Solar-thermal Heating System
Problem statement
Our team will be participating in the Solar Decathlon, which is a national competition that challenges teams to “reduce whole-building energy consumption…generate clean energy that is needed on-site, and [interact] with local grid operations” [1]; through solar thermal systems, specifically. Considering about 71 percent of the energy consumption in a Wisconsin household is used for heating purposes [2], a renewable energy based thermal system could have a significant impact on decreasing a household’s carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide emissions have been linked to various environmental issues, including droughts, climate change, flooding, etc. Implementing renewable energy systems could help decrease fossil fuel consumption, therefore decreasing carbon dioxide emissions. An average household in Wisconsin consumes about 703 kWh of energy per month [3]. That is enough energy to charge your cell phone for 385 years. Considering this, along with the fact that “solar heating and cooling systems can provide about 80% of the energy used for space heating and water heating needs” [4], implementing a renewable energy based thermal system could eliminate about 980 pounds of carbon emissions every month. Our goal is to design a more consumer-friendly solar thermal system that will be a component in a net-zero energy house design for the Solar Decathalon.
Team members
Tyler Graczyk – leader
Sam Czupich – communicator
Elizabeth Bruggink – accountant
Jacob Wetjen – admin
Client
Solar Decathlon Competition