lab
Tesla Turbine.
EduKitchen: Clean woodstove
thermoelectric power generator
Vertical axis wind turbine
1KW solar thermal-power
Land co-use for Algae
biodiesel and dairy/ mushroom
farming
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
LEARNING ACROSS DISCIPLINES
Success of MRES requires integration of many concepts and disciplines. No single “magic”
solution. Most engineers and most faculty are “experts” trained in one specialty, afraid to move into
“other people’s” grazing grounds.
“No flexibility in curriculum, what we can do?”
Students are enthusiastic, but need careful, disciplined guidance.
Issues include all fields of science and engineering (incl. bio-sciences) plus:
•Economics for Business Case innovation
•Local Culture
•Aesthetics
•Customer care skills
•System design
•Public Policy
•Global Warming/Climate Change debate
•Courage and confidence based on discipline, to depart from textbook superstitions.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
INSTRUCTOR’S OBSERVATIONS
1. Opportunity for students to contribute their own experience.
2. European students of today come with considerable knowledge about Climate Change and
distributed generation issues, and gladly share their observations.
3. Students from India and China have experience of conservation measures and rural practices
from ancient times and modern initiatives.
4. Korea, Japan, Israel offer modern experience with urban developments.
5. Students raised on US farms find that they have truly unique perspectives to convey on the
technological and cultural issues of farm life, something that people brought up in cities have no
opportunity to learn otherwise.
6. Opportunity for all students to learn about other regions
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
OPPORTUNITY TO COLLABORATE WITH STUDENTS IN OTHER REGIONS
1. Undergraduate team in India in 2008 developed low-rpm electric generator and constant-voltage
controller.
2. Interactions with US student team did not work : different timelines etc.
3. Present interaction with undergrad team in India for 2010-2011.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
CONCLUSIONS
A new cross-disciplinary course on Micro Renewable Energy Systems, offers opportunity for students to
share local and international experience
b. International students get an opportunity to express their experience.
c. US students gain knowledge about conditions in other countries through experience of technical
colleagues, in joint projects.
d. Several reports of comparative experience between different regions have been collected
from 3 teachings of the course.
e. The international aspects appear to have more potential than the cross-disciplinary aspect of the course.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
The author expresses gratitude to the Georgia Institute of Technology’s Office of International Education
for the initial support to develop the laboratory parts of this course.
Recent support from NASA for the “EXTROVERT” cross-disciplinary learning project under NASA Grant
NNX09AF67GS01 enables development of cross disciplinary resources.
Mr. Anthony Springer is the Technical Monitor.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
STUDENTS’ OBSERVATIONS
Israel, like Pennsylvania, depends largely on coal, but does not have the additional benefit of a large
nuclear power plant. In Israel the use of solar water heaters is nearly universal, but there are additional
opportunities to incorporate biomass, wind and low-grade geothermal sources at the kibbutz level. A
secondary observation is that because of the prevalent use of solar water heaters, there may be little
roof ideal space left to install photovoltaic or other rooftop collectors. Pennsylvania has potential wind
resources in the Erie, Scranton and Lancaster areas, and is already the 18th among US states in
installed wind power. Israel on the other hand, appears to have little potential for wind energy
extraction near the most populated areas.
Egypt and California provides interesting observations. Egypt is currently dependent on fossil power
(from natural gas reserves) to a large extent, followed by hydroelectric power, mainly from the Aswan
dam on the Nile, which is used mainly for industries in the Nile valley. Energy demand from agriculture
is very small, because farming practices have not changed much from ancient times, and depend
primarily on manual or animal labor. There are plans to bring a 1-GW nuclear plant on line to meet
some of the demands of growth. However, the coastal areas, especially the Mediterranean coast with
its steady winds, provide excellent potential for wind farms, and this is seen as a major new source. A
tough issue in Egypt is how to reach the outlying communities, where the electric power grid is not well
developed. In these regions, small-scale solar converters provide an excellent alternative. The
provision of water heating can help alleviate problems due to unsanitary water sources. In comparison,
California is much advanced in using renewable sources, but can take advantage of integrated solarwind solutions at the micro level.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
A comparison of southern Brazil and Zimbabwe provides some stark observations. In Zimbabwe, hyperinflation
and deprivation or disruption of many services that were nominally available, provides extreme challenges.
Southern Brazil, on the other hand, has had to depend on local sources, mostly privatized. Brazil does have
massive natural resources and a developed economy in the densely populated coastal regions, but there are
vast areas with virtually no development. The dependence on annual rainfall is heavy, and causes major
problems when there are sharp variations in rainfall. These include disruption of hydroelectric power supply
and the power grid. The Brazilian example of recovery from economic collapse and shifting to local selfreliance provides an encouraging prospect for recovery in Zimbabwe. Major sources of untapped power are
the vast biomass reserves in both nations, as well as the micro hydel power potential from the mountainous
regions.
Ireland provides sharp contrasts with Namibia. Ireland (at least until recently) was one of the wealthier
nations of Europe, but had to import 91% of its energy. Residential energy usage is 36% above that of the
EU average. CO2 emissions from home energy use is a concern. Two major untapped sources are the
strong winds and the abundance of water, along with hydroelectric potential at a micro level. In addition,
Ireland also has some of the best wave energy sources on the planet.
Namibia is relatively poor and mostly rural, with a low population density and a large desert area. Biomass
resources are scarce, and so is water. However, solar energy is abundant, and offshore wind and shoreline
wave resources are some of the best in the world – though of course not suitable for exploitation at a micro
level.
The Bahamas and Florida posed an attractive comparison problem, since both have some unique features
due to the annual hurricane season, and similar climates. The Bahamas import all their energy supplies, so
solar and wind resources are attractive options for micro power generation.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
EduKitchen: Clean woodstove power generator
•
•
•
Thermoelectric power extraction
Regulated fan to optimize fuel/air for best combustion/ least pollutants
Battery/charger with LED lights
•
•
•
•
Needs:
Thermo-electric conversion; Combustion fuel/air ratio control for least smoke / best heat release
DC LED lighting for kitchens: power control for storage and LED.
Heating Value and optimal equivalence ratio for Kerala wood fuels.
Expanded version: Smokeless leaf waste incinerator / biogas generator.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
•
•
•
•
Simple compressor for long-term use
Controller to optimize system efficiency
best distribution between thermal,
mechanical, thermoelectric and PV
Solar heat engine design for low
temperature gradient
Optimized positioning for a given location:
Adaptive learning system.
Tesla Turbine.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
Algae-Mushroom Experiment
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Vigneshwar Venkat, School of AE
•Food-grade mushrooms generate CO2
•Algae grow on sunlight, water, CO2 and
some nutrients.
•Algae provide biodiesel.
Larger issue:
How to enable algae biodiesel farming at the
single family level, with land and resource
co-usage for other useful purposes?
Technical needs:
Long-duration, fine precision control of optimal
conditions
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Retail Beamed Power Transmission
Micro- and mm-wave – Line AC generation, transmission, beam pointing, reception.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Prelude: Extraterrestrial In situ resource utilization (ISRU) technologies
Research Leading Edge:
•
Maximize efficiency in low temperature waste heat utilization
•
Gas separation and purification, methane and H2 extraction
•
Natural Gas Fuel Cells
•
Oxygen and metal extraction
•
High-temperature water splitting: hydrogen extraction
•
Beamed retail power
•
High intensity solar photovoltaics
•
Solar thermal power generation
•
Thermoelectric power generation
•
Solar refrigeration without battery storage
Question: How to bring these technologies to villages and urban homes?
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Why Micro?
Because the Sun shines and rain falls everywhere
“The Rain, it falleth on The Just,
And on the Unjust fella..
But mostly on The Just, because
The Unjust stealeth The Just’s Umbrella”
- Anon
In urban and micro-divided rural landscapes, “micro” is a good way to
capture a large percentage of solar, wind, rainwater and biomass sources.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Background
• Energy crunch and Climate Change concerns motivate a project-based learning
environment to acquire lifelong learning and knowledge integration skills.
• Hypothesis: Public participation through mass-marketed, family-sized power
generation at the point of use, is an effective route to sustainable energy
independence for much of the world.
• Question: How to develop renewable power generators suited to a single family’s
needs
• Paper describes issues and results from 2 teachings of a campus-wide course set at
the senior elective level in Engineering, open to all students at junior level and above,
and some engineering sophomores.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Intellectual challenge:
Content and methods for cross-discipline learning
• Energy curricula spread all over campus.
• Graduate curricula on “non-conventional energy”: large-plant context.
• Project courses appropriate for small-scale sustainable design.
• Grassroots community efforts recognize need to integrate renewable energy with economics and
sustainable development.
• International teams have worked on community projects, e.g., Engineers Without Borders and MIT’s
Solar Turbine lab.
Learning Resources
• Spread out over the internet, and in research and project reports.
• Web-based resources have to be found for specific parts of MRES. Reports from Think Tanks and the
Congressional Research Service are valuable summaries.
• Selected book: Vaitheeswaran, “Power to The People: How The Coming Energy Revolution Will
Transform An Industry, Change Our Lives, And Maybe Even Save Our Planet”. Farar, Stroux and
Giroux, New York, First Edition, 2003
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Cross-Disciplinary Challenge
MRES issue
Discipline / Skill
Home schools
Wind turbine
Aerodynamics, Electric
motors/generation. Policy,
economics, electric power
AE, ME, EE, Management
Closed-cycle thermal
Fluid and Thermo dynamics
generator
ME, AE, ChE
Distributed Energy
Systems; Community Economics; system engineering
buy-in
Industrial / Systems Engg.,
Public Policy, Economics,
International Studies
Transmissions
Fluid Mechanics, machine design, Automotive Engg., ME
Spacecraft thermal
systems
Heat transfer, Thermodynamics,
fluid dynamics, space sciences
Biodiesel
Biology, Environmental
Biology, chemistry, physics, Small
Sciences, Agriculture, Bio
farm economics
Engg.
AE, ME, Physics,
Chemistry
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Course Outline
• Introduction to Micro Renewable Energy Systems.
• General process of System Design
• Global energy needs and usage in different sectors
• Kyoto Protocol, Carbon Market
• Distributed Generation
• Thermodynamics survey
• Economics; Case for micro-renewables
• Technology surveys (several modules)
• Project discussions and presentations
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
COURSE CONTENT
• General discussion lectures: philosophy, issues, how to estimate parameters.
• Demographics assignment of the student’s choice: One US State vs. one foreign region, compare
needs, realities, opportunities, and apirations. Student choices: Iceland, UK, India, East Africa,
Canada, Australia, and several US states. Hungary, Haiti, Jamaica, Singapore, Bangladesh,
Patagonia, Japan.
• Readings from Think Tanks and Congressional Research Service Reports: Excellent templates,
learning experience, surprising challenge !
• Requirements definition: Discussion on basic conceptual system design process. Formalizes
knowledge and emphasizes customer and market early.
• Each student is assigned to two projects, one as leader and one as supporter, so that each team will
had two members.
• Two lab testbeds developed: Vertical axis wind turbine at our 42-inch low speed tunnel, and Solar
collector/heat engine.
• Take-home final exam is a concise individual Business plan.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Some Strategies
• Interspersed lectures on different topics: Lectures on each technology in a "timesharing" manner. Required Reading material. Instructor helped distill essence of
each project area.
• Project meetings: Lively discussions.
• Visiting speaker on economics: Recent PhD, working in Strategic Consulting.
• Developing Project Documents: adapted from industry/DARPA formats.
• Feedback discussions on presentations: Students were asked to list questions and
discussion as a course assignment.
• Mid Semester presentation “crunch-time” worked very well compared to usual “endof-semester presentation” in inducing thought and organization.
Picture from the UROP
“Technique”, April 11, 2008.
symposium,
courtesy
of
the
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Lessons from first teaching of MRES
Aspect
Learning
resources
Skills
Lesson
Students pleased to be able to learn as needed, with proper introductory
lectures and posted reading materials on the course website. Liked
provision of very basic material to help in the design process, applying
concept already “learned” elsewhere.
Generating estimates from physical laws, common sense and
benchmarking, is a critical skill in working across disciplines. Surprising
difficulty in reading Congressional reports and other resources that dealt
with policy issues. Engineering students need more guidance on economics
and cost modeling.
Mid-semester presentations work. Getting others to understand the thrust of
Teams and the effort was difficult until students made their poster presentations.
reporting Interactions with other universities are slow, but being aware of their
projects is of great value.
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Post-course e-mail survey
1. Why take the course? Expectations vs. Outcome
2. What would you like to see added/deleted from this course?
3. Balance between class lectures, class discussions, assigned readings,
outside readings & discussions with people outside the class.
4. Should the course go to a “3-hour lecture” format while retaining the
projects?
5. Compare intellectual demands / demand on critical thinking and
exploration, to other courses
6. Depth vs. breadth
7. Any other questions that should have been asked / comments
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Conclusions
• Micro Renewable energy systems (MRES) seen as a worldwide approach to
energy independence.
• Implementing MRES requires integration of knowledge from various branches
of science, policy and cultural issues in addition to engineering.
• Course open to students from all across a campus.
• Tested through two semesters. Format changed from 2-3-3 to 3-0-3, with
later “lecture periods” turning into discussions.
• Suite of 5 concepts selected for development.
• Outcomes assessment and alumni opinions show that the initiative,
independent study and teamwork aspects of the course are effective and
well-received, and alumni are comfortable in giving thoughtful opinions and
assessments.
• Obstacles remain in recruiting students from outside engineering and science.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Does an open cross-disciplinary course work?
• Fears at the beginning are real. Science student fears “engineering skills”,
engineers fear “culture / policy discussion”, both fear economics. Few US
students had heard of the Kyoto Protocol, and none knew what was really
involved.
• Engg. seniors had as much trouble with thermodynamics as those who had
never taken a thermo course.
• Common-sense estimation lights up eyes of all. Magical learning in team
projects as they see things working.
• Conclusion: Given enough time, all the students learn the essentials. Some
go far beyond. BUT.. recruiting non-engg. / science students remains a huge
hurdle. Mostly because of faculty superstitions ... :)
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ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Post-course e-mail survey.
1. Why take the course? Expectations vs. Outcome
• To learn more about development of different renewable energy systems and
recent technologies being used. Enjoyed opportunity to focus on wind energy.
Expected a bit more background.
• Micro-renewable energy often overlooked. Interested in local, non-grid
solutions, particularly in developing countries. “Design for the other 90%” of
the world without typical western resources.
• Course opened many options that I was able to use in my research in
developing applications using green energy.
• Found the concept of learning more about small scale systems and
developing our own ideas very attractive. Forced me to actively think and
come up with solutions, one of which (biofuels) I am currently researching.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Question: What would you like to see
added/deleted from this course?
• More background in individual technologies before splitting off into individual
projects. Have class explain their updated findings to the others.
• Include hands-on experience with devices. Develop tactile learning. Build a
few devices from plans, to get a feel for construction and energy balances.
• Survey contemporary commercial solutions
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Balance between class lectures, class discussions,
assigned readings, outside readings & discussions with
people outside the class. Should this balance be altered?
• Would have enjoyed further readings and background. Perhaps not assigned
reports, but more reference readings: Ex. A report on solar and then
discussion on that, a report on wind and then a discussion on that
• Good balance between class lectures, class discussions and projects. Every
class gave the opportunity for us to learn something from the instructor than
discuss is amongst our peers. We also worked in teams of two on two
projects that allowed us to use the classroom knowledge to gain some hands
on experience.
• Format was ideal. The course began with more of an emphasis on lectures,
shifted to discussions and then required us to read outside material as we
began working on our projects and finally lead to discussions and work
outside of class.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Should the course go to a “3-hour lecture” format
while retaining the projects? (Max is 3 credit
hours)
• Workload was manageable. I think with some additional readings, it would've
matched a typical elective class. Definitely less than a typical AE core class
however.
• Comparable to 3 credit hour senior capstone courses. Layout and workload
almost identical to the senior space design course I took in Fall 2008.
• Workload was very light at the start but increased quite exponentially during
project completion time. However, it was never overwhelming and on the
whole, probably comparable if not lower than most AE courses.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
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Compare intellectual demands / demand on critical
thinking and exploration, to other courses
• Project/research emphasis provided greater opportunity for critical thinking
and exploration. Format allowed students to stay interested in material by
developing their project. Appreciated focus on real-world market conditions.
Good to design for manufacture in a developing country. Refreshing
application of the practical. I use this aspect when talking to recruiters.
• Course required a lot of research and creativity because the subject material
is not frequently touched upon by many classes.
• Challenged me to think a lot more than most other courses at this level. I
loved the concept of actively coming up with a new solution to problems in our
assigned fields. Did not merely attempt to teach about present advances but
also improved our problem solving and professional presentation
methodology. Learned how to research and create professional reports too.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology
ASEE 2009-1585. Komerath: A Campuswide Course on Micro Renewable Energy
Systems
Depth vs. breadth
• Fine, but further background references would be helpful before splitting up
into projects. Perhaps better with continued depth throughout the semester in
the individual technologies/applications.
• Good balance. Maybe add a little about application of off-grid technologies in
America. Talk about zoning, expectations of power availability, materials. I
see America as a potential test bed for technology to be developed for areas
with fewer resources.
• Went into a lot of depth into our selected project topics and got an overview of
the others. While this is ideal, I would have maybe personally liked to explore
more extensively in 2-3 topics as well as have the overview. This might
however make the workload too big.
Micro Renewable Energy Laboratory, Daniel Guggenheim School of Aerospace Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology