Wind Turbine Experiment:

                Purpose: To demonstrate the principal that wind turbines can be used to generate and store energy in a sustainable way. With this experiment, we are measuring the amount of energy that is created in Joules from different distances and at different lengths of time to determine the most efficient way to harness the power of one of the world’s most abundant resources: Wind.

Materials: Large industrial fan, Lego Mindstorm wind turbine set

1. Build the wind turbine using the directions in the Lego box.
2. Turn on the industrial fan
3. Place Lego turbine in front of fan so the turbine captures the wind from the fan and moves the blades.
4. Time how long the turbine is placed in front of the fan.
5. Turn on the battery and run the turbine using the energy that was created and stored.
6. Run three trials at different lengths of time and at the same distance.
7. Run three trials at different distances and at the same length of time.
8. Record the amount of energy that is being stored in joules

There is no doubt that nuclear power plants have their advantages, mainly, large amounts of electricity. However, as we have seen with Fukushima and Chernobyl, the disadvantages outweigh the advantages. Indian Point Energy Center (IPEC) is a three-unit nuclear power plant station located in Buchanan, New York. It sits on the Hudson River 38 miles north of NYC and generates over 2,000 megawatts of electrical power, comprising as much as 30 percent of the electricity used in New York City and Westchester County (admittedly, i used this electricity everyday, either traveling to NYC or shopping in Westchester County).

While the plant generates power that can be used by millions, protestors of the plant are trying to get it shut down. According to Riverkeeper, “NY’s Clean Water Advocate”, IPEC should be shut down, “due to [it’s] vulnerability to terrorism, a laundry list of safety problems, the storage of 1500 tons of radioactive waste onsite, and the lack of a workable evacuation plan”. There is actually a 10-reason list available on their website that details why the plant should be shut down. These reasons include:

1) Indian Point is the most likely nuke plant in the nation to experience core damage due to an earthquake

2) A New York State report on the evacuation plan for Indian Point concluded that the plan is based on shaky assumptions and won’t protect the public in the event of a real emergency

3) New York City’s most important drinking water reservoir lies fifteen miles from Indian Point. Nine million people depend on the safety of that water supply every day

4) Nowhere to put Indian Point’s highly-radioactive spent fuel – IP’s storage pools are already overfilled with spent fuel rods from the last 40 years of operations.

While one group of people are trying to shit down the power plant, another group is trying to keep it open. According to the Indian Point Energy Center, the facility is “Safe. Secure. Vital”. The facility employees 1,100 people, pays out over $137 million in payroll every year to full-time employees, and donates $1.5 million to charitable organizations. Also, according to US Representative Nan Hayworth “Indian Point is run with an eye to safety and I am confident that it is an important source of power and of jobs for our area that we can feel confident is being run in a manner that is sound and consistent with our strict regulatory standards”.

Knowing what we have learned about nuclear energy, what is your side of the argument? Nuclear energy creates more power with less waste, can be safe if controlled the proper way, and at this point in time, hard to be replaced quickly and efficiently with cleaner energy solutions.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Point_Energy_Center

http://www.riverkeeper.org/campaigns/stop-polluters/indian-point/

http://www.safesecurevital.com/

http://www.ipsecinfo.org/

The auto industry has been trying to push electric and hybrid vehicles for years, and for a good reason. (A hybrid vehicle is a vehicle that uses two or more distinct power sources to move the vehicle, usually a combustion engine that is powered using gasoline and one or more electric motors. An electric vehicle only uses electric motors and are either powered by stored electricity originally from an external power source or by an on-board electrical generator. (Wikipedia)) While gas powered vehicles still dominate the market, we are beginning to see more and more vehicles powered by other means. Electricity is a huge resource and provides us with the ability to build cars that can travel 100 miles on a single charge without causing damage to the earth’s atmosphere. If we were able to convert all forms of transportation to electric or hybrid vehicles, we could greatly reduce that rate at which global warming affects the earth. For now, if we can only get a small percentage of people to adopt hybrid or electric technology, we can still make a difference.

In a conscious effort to help combat the battle with global warming, in 2009 President Obama announced a national program to cut new vehicle carbon emissions and raise mileage by 30 percent. This would also reduce oil needs and change the kinds of cars Americans buy.

The program will require all new vehicles to have a 39 mpg average by the year 2016, a realistic goal considering 2009 models averaged 32.6 mpg. Car manufactures will be forced to either re-design their car models to reach a more efficient mpg, or learn how to incorporate hybrid or electric technology into their product lines. The program surprisingly received support from auto manufactures (who see this as a campaign for their company to go “green”) well as environmentalists and government officials. President Obama stated that the program would save 1.8 billion barrels of oil “over the lifetime of the vehicles sold in the next five years”. With our oil supplies being quickly diminished, this would be a great help to the shortage of oil we will be facing in the near future. Also, according to an article written by MSNBC, the new requirement is estimated to cost consumers an extra $1,300 per vehicle starting in 2016, however, it is estimated that a typical driver would save $2,800 over the lifetime of a car (assuming gasoline costs around $3.50 a gallon). Either way, i would rather spend more money on a new car knowing that i am contributing to the effort to decrease greenhouse gases, then spending less on a vehicle that is polluting the air.

Companies like Nissan, Chevy, and Toyota are already beginning to surpass this new standard with vehicles like the the following:

	Nissan LeafThe top contender for first affordable mainstream all-electric car.	99 MPG	Electric	Sedan	$32,800
	Chevrolet VoltAll-electric gas-free driving for 40-mile stretches.	60 MPG	Plug-in Hybrid	Sedan	$40,000
	Toyota PriusThe number-one selling hybrid car. The Prius is nearly synonymous with “hybrid.”	50 MPG	Hybrid	Sedan	$22,800

While President Obama pushed to have vehicles reach a 39mpg standard by 2016, car companies are reaching up to 99mpg and its only 2012. It will be interesting to see what new innovations and ways of transportations arise in the next 4 years. Maybe by the time we reach President Obama’s deadline, all cars will be electric or hybrid models.

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Electric_vehicle

http://www.hybridcars.com/hybrid-cars-list

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/30810514/ns/us_news-environment/t/obama-unveils-mpg-rule-gets-broad-support/#.Tyq6_Zhc_dk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hybrid_vehicle

Learn about Mass and Acceleration here:

Newton\’s Laws Of Motion: Force, Mass And Acceleration

Lets talk numbers….

Today we continued our research into the idea of motion, acceleration, and mass. To do this, we used a pulley system and weights attached to a motor that pulled the weights vertically to measure speed, battery discharge, mass, power level, time, acceleration, height, potential energy, and power used. This data was entered into a computer program and calculated in Excel. We changed the mass of the weights being used as well as the power level being provided to the pulley system. By doing this, we were able to calculate the potential energy being provided and the power used by the system. Using graphs in excel, we were able to see trends in the data that represents how mass and power affect acceleration and potential energy.

The graph to the left shows how when mass increases, the acceleration of the weights decreases. For example, it takes much longer for a eighteen wheeled truck to accelerate than it does for a sports car. The mass of the object requires much more force and power to get into motion.

The graph to the right shows how when more power is provided to the mass, the acceleration increases. For example, when you push a kickball with your hand, it accelerates much slower than when you kick the ball with your foot. More power behind a mass accelerates that mass much quicker.

The graph to the left demonstrates how when mass increases, the motor had to use much more power, thus draining the battery. For example, when you are driving by yourself, you use much less gas than when you are driving with four people. The more people in your car creates much more weight that the vehicle has to pull. By requiring more energy to move, it also requires more gas. In the experiment we conducted with the pulley and weights, the more mass we gave to the motor to pull, the more energy it required to pull it, and thus decreased more of the battery power.

The last graph to the right helps to further demonstrate my previous example. Power used (w) is determined by taking the potential energy (mass x gravity x height) and dividing it by the time it took to pull the mass. The higher we set the power level, the more power the system used (not a hard concept to grasp).

Overall this experiment helped us to explain concepts we already knew to be true: 1) The more mass you have, the harder it is to pull, creating for lower acceleration, 2) The more power you put behind a mass, the higher the acceleration, 3) The larger the mass, the more energy it requires to pull, creating for higher battery drainage, and 4) The higher the power level provided to the motor, the more power that is used.

Using simple systems such as these help to grasp concepts of acceleration, mass, power, and energy. Doing these projects in class are a great way to use real world examples to better understand concepts we use every day. Without the computer program we used in class, this experiment would prove to be much more difficult. It is fantastic that we have access to such a powerful tool. Not only was this software helpful, but Excel is a powerful tool to make calculations much more efficiently and effectively. Im looking forward to seeing what other things we can do with this program in the future.

Automated Demand Response Program

Heat waves suck. Especially when it requires paying for high electricity bills or suffering from power outages.

PG&E describes demand response as “both [a] fiscally and environmentally responsible way to respond to occasional and temporary peak demand periods” (PG&E). Essentially, the idea behind demand response is to save you both money and electricity by reducing peak load stress on the power grid in times of peak demand.

The concept is quite simple. When you turn on your air conditioner, a signal is sent to the power plant who in turn sends electricity to your device. During a heat wave, for example, thousands of people rely on these power plants for electricity. When these plants do not have the supply to keep up with the demand, rolling blackouts and power outages occur. Demand response is designed to reduce electricity output in an attempt to decease the chance of a shortage in energy.

In residential areas, participating in demand response is often voluntary. Utility companies ask individuals to “reduce your electricity usage during an “extreme” or “critical” event” (The Energy Collective) by installing “thermostats that can be controlled remotely by the utility in the event of an emergency, and/or by the customer with a mobile device” (The Energy Collective). This way, the utility company can shut off your power in an attempt to prevent a power outage or blackout during peak times.

By installing a demand response unit in your home, you are being a responsible consumer and are saving money in the long run. Often times, there are monetary incentives for consumers willing to opt-in to the program. For example, “Pacific Gas & Electric pays $25 to customers willing to participate in their Smart AC program, in which households with central air conditioning systems allow the utility to install a device that would allow the utility to turn down your cooling system in the event of an “energy supply emergency” in the summer, between May 1 and October 31″ (The Energy Collective).

Overall, demand for energy is only increasing, and we can only build so many power plants. Until a new form of energy is discovered, we need to find ways to conserve the energy we have. Over-usage of energy is a huge problem, and without taking action, most of us may be left without air-conditioning this summer.

If you want to help your community this summer, and save a little money while your at it, consider installing a demand response unit in your home or office.

http://www.cpuc.ca.gov/PUC/energy/Demand+Response/

http://www.pge.com/mybusiness/energysavingsrebates/demandresponse/whatisdemandresponse/

Demand Response: What It Is & What It Means For You