Solar Energy
Course Description
Solar Energy is an INTRODUCTORY course with the use of some elementary equations and the use of spread sheets for some analysis.Renewable energy will be a integral part of future energy use in our world.
GOALS
-
1. Introduce the concept of renewable energy.
2. Knowledge of sources and applications of renewable energy
3. Knowledge of systems approach
Students will be able to:
1.
Calculate consumption and lifetimes of energy resources.
2. Compare
advantages and disadvantages of different renewable energy systems.
3. Calculate heat gain (passive, active solar) and loss for a
residential structure.
4. Calculate electricity produced by PV and
Wind systems (month, annual).
5. Estimate life cycle costs for
renewable energy systems
Course Information
TEXT: No official text.Previously The New Solar Home Book by Bruce Anderson and Michael Riordan was used. However, it is now out of print. There may be a copy in the local library.
Sequence is
the same as the Table of Contents. Your input is needed and welcome for
improving the multimedia aspects of the online course.
You will be expected to participate in the chat sessions and bulletin board. Questions in the bulletin board and the discussion will be an integral part of the course.
The grade book under Tools will show grades. Be sure and keep copy of all files sent to me, because I may have problems in down loading them or maybe even delete a file by mistake. Problems and tests are graded within one week of due date.Course Grade
| Midterm Test | 25% |
| Problem Sets | 25% |
| Project (Web preferred, paper accepted) | 15% |
| Questions and Activities | 10% |
| Final | 25% |
Notes to Students
WTONLINEWTOnline is the virtual university of West Texas A&M University. Classes started in the Summer of 97. In Fall 03, there were 110 courses with an enrollment of 4,260 students. Previous surveys indicate that seventy percent of the students prefer the online courses. One major factor is the savings to the students, in terms of driving time and other costs.
The main difference is WTOnline is a Learning University, in contrast to the traditional teaching and research universities. The instructor is a facilitator, a promoter of interaction, while the student is now primarily responsible for their learning. Interaction and participation is a key for a successful course and this is what makes Web Based Courses vastly different from correspondence courses.
A. WEB BASED COURSE
This is a web based course, but it is not
self paced because due dates are structured. This means the students are
doing the work with the instructor providing guidance. Username and
password for the course are issued when you first log on. You have
access to the course because you are in the WTAMU database, i.e.
registered and paid fees.
B. BULLETIN BOARD
Bulletin Board
is for answering questions posted by the instructor. After it is
posted, you can not change your answer. If you have suggestions for
questions for the bulletin board, send them to me by coursemail. Net
etiquette applies, especially since there is not anonymous
correspondence.
C. CHAT
Chat will be in the evening, and I
will have two sessions per week. You are expected to participate once
per week. Times to be determined from your input. Some projects or
assignments may be by groups, which means there may be chat sessions
without the instructor. Again net etiquette applies.
D.
ASSIGNMENTS
Problems, questions, and bulletin board questions will
be assigned. Assignments and due dates will be posted in the
announcements and the calendar. Most problems will have a value of 1.0.
Tools Upload will be used to send in assignments and return of graded
assignments.
E. OTHER MATERIAL OF INTEREST, INTERESTING LINKS
I want your comments and suggestions, especially on links related
to the course material. Send by coursemail. We are using Netscape
Communicator for composing web pages. You may use Netscape, Internet
Explorer or Safari browsers. Also send your comments on problems with
the online aspect of the course. If you have ideas for graphics and even
video clips which would help in understanding the material, please mail
them or send me coursemail.
F. REFERENCES, OTHER
INFORMATION
We want to move from regular
references to electronic references. You will be expected to
assist in finding and evaluating online links. Links should be
specific, as most people will not try more than 3 jumps to get the
information they want. In general students do not
pay any attention to references at the end of chapters, unless they are
doing a project or a paper on that topic. A number of books on
solar energy are available.
If you are planning on building a house, the best source of information is THE PASSIVE SOLAR ENERGY BOOK, Edward Mazria, Rodale Press, 1979.
G. The instructor is fallible
and not any smarter than you. Remember you are at the prime of ability
for intellectual endeavors.