OLLI Course 2017 | "Review of Renewable Energy"

OLLI Course, Spring 2017

"Review of Renewable Energy"

OLLI at UAH is an organization for 50+ adults who enjoy learning, laughing, questioning, and sharing with other lifelong learners.

OLLI supports healthy aging, provides intellectual stimulation, and offers many

opportunities for social interaction.

This spring, Doug organized & offered a course on renewable energy thru OLLI on the UAH campus.

It consisted of 6 classes taught by local experts :

4/13 The Solar Big Picture Daniel Tait

4/20 A Solar House Michele Sneed

4/27 Photovoltaics Doug Elgin

5/4 Ground Source Heat Pumps Keith Key

5/11 Energy Conservation Doug Elgin

5/18 Other Renewable Energy Sources Doug Elgin

Solar (PV) Panel Prices are Rapidly Coming Down

as # of Installation Rise

in Last 10 Years

"Review of Renewable Energy" 2017 OLLI Course - 6 Classes

"The Solar Big Picture" Apr 13 by Daniel Tait of Energy Alabama

Energy Alabama focuses on energy policy in AL and educating the public

in the past, energy generation has been centralized
in the future, with a smart grid & microgrids, energy generation can be distributed, reducing the waste of lost electricity ( also reduces the size & # of power lines
smart grids can handle energy as a 2-way street, monitoring the flow & store of electricity during off peak times
3 trends

Decentralization
Zero Marginal Cost
The 3 Laws (Moore's Law, Metcalfe's Law, and Sach's Law)

power outages due to weather cost the US Economy $20-40 billion/year
At least 61% of all energy in the United States is wasted (38% within buildings)
$0.5 trillion in investment we could save $1.9 trillion in energy costs in buildings
solar industry growth means jobs !!!
PV Systems cost has gone down by 75% in 10 years (from $8/W to $2/W for residential, note businesses get to Accelerated Depreciation on fed taxes)
current Internal rate of return is almost 15% on a PV System (the cost of electricity saved, due to generation by your system, is over 3 times the cost of an installed PV system
for the future of sustainable energy, these policies need to change

Standardized Interconnection Standards
3rd Party Ownership
ease of local permitting

2016 solar Report Card Overall Grade for most of AL (not TVA part of AL) is F

"A Solar House"

Apr 20 by Michele Sneed

link

Michele, a retired teacher, has completed an ultra green house from the ground up about 10 years ago.

Her house demonstrates

construction reducing energy consumption
Solar Panel system
Solar Hot Water system,
Geothermal H/C,

1. Construction reducing energy consumption

Length of house faces South/North
materials used have little pollutants to indoor air
construction materials were local as possible
2" x 6" studs in the outside walls (instead of the conventional 4”) adds insulated buffering space from the outside temperature (sprayed full of soy-based foam insulation.)
Paints/Finishes with low VOCs, no particle boards, no wall to wall carpets
Sustainable supplementary heat from wood burning stove
sky windows … ledge below for reflection of light into house
gutters collect rainwater

2. Geothermal heat pump uses free thermal energy from the earth & lasts 30 years

3. Solar Panel system

9K of solar panels produce more electricity per year than the house uses, earns her money from the Utility Co.

4. Solar Hot Water system produces hot water saving over 1/2 on electricity

Go Green & Conserve

keep the thermostat at 65 degrees in winter & at 78 in summer
collect rainwater into a pond or into other containers for watering
recycle & compost
eat organic, grow a garden with Heirloom Seeds
read ingredient labels on foods
choose fuel efficiency
use clothesline for drying
Learn about permaculture

Solar Industry Growth = U.S. Jobs !!!

Solar Industry Growth Rate vs. Solar Jobs

Grid Parity

When electricity from alternative energy is equal to or cheaper than the price of buying it from the power company

more details & photos of Sneed Home

How Does a Solar Panel generate electricity?

The silicon wafer is the basic component in each solar cell. This silicon wafer is processed with one side charged + and the other side charged - . When light hits it, in the form of photons, electrons are "excited" & flow to the other side. This creates a current. This current is then transferred to electricity in your house.

Most solar panels are garanteed for 25 years with only a 20% degradation in efficiency.

"All About PV"

Apr 27 by Doug Elgin of ASA

Doug is the past President of ASA

How a PV (Solar panel) Works - a silicone wafer is doped with negative charge on 1 side & positive charge on the other. The photons of sunlight ‘excite’ the electrons and cause them to flow, producing current
types of PV - Monocrystalline Silicon, Polycrystalline Silicon & Other :

Amorphous

CdTe

Thin film

Perovskite

‘Putting it together’ terminology of the most common sold, Silicon :

several PV cells (a silicon wafer) make up a module that are encapsulated in a resin, covered by strengthened glass & filmed with a protective coating & supported by a frame, several modules make up an PV array/system

some of the pros of installing a PV system – saves $ on Utilities for at least 30 years, does not pollute, provides backup power, …
some of the cons – initial cost is expensive & payback is slow (~ 10 yrs)
2 types of installations 1) grid-tied & 2) off-grid/not connected to the Electric Co. (needs a battery & battery controller)
PVs can be mounted to the roof or on the ground (Reflectors can increase the output up to 20%)
in addition trackers can allow PVs to follow the sun, increasing the electrical output of the system
the cost of a PV panel today is about $1/output watt and still decreasing in cost
An array is rated at its peak power output, but 1) ½ of the day - it’s night, 2) Inverter losses, 3) Cloudy periods & 4) Off-axis light
Cost & Payback Example – Install a 5 kW PV System
cost before incentives - $17.5 K
Incentives

Federal – 30% tax credit
Huntsville Utilities – buys PV generated power at retail & $1,000 installation incentive
Nexus – 30%, $3,000 max – requires energy audit.

Net cost (after above) is $11.6 K
Income / yr is $ 853.
After 12 years, you have recouped all your expenses & after 30 years you’ve made $ 11.8 K
Grid parity is when the cost of generating power from solar panels is at or below the cost from the utility company. It depend on your state, but as a nation we are very close to it.
PV costs are decreasing at a trend of 7%/yr, but this curve may be bottoming out
Off-grid system requires a battery – battery (only lasts 6 – 15 yrs)
Battery types 1) Flooded (lead-acid), 2) AGM, 3) Gel
Conserve Electricity 1st
“Soft” cost of a PV system is 2-4 times the cost of panels – Permit/Inspect, Install, Monitor performance
Financing Options 1) Buy outright, 2) nothing-down financing, 3) Lease, 4) PPA, 5) Community Solar

"Ground Source Heat Pumps"

May 4 by Keith Key of Geothermal Solutions

Geothermal/Ground Source Heat Pump uses the constant temperature (65-67 degrees) in the ground to exchange heat in winter & cool in the summer with your indoor air
although the up-front cost is 2-3 times more, the operating cost saves you over 1/2 the money used for electricity over a traditional heat pump
13 SEER (Seasonal Energy Efficiency Rating) means for each 1 watt of Electricity, 13 btu’s is output
Standard Heat Pumps are effective until around 35 degrees outdoors ($1.00 in $3.00 out) & must have back up heat (usually electric strip heat) for weather under 35 degrees
in winter, Geothermal Systems doesn’t create heat by burning fossil fuels but collects it from the earth & transfers/moves it into your house
with a Geothermal Heat Pump the outdoor unit, outdoor fan, defrost cycle & additional refrigerant & electrical connections are eliminated
only moving parts are the pump & blower, this means less maintenance & longest life span of any H/C system
In addition, in the cooling mode the excess heat from the house is used to heat hot water for use
Geothermal Heat Pumps are rated in EER, not SEER : 16 SEER is equal to 13 EER
traditional returns $1 of heat for every $1-$3 (depending on outside temperature) spent on electricity while geothermal returns $5 of heat for $1 of electricity
underground pipes that exchange the temperature are called a loops : closed loop 1) vertical 2) horizontal & 3) pond (coiled on bottom of pond) and open loop, well water system
loops have 55 year No Leak warranty
vertical loops go straight down & horizontal loops go down 6 – 10 ft & then run horizontally
Geothermal Benefits

- energy savings up to 60%

- safer - no flame or fumes

- quiet operation

- more even heat

- no noisy outdoor unit

- less maintenance

- long equipment life

- clean and green

email Keith at kkey@geoengr.com

"Energy Conservation"

May 11 by Doug Elgin of ASA

Doug is the past President of ASA

The USA is the largest consumer of home energy in the world
in Huntsville, electricity costs $1,200 - $2,000 / year
go to www.energyright.com & request a survey !!!
professional energy audit costs about $300.
in US, biggest use is heating and cooling, 2nd is all appliances (Refrigerator accounts for about 20% of household electricity) {in the South cooling is the biggest use of electricity, at 16%}
washing clothes in cold water saves about $150 / year
cheap tricks – put gaskets on outlets and switches, use space heaters, use ceiling fans, switch to CFL (uses 25% of electricity) & LED uses 17% of electricity), insulate water heater & pipes, install programmable thermostat
cheap tricks – plant shade trees, caulk/weather strip doors & windows
not so cheap tricks – seal HVAC ducts, storm windows (reduces heat loss by over 25%), window shades, reflective films, or screens (block up to about 60% of heat from sunlight)
expensive investments – switch to Energy Star appliances, HE washer, upgrade HVAC to SEER of at 13-18, attic insulation to R-30
GSHP (Ground Source Heat Pump) pays for itself in 4-10 years & saves 60% in electricity (equivalent to 40 SEER) & lasts at least 3 times longer
new construction –architecture, light color metal roof (save up to 20% on cooling costs), Clerestory windows, skylights
Insulation – attic at R30 – R60, floor at R19 – R25, walls at R5
Solar Water Heating pays for itself in 5 yrs
Energy Star qualified items are 15 to 20% more efficient than conventional units
Solar Panels (PV) pay for themselves in 10 yrs, after that you are making money for at least another 20 yrs

"Other Renewable Energy Sources" May 18

by Doug Elgin

Doug is the past President of ASA

Renewable energy is derived from natural processes that are replenished (“renewed”) on a SHORT time scale
Renewables reduces GHGs & decrease the need for oil which is getting more expensive & harder to find
in the world, 17% of energy used is from renewables & 80% is from fossil fuels
Renewable Power Sources

Biomass (like trees and switchgrass) - 71% of renewables
Hydropower (like hydroelectric dams)
Biofuels (like 10% ethanol gasoline) – reuse the CO2 emissions & release Oxygen
Wind (wind turbines) - potentially provide more electric power than we consume {Denmark gets 20% of their energy from wind}
Solar (Solar Hot Water & Photovoltaics & Concentrated Solar Power) Concentrated Solar Power focuses sunlight unto water in a glass receiver, the water is heated to make steam, steam runs turbines that convert energy into electricity
Geothermal (like geysers)
Ocean power (tidal generators)

Greenhouse Effect & Greenhouse Gases (GHG) – GHG’s (such as carbon dioxide, methane & water molecules) hold the heat from the earth around the earth by keeping the heat from dissipating into space.
Fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) and deforestation effects have increased the concentration of carbon dioxide (CO2) by 40% since the beginning of the industrial revolution (120 yrs)
Power stations & Industry is responsible for over 50% of the CO2 emissions
Nuclear power is not renewable but produces virtually no CO2, runs day & night, its source is sustainable/unlimited, safe & the plant although costs $24 billion, lasts a very long time (60 yrs)
in the world, nuclear produces 16% of all power, France is 80 % & several countries in Europe is at least 30%
US produces the most nuclear energy in the world, but it’s only 20% of all our energy needs
downside of nuclear : 1) no way to dispose of radioactive waste, 2) possible disasters, 3) escalating costs, & 4) life cycle costs may be higher than competing sources
solar power is similar cost (and continually getting cheaper) than nuclear for the same output