Hello. My name is Paige and I'm in the eigth grade. This year me and my partner Shianne are doing a science fair project, and we thought that it would be interesting to have an experts point of view. The following are just a few simple, opinion-based questions that we were hoping to include. Thanks in advance for your time, and please answer fully and honestly.
1~ What is your name.
2~ What is your background in sciences (ie; what's your field of expertise.)
3~ Do you believe that solar panelled heaters, if the majority of people switched to them, would make a big impact to stop the waste of oil. Why or why not.
4~ In your opinion, are solar powered air heaters actually that good for the environment? Explain your answer.
5~ Could solar heaters be a potential substitute for oil or other resources that will soon become scarce? Why or why not.
6~ Do you use solar powered heaters?
7~ Why should or why shouldnt people switch over to solar powered heaters.
8~ What is your opinion about these heaters in general?
Thank you! And if you have any information to add, please do so. We thank you for your time!
Solar heating
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paigeypoo37
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:07 am
- Occupation: Student: 8th Grade
- Project Question: Can solar powered air heaters be a sustainable replacement for oil or other resources that cause pollution?
- Project Due Date: March 20th, 2015
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
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Rokishir
- Posts: 2
- Joined: Thu Mar 05, 2015 2:20 am
- Occupation: poliec
- Project Question: PARENTS
- Project Due Date: STUDENTS
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Re: Solar heating
I want to ask about this increase.
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HowardE
- Posts: 496
- Joined: Thu Nov 20, 2014 1:35 pm
- Occupation: Science Buddies content developer
- Project Question: N/A
- Project Due Date: N/A
- Project Status: Not applicable
Re: Solar heating
Hi Paige. I'm a Principal Engineer with a company that specializes in cogeneration, a concept where you use one fuel to do two things. In our case, we use natural gas or propane to generate both heat and electricity. Its a concept that has been around since at least the 1880s, when Thomas Edison's power plants in NY produced both heat and electricity. Getting a system to work in an average house has been a trick - until recently.
"Do you believe that solar panelled heaters, if the majority of people switched to them, would make a big impact to stop the waste of oil. Why or why not. "
That's kind of a loaded question. Yes, if the majority of people switched to them that would make an impact on fossil fuel usage. I can't see that a majority of users can 'switch' though, as the technology has major limitations on use and comfort. If you have enough room to mount large panels on your roof or next to your house AND if you have enough bright sun during the day you can generate quite a bit of heat. When it gets cold at night though, there's no heat. If this is was your only source of heat, you'd have to come up with some way of storing the heat during the day so you can use it at night. What if it's a cloudy day? Not very much heat. What if it's snowing? Perhaps no heat. How will you store up the heat and then get it back? Many of our customers do use systems like this to help save on their fuel bills and they have the heat stored in rocks up in the attic, or huge piles of salt. And if your house is like ours, with a lot of shade trees on the southern side, you won't get enough sun during the day to really heat things up. So yes, if people switched it would help but I don't think they all can or will switch.
"In your opinion, are solar powered air heaters actually that good for the environment? Explain your answer. "
I don't see any downside to them. A standard solar powered air heater is a box painted black with pipes running through it. You blow cold air through the pipes and it comes out warm. It doesn't use any nasty chemicals or materials. If they work for your lifestyle and help you use less other energy then I can't imagine anything that's not good about them.
"Could solar heaters be a potential substitute for oil or other resources that will soon become scarce? Why or why not. "
They can be used to supplement other heating options and when they are used that way, people to report saving a lot on fuel costs. The word 'substitute' suggests complete replacement and that doesn't seem likely. On a cold, snowy, winter day I'm going to want heat. We are also still trying to improve other means of harvesting energy from wind, waves and other non-solar sources. Once we figure out how to do all of that in a cost-effective way, those sources will also help us use less oil & gas. Whether oil & gas will became scarce 'soon' is something that not all experts agree on - but I think everyone agrees that we should be smarter about how we use what we have.
"Do you use solar powered heaters? "
No. My house is too shaded to get enough sun, and I like to be warm at night too. I would consider adding a heater to *help* with my kerosene usage but I haven't done that yet.
"Why should or why shouldnt people switch over to solar powered heaters."
Not everyone has that option. If you live in a city or in an apartment building you have no place for a solar panel. These panels take up a lot of space for the amount of energy you get back. They work best on private homes in open lots. You also have to live within the limitations of how much heat these heaters gather - at what times of day and in what weather conditions. Many people won't like a heating system that only heats the house well on bright sunny days. There are also communities who restrict technologies that might annoy or inconvenience other people. There have been documented cases where the sun glare from the glass panels were a problem for neighbors or a nearby highway. The phrase "NIMBY" (not in my backyard) is usually used for larger technologies such as windmills, but it has been applied to solar panels. You may not be allowed to put one up in your neighborhood due to regulations.
Why should people consider them? Even as a supplement to your other heating system you might save money. You will certainly use a little less fuel and that's a good thing. If you can also save enough money on that fuel to make it worthwhile, AND if you have a place to install one, it seems like something worth considering.
"What is your opinion about these heaters in general?"
They're fine as part of an overall plan to lessen your energy needs and save money. If you have a cabin in the woods and want to live off the grid, a solar heater seems like a good option. It's hard to imagine most of us using them as our primary sources of comfort. We can't control when the sun will be out and we do like to control the temperature in our houses.
Howard Eglowstein
Principal Engineer, Climate Energy LLC
"Do you believe that solar panelled heaters, if the majority of people switched to them, would make a big impact to stop the waste of oil. Why or why not. "
That's kind of a loaded question. Yes, if the majority of people switched to them that would make an impact on fossil fuel usage. I can't see that a majority of users can 'switch' though, as the technology has major limitations on use and comfort. If you have enough room to mount large panels on your roof or next to your house AND if you have enough bright sun during the day you can generate quite a bit of heat. When it gets cold at night though, there's no heat. If this is was your only source of heat, you'd have to come up with some way of storing the heat during the day so you can use it at night. What if it's a cloudy day? Not very much heat. What if it's snowing? Perhaps no heat. How will you store up the heat and then get it back? Many of our customers do use systems like this to help save on their fuel bills and they have the heat stored in rocks up in the attic, or huge piles of salt. And if your house is like ours, with a lot of shade trees on the southern side, you won't get enough sun during the day to really heat things up. So yes, if people switched it would help but I don't think they all can or will switch.
"In your opinion, are solar powered air heaters actually that good for the environment? Explain your answer. "
I don't see any downside to them. A standard solar powered air heater is a box painted black with pipes running through it. You blow cold air through the pipes and it comes out warm. It doesn't use any nasty chemicals or materials. If they work for your lifestyle and help you use less other energy then I can't imagine anything that's not good about them.
"Could solar heaters be a potential substitute for oil or other resources that will soon become scarce? Why or why not. "
They can be used to supplement other heating options and when they are used that way, people to report saving a lot on fuel costs. The word 'substitute' suggests complete replacement and that doesn't seem likely. On a cold, snowy, winter day I'm going to want heat. We are also still trying to improve other means of harvesting energy from wind, waves and other non-solar sources. Once we figure out how to do all of that in a cost-effective way, those sources will also help us use less oil & gas. Whether oil & gas will became scarce 'soon' is something that not all experts agree on - but I think everyone agrees that we should be smarter about how we use what we have.
"Do you use solar powered heaters? "
No. My house is too shaded to get enough sun, and I like to be warm at night too. I would consider adding a heater to *help* with my kerosene usage but I haven't done that yet.
"Why should or why shouldnt people switch over to solar powered heaters."
Not everyone has that option. If you live in a city or in an apartment building you have no place for a solar panel. These panels take up a lot of space for the amount of energy you get back. They work best on private homes in open lots. You also have to live within the limitations of how much heat these heaters gather - at what times of day and in what weather conditions. Many people won't like a heating system that only heats the house well on bright sunny days. There are also communities who restrict technologies that might annoy or inconvenience other people. There have been documented cases where the sun glare from the glass panels were a problem for neighbors or a nearby highway. The phrase "NIMBY" (not in my backyard) is usually used for larger technologies such as windmills, but it has been applied to solar panels. You may not be allowed to put one up in your neighborhood due to regulations.
Why should people consider them? Even as a supplement to your other heating system you might save money. You will certainly use a little less fuel and that's a good thing. If you can also save enough money on that fuel to make it worthwhile, AND if you have a place to install one, it seems like something worth considering.
"What is your opinion about these heaters in general?"
They're fine as part of an overall plan to lessen your energy needs and save money. If you have a cabin in the woods and want to live off the grid, a solar heater seems like a good option. It's hard to imagine most of us using them as our primary sources of comfort. We can't control when the sun will be out and we do like to control the temperature in our houses.
Howard Eglowstein
Principal Engineer, Climate Energy LLC
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paigeypoo37
- Posts: 6
- Joined: Thu Feb 19, 2015 8:07 am
- Occupation: Student: 8th Grade
- Project Question: Can solar powered air heaters be a sustainable replacement for oil or other resources that cause pollution?
- Project Due Date: March 20th, 2015
- Project Status: I am conducting my research
Re: Solar heating
Thanks a bunch for answering HowardE! We'll use this info in our project!