Solar-powered carousel for hands-on teaching

This thesis is the design of a solar-powered carousel that informs the public about the setup and capabilities of solar-powered systems. It is designed as a mobile tool that can be moved among college campuses, businesses, and residential neighborhoods to provide hands-on demonstrations about solar power. Users will sit on the carousel and feel the changes in speed of rotation of the platform as the insolation striking the solar panel or the torque/load fluctuates. A mini fan can be turned on as an extra electrical load on the system to explore how the solar power handles the additional loads, and meters will display the current and voltage levels. Through both the changes in speed and the metered displays, this carousel will enable the user to both physically and visually get a feel for solar power. The user will also be able to view the setup of the solar panel, batteries, and motor because the top of the carousel is removable. The hope in designing this carousel is that it can serve as a tool to educate the public, and that people will walk away with a better understanding of solar power, and, hopefully, more inclined to purchase and setup photovoltaics to power their home or workplace.

Department dc:contributor.department

Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Dept. of Mechanical Engineering.

Grantor dc:publisher

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Year dc:date.issued

2005

Author dc:creator

• Shea, Erin C. (Erin Colleen)

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Louis L. Bucciarelli, Jr.

• Mechanical Engineering.

Statement dc:rights

• M.I.T. theses are protected by copyright. They may be viewed from this source for any purpose, but reproduction or distribution in any format is prohibited without written permission. See provided URL for inquiries about permission.

Licence dc:rights.uri

• http://dspace.mit.edu/handle/1721.1/7582

Language dc:language.iso

eng

Handle dc:identifier.uri

http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/32918

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:dspace.mit.edu:1721.1/32918