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Modernized Teaching Methods for Solar Energy Projects

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Conference

2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition

Location

Salt Lake City, Utah

Publication Date

June 23, 2018

Start Date

June 23, 2018

End Date

July 27, 2018

Conference Session

Energy Conversion and Conservation Division Technical Session on Solar

Tagged Division

Energy Conversion and Conservation

Page Count

10

DOI

10.18260/1-2--30819

Permanent URL

https://peer.asee.org/30819

Download Count

586

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Paper Authors

biography

William Hutzel Purdue University, West Lafayette

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William (Bill) Hutzel is a Professor of Mechanical Engineering Technology at Purdue University in West Lafayette, IN. He teaches and conducts research on high performance buildings.

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Jan T. Lugowski Purdue University, West Lafayette

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Abstract

Employers want college graduates who have technical knowledge, but are also inquisitive and have good technical judgement. Achieving these skills requires modernized teaching methods that engage students in open-ended assignments where students encounter uncertain data that forces them to question the results of technical computations. These are some of the key reasons for a large energy transformation project underway in an Engineering Technology program. The transformation project crosses traditional course boundaries by highlighting similar energy conversion processes that occur in many different disciplines. As one example of the progress so far, undergraduate students in a thermodynamics course assisted with the installation of an 8 kW solar photovoltaic array on the roof of a campus building. More importantly, a web-based graphic interface was created so that future students access live solar energy data from their laptop or smart phone. A preliminary evaluation of the educational impact shows that students not only gained an appreciation for solar energy, but they had confidence in their ability to develop innovative ideas for improving solar panel performance.

Hutzel, W., & Lugowski, J. T. (2018, June), Modernized Teaching Methods for Solar Energy Projects Paper presented at 2018 ASEE Annual Conference & Exposition , Salt Lake City, Utah. 10.18260/1-2--30819

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