Oct 7th- GRNG Exploratory- Plan Solar Updraft Tower

Students, split into 4 groups began planning their solar chimneys.

I brought in black construction plastic and transparent 'painter's plastic'.

My own prototype- black plastic background, saran wrap shroud.

Internal temp got to 115 degrees F, but very little air flow out chimney.

Mr. P found a design online.

Solar Chimney https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_chimney

A solar chimney – often referred to as a thermal chimney – is a way of improving the natural ventilation of buildings by using convection of air heated by passive solar energy. A simple description of a solar chimney is that of a vertical shaft utilizing solar energy to enhance the natural stack ventilation through a building.

The solar chimney has been in use for centuries, particularly in the Middle east and Near East by the Persians, as well as in Europe by the Romans.

Solar Updraft Tower  https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Solar_updraft_tower

The solar updraft tower (SUT) is a renewable-energy power plant for generating electricity from low temperature solar heat. Sunshine heats the air beneath a very wide greenhouse-like roofed collector structure surrounding the central base of a very tall chimney tower. The resulting convection causes a hot air updraft in the tower by the chimney effect. This airflow drives wind turbines placed in the chimney updraft or around the chimney base to produce electricity. Plans for scaled-up versions of demonstration models will allow significant power generation, and may allow development of other applications, such as water extraction or distillation, and agriculture or horticulture.

Commercial investment may have been discouraged by the high initial cost of building a very large novel structure, the large land area required and by the risk of investment, however, there appears to be a renewed interest in solar updraft towers especially in sunny remote areas. A few prototypes have recently been constructed and projects are being proposed for parts of Africa, USA and Australia. An important fact to consider is that solar updraft towers appear to be the only renewable energy technology that can generate electricity from low temperature heat. Functional or mechanical feasibility is not so much an issue now as capitalisation.^[1]