solar wind and hydroelectric for school

[Fita1300]

I need advice of feasibility of a system for students to study and track alternative energy sources. My thought was a small pond maybe 500 gallons with a solar/wind turbine powered pump lifting the water to about ten feet off the ground. It would then fall back down through a hydroelectric turbine to create additional power. Hopefully the system would power the pump, any lighting, and with luck enough power to run the laptop/Chromebook that would be tracking power output, water flow, wind speed, etc. I need advise on what wind turbine "kit" I could use - while windy almost everyday, most likely 3m - 5m per second. Most of what I see is either classroom sized or whole house sized. How large of is needed to provide enough water to "fall" through the hydroelectric turbine, and what size hydro electric turbines might be available.
I would have to write a small grant to the school district for approval and this would likely be $1000 to $5000 depending how immersive I can be. Is this something that can be done on this scale - size and price. I think it would be fun for students (11 to 14 year old) to research and design the system.

 

[DIYrich]

Calculate the watts of the wind turbine.
Calculate how much water (gpm) you can pump 10 ft high using those watts.
Calculate how much energy that gpm can generate falling through the water turbine.

Wild guess is that you will be lucky to get 30% of the power out.

 

[Q-Dog]

You don't have to build anything. You should be able to prove it won't work with math.

 

[Q-Dog]

It would then fall back down through a hydroelectric turbine to create additional power.

It doesn't work that way. It takes more power to pump the water up than the water can make when it falls. There is no additonal power. Friction, pumping losses, etc. have a cost. It would be more efficient to use solar to power stuff directly.

I suppose it could be a way to teach how there is no free lunch.

 

[Fita1300]

I was thinking more about tracking the power produced using the different systems, than actually producing enough wattage to power outside the system itself. Solar would be the main source for the system, wind to aid during night and cloudy days, and hydroelectric just because its another source. I see it as an ongoing club activity, where the students do the design, build and tracking .Classes on campus could tap in and look at the history, daily fluctuations, etc.
The solar configuration I can do. I am not familiar with the components for the wind turbine, or the hydroelectric equipment, or if the proper size equipment is available, I can continue to research, but had hoped someone knew what I would need.

 

[quantum`]

Earth's magnetosphere deflects solar wind.

 

[50ShadesOfDirt]

I think I would tend to start with:
- define all learning objectives, tie to real-world (jobs, research, etc.)
- what jobs could you get with this stuff? mention the NABCEP (solar installers, panel installers, etc.)
- desktop system(s) for solar, for wind, for hydro-electric, and possibly passive (architecture, water-heating, other)
- should be plenty of educational kits, to your chosen level of complexity for your students
- demonstrate all the technologies, and let the students figure out why solar is good, wind is not so good, hydro is iffy (using math, physical limitations of some of the technologies, etc.)
- explain the electricity and math, solar calculations, etc.
- get them to not be afraid of energy audits (use their own home to start)

Once they've mastered the desktop (kits), you'll know if they want to take it outside and build to-scale stuff (12v, if at all possible)
- start this with a "solar generator" kit;
- they'll have something working, and they can take home to impress the parents (and handle outages to a degree)

Hope this helps ...

 

[Fita1300]

I think I would tend to start with:
- define all learning objectives, tie to real-world (jobs, research, etc.)
- what jobs could you get with this stuff? mention the NABCEP (solar installers, panel installers, etc.)
- desktop system(s) for solar, for wind, for hydro-electric, and possibly passive (architecture, water-heating, other)
- should be plenty of educational kits, to your chosen level of complexity for your students
- demonstrate all the technologies, and let the students figure out why solar is good, wind is not so good, hydro is iffy (using math, physical limitations of some of the technologies, etc.)
- explain the electricity and math, solar calculations, etc.
- get them to not be afraid of energy audits (use their own home to start)

Once they've mastered the desktop (kits), you'll know if they want to take it outside and build to-scale stuff (12v, if at all possible)
- start this with a "solar generator" kit;
- they'll have something working, and they can take home to impress the parents (and handle outages to a degree)

Hope this helps ...

Thank you, I always listen to how someone else would approach the teaching/learning and compare it to my ideas. Most times it changes my path or at least broadens it. I had thought to assign titles depending on which role the student chose - electrical engineer, architect, environmental engineer, etc. and will add the job titles you mentioned. Thank you for giving me more research ideas.
I think I have a better idea of what I need. I watched a few videos on building micro hydroelectric systems and think it can be done inexpensively. I will start small like you suggested and let the students research and design the hydroelectrics. I had thought to dive all in, but better to ease in.