Sustainable Energy
NYU/ITP, Spring 2011, Thursdays 3:30PM - 6PM, Room 406
Jeff Feddersen
goto week:     01   |    02  03  04  05    |    06  07  08  09    |    10  11  12    |    13  14

Course Structure

The course is divided into three sections. After introductions in week 1, the first section, from weeks 2-5, centers around kinetic energy and converting it into electricity. It culminates in a the presentation of small, kinetically-powered electronics projects in week 5.

In the second section, we examine solar technologies, focusing on photovoltaics (PV) in detail. We will apply many of the same measurement techniques and circuits that were introduced in the kinetic section. The section ends in a presentation of BEAM-inspired solar projects in week 9.

At the end of Section One we will form groups for the final project to be presented in weeks 13 and 14. Some class time in Section Two, and most of Section Three, will be dedicated to developing these projects.

Note: Because of the snow day 1/27, and another week (3/3) that I will be away, this semester's schedule has become a little complicated. To help sort this out, I've created a working calendar here. This now has all final dates!

Project Briefs

Kinetic       Solar



1/27/11
2/3/11

Class 1: Introduction
In which we get to know more about one another, the class, its origins, and its purpose.

ITP is an interesting context in which to think about energy. Most of your projects here have an on button - they are active energy consumers. The things you create may help to make technology irresistible and an increasing part of daily life; the consequence of the on button is magnified. But exactly because of what you do at ITP, you are in a good position to understand energy in a precise and nuanced way - an understanding generally all too lacking.

In this first class we begin the process of looking at the world - from the scale of an individual electronics project to the scale of the universe - in terms of energy and its various forms and conversions. We introduce (or reintroduce) some of the few terms and units we will rely on throughout the semester: watts, joules, work, power.

The first class serves as an introduction to some of the larger themes we will pursue over the course of the semester. We look at the origins of the course and the relevant parts of my background, and hear from you about your experience and expectations.

Reading:

  • An excerpt from Vaclav Smil's earlier work: Energies: An Illustrated Guide to the Biosphere and Civilization. 1999, MIT Press, online here [pdf, 2.2mb]
  • A recent New Yorker article on the Jevons paradox or "rebound effect", and some commentary here and here.

    • Assignments:

  • Sign up (in class) for leading weekly discussions. See "Weekly Participation" for a review of what is expected here.
  • Find "converters" for next week's in-class lab. DC gear head motors, steppers, or (to a lesser extent) piezo crystals are potential candidates.
  • Get the Smil text.
  • Sign up for a shop safety session if you did not take one last semester; and sign up for a shop cleaning time. See the pcomp site for signups.
  • Find your last year of electricity usage from your utility bills (or as far back as you can go). Bring that information to the next class.

    • Weekly Notes


    How is the 150-year old  Jevons Paradox central to ITP?

    David Owen's website.

    Two extremes: Toyota and Joby

    Mouser just today(!) sent me this about energy harvesting.


    wheel_pain.jpgSection One: Kinetic Energy

    In this section we will learn to quantify energy in the physical world and ground it in terms of our own bodies' capabilities. We will see what considerations affect the design of electrical generators. We create circuits that condition electricity from typical kinetic converters, and we review methods for measuring electricity, applying these to measuring power and energy. We will gain experience with our first electrical energy storage device, the capacitor. While the central theme here is kinetic energy, much of what we learn in these weeks will apply to solar (the focus of the Section 2) and any other energy technology.

    Kinetic Project Brief


    2/3/11
    2/10/11

    Class 2: Kinetic 1, Conversion
    In which we discuss mechanical work and power, heat, mass, and magnetic induction.

    Most of the work of the world involves moving things (from atoms to bits) from one place to another (and sometimes we heat them up). Almost all of the electricity we use was generated by moving coils of wire through magnetic fields.

    In this class we'll look at some of the physics behind kinetic and gravitational potential energy. No converter will yield more power than is put into it, so we need to be able to characterize the input to our devices. This will also let us look at claims made in the media and elsewhere as to the viability of human-based kinetic-electrical conversion. We'll examine the history of the concept of heat, and make our own electrical generator for converting metabolic chemical energy into electricity (bonus question - is this a good idea?).

    In-class materials:

    Kinetic Slides

    Circuit

    CrankAnnotated-thumb.jpg

    Kinetic/Electrical one-sheet

    Discussion:

    Matt and Nelson: Wireless power

    Reading:

  • Smil, Energy, a Beginner's Guide pp. 1 - 53 (Chapters 1 and 2)
  • Energy Scavenging for Mobile and Wireless Electronics, Paradiso, Starner, 2005.

    • Assignments:

    Measure the open-circuit voltage and short-circuit current of your converters. Put together a circuit that powers a small load, such as an LED. If necessary, use rectification, smoothing capacitors, and voltage regulation. Begin to characterize the energy and power you might be able to expect for your kinetic projects.

    Feynman's physics lectures online.

    The excellent hyperphysics, for exploring physics concepts in depth.

    NY Times on rare earth minerals.

    And again on NYC's plans for converting waste to energy.

    Freshkills sells over $11 million of methane a year.
    2/10/11
    2/17/11

    Class 3: Kinetic 2, Conditioning
    Having made a little electricity, we ponder what to do with it.

    It is unlikely that our kinetic converters from the previous class can directly drive a useful (or even useless!) electronics project. In this class we'll look at ways of rectifying, smoothing (short-term storage), and otherwise conditioning the electricity from those converters.

    While our in-class and project work focuses on bodies as sources of kinetic energy, this week we'll look at the larges renewable sources of kinetic energy: wind and hydro power. In both cases, the kinetic (for wind) or gravitational potential (for water) energy is converted into electricity via large versions of the same things we're doing in class. The ultimate source of both hydro and wind power (and for the muscle power we feed to our kinetic converters) is the sun.

    In-class materials:

    Conditioning flowchart.

    More detail about dealing with steppers. Also, last year's rectification notes include some additional considerations about forward and reverse voltage in diodes.

    5V circuit photo and schematic. Arduino code with EEPROM state.

    5Vtumb.jpg

    3.3V stepper-based circuit.

    3-3Vthumb.jpg

    Real power worksheet.


    Discussion:

    Reading:

  • Smil, Energy, a Beginner's Guide pp. 54 - 84 (Chapter 3)
  • Biomechanical Energy Harvesting, Donelan et. al., 2008.
  • For background reference on magnetism and induction, see this entry in the excellent Cartoon Guide to Physics by Larry Gonick and Art Huffman. Note in particular how Lenz' law relates to the conservation of energy.

    • Assignments:

    If you haven't already, finalize any conceptual aspects of your kinetic project - as in, at this point you should know what you are trying to do. Use the real power worksheet and the capacitor charging method to measure the real world power of your generator. Obtain any materials you need to finish your project this week.

    Sparkfun's battery category has lots of useful voltage handling bits and pieces. We looked at their 3.3V step-up converter in class.

    A DC-DC converter boost circuit you can build yourself.

    Interesting explanation of capacitors in series.

    Cheaper concentrating solar power in the news.

    A high-performance building in the news.

    A competition about visualizing infrastructure.

    Fathom (Ben Fry of Processing) visualizing kitchen electricity usage for GE.

    Wikipedia on:

    An animated guide to diodes and rectification. (link thanks to Eric Foreman).

    smilConversionChart.jpg

    NPR's site on the US electricity grid. How much electricity comes from magnetic induction? How much of that is driven by heat engines?
    2/17/11
    2/24/11

    Class 4: Kinetic 3, Storage and Measurement, Capacitors
    Having conditioned our electrical generators, we use them to charge a capacitor, and use this, in turn, to evaluate the power of our generators.

    Capacitors are a fundamental electrical component. They are extremely simple - just two conductive plates close to each other but separated by a non-conductor - yet this simple arrangement has the ability to store electrical charge and can be used like a very simple battery. We will look at them as our first means of storing electrical energy. However, compared to other means such as batteries, the energy density - Joules per unit of volume - and specific energy - Joules per unit of mass - is low (although many hope this will change).

    Despite big energy shortcomings, capacitors have some advantages: they are simple to charge and discharge, and both can be done quickly (very high power in and out), they have high cycle life expectancy, and the energy stored in a given capacitor can be easily determined as a product of its capacitance and voltage. We will exploit this last property to use capacitors as a means of quantifying, in real-world measurements, the performance of our kinetic converters.

    Discussion:

    Ezer: Concentrating solar power.

    In-class materials:

    Energy Storage overview

    Capacitors

    Energy Errors

    crowdFarmSmall.png

    Reading:

  • Smil, Energy, a Beginner's Guide pp. 85 - 126 (Chapter 4)
  • Look at these notes on COTS energy harvesting modules from ALD. The department has a few.

    • Assignment:

    Finish your kinetic projects!

    		 Three (real) kinetic energy projects:
    This month's shoe generator concept.

    Interesting DIY energy link from Mike Colombo.

    Lawrence Livermore energy lab generates this annual diagram.

    One kind of tower of power, and another.
    2/24/11
    TUESDAY 3/8
    9:30-12
    CONF. ROOM

    Class 5: Kinetic Presentations

    We'll see your presentations of the Kinetic projects this week.

    Reading:

    Smil, Energy, a Beginner's Guide pp. 127 - 176 (Chapters 5 and 6)

    Begin reading about BEAM robotics. See:

    		 BEAM videos:
    GerbilBall
    BattleBot
    More from MAKE - a weekend project how-to.

    Maxwell ultracaps

    Ultracaps in a novel product - instant-recharge guitar preamps

    Section Two: Solar Energy

    solarLaptop.jpg

    Solar energy is the only external source of energy for our planet. Except for geothermal (residual heat and fission of earth elements), nuclear (more fission and potentially fusion), and tidal energy (a slow transfer of momentum between the Earth and Moon), the sun drives processes on the planet ranging from the metabolism of single celled organisms to the weather. We will look at a range of historical and modern technologies for harnessing this energy, and focus specifically on photovoltaics (PV), the direct conversion of light into electricity. We will work with another electrical storage device - the rechargeable battery.

    Solar Project Brief is here.



    3/3/11
    3/10/11

    Class 6: Intro to Solar

    We'll start looking this week at what is essentially the only energy input to the planet, solar energy, and the photovoltaic technology for converting that to electricity.

    Reading:

    Materials Availability Expands the Opportunity for Large-Scale Photovoltaics Deployment, Wadia et. al, available here. Wadia's site links to a lot of good material.

    In class:

                 Solar.pdf

    Additional material:

    This video is a very good overview of how photovoltaics work.

    This video discusses the challenge of implementing solar at a global scale by analyzing the potential for various materials to convert energy.

    Big picture: Cell efficiencies:   800px-Nrel_best_research_pv_cell_efficiencies.png




    Discussion:
    Gabriella: Biofuels

    Assignments:
    Work on your BEAM bots and the terrarium.

    Also, use spring break to think about final projects for the class. Come back ready to pitch two projects. Keep in mind the resources, particularly solar (small and arge portable kits, etc) that the department makes available for you.
    I know this guy.

    NREL on PV payback.

    Some non-PV solar I've worked with.

    Spring Break week of 3/17

    3/10/11
    3/24/11

    Class 7: BEAM Workshop

    We'll work in-class on a simple kind of solar engine (SE) called the Miller engine that you may be using in your BEAM projects.

    In class:

                 I've posted photos of all the circuits seen in class this week on Flickr here.

    Schematics all follow the BEAM documentation online, with the important exception of this circuit, which uses the 3812S monitor available from the school. This chip is similar to the 1381/TC54 except it has an inverting output. No problem, but we have to switch to a PNP transistor between the V+ and load.

    3812Miller.png

    Discussion:

    Alex: Microbial Fuel Cells and Glucose Bio Fuel Cells


    Assignments:

    Work on your BEAM bots and the terrarium.
    In the news: Japan and nuclear energy.

    Boing Boing's Nuclear Energy 101

    NYTimes on the topic (until paywall at least).

    An op-ed and the report it references.

    The similar report that Nelson shared last week. Here's the source PDF report.

    Links from Colombo (thanks!):
    Low power power harvesting chip from Linear and related video. A wind-powered scarf knitter.

    Earth Hour is coming up.

    Surprising and controversial wind-powered vehicle.


    Spring Break week of 3/17


    3/24/11
    3/31/11

    Class 8: Solar 2 - Batteries

    Chemical reactions can move electrons - this is the basis for batteries and fuel cells. If the reactions are reversible, electricity from other sources can be stored this way, too. We'll look at batteries in detail this week.

    In class:

    Batteries.pdf

    Assignments:

    Work on your BEAM bots and the terrarium. Finalize your final project idea (select from options if you've been considering several). Give your project a name. Snazzy is good. Determine what "success metrics" should be applied to your project.

    Discussion:

    Becky and Koo: Nuclear

    		 The President's remarks on energy from his speech last night.

    And the blueprint referred to therein.





    3/31/11
    4/7/11

    Class 9: BEAM Presentations


    We'll see all the BEAM bots in this class. You will also present final project concepts and progress reports.

    Assignments:

    Prepare a one-slide summary of your project to present in class next week. Include an overview of the concept and an outline of what you will build and present. Include the name and metrics you developed for this week. Obtain any final materials you will need for your project and bring those to class too.

    Discussion:

    Lynn: LEED

    Section Three: Final Projects

    4/7/11
    4/14/11

    Class 10: Field work


    If possible, we'll take ITP's solar resources outside to get more familiar with them.


    parkSolar.jpg

    Discussion:

    Christine: Geothermal
    4/14/11
    4/21/11

    Class 11: Revisiting the Efficiency Paradox

    A discussion between Vaclav Smil (author of our text) and Andrew Revkin, the author of the NYTimes DotEarth blog, which references this Wired article.

    Feynman again.

    Guest:

    Discussion:

    Genevieve and Emily: Tidal power
    4/21/11
    4/28/11

    Class 12: Final Workshop


    Guest:

    John Dempsey, Constellation Energy. Some things he does here and here.

    Discussion:

    Michael: Flywheel energy storage

    		 New Jersey Solar in the Times.

    Final Project Presentations

    TUESDAY
    5/3/11
    9:30-12
    CONF
    ROOM

    Class 13: Project Presentations 1


    Michael, Ezer, Lynn and Koo.
    5/5/11

    Class 14: Project Presentations 2

    Meghan and Rebecca, Matt and Christine, Gabriella and Genevieve, Alex and Emily, Nelson.

    2011 Spring Show