Solar Thermal and PV design for a Wisconsin Homeowner
Problem statement
The burning of fossil fuels is the primary cause of current climate change as when fossil fuels are burned, they release large amounts of carbon dioxide, a greenhouse gas, into the air. Greenhouse gasses trap heat in our atmosphere, causing global warming. The use of fossil fuels is extremely harmful for the environment and the human body and it is estimated that we will run out of fossil fuels in this century.The importance of renewable energy resources in our daily lives is clear to everyone. Decreasing our reliance on fossil fuels and using more and more renewable energy is one of the most pressing needs of the 20th century. Solar energy is a proven renewable resource and Solar PV accounted for 3.1% of global electricity generation in 2019 but this number needs to get bigger if we wish to preserve our only home yet, the Earth. Our client, Brian Reese lives in a 4100 square foot brick home in Wisconsin and would like to use economically viable solar energy technologies that would decrease his reliance on fossil fuels. The team is charged with evaluating the currently installed energy systems and developing potential thermal and photovoltaic solar energy systems including storage that will offset traditional energy usage. The end goal of the team is to determine detailed designs of the most promising options.
Team members
Justin Powell Jacoby – leader
Philip Damien Stahl – communicator
Manan Rahul Agrawal – accountant
Theodore Zheng Hong Lee – admin
Client
Brian Riese