Small Scale Renewable Energy Production

Aim

After the course, students should - with regard to small scale renewable energy production - be able to:

• apply basic physical principles for energy conversion in combination with technical opportunities and limitations,
• take environmental and economic limits and potentials of small scale solutions into consideration
• show knowledge of components and complete systems as well as quantify their interplay
• analyze and assess function and performance of both components and systems
• reflect on how energy conversion can be supplemented and secured in the future with the help of energy from sun and wind.

Content

The course deals with technical solutions for small scale renewable energy production, with focus on wind power, photovoltaic and and sun-heat. Taking today’s technical solutions for systems and subsystems as a starting point, technical key factors for an ongoing development and exploitation are identified, for example the importance of the wing profile for wind turbines, how to adapt the surface of solar heating panels so that a favorable absorption/emission of radiation is obtained and possibilities to accumulate energy in batteries and heat storage. The main focus will lie on the development, analysis and assessment of technical solutions for small scale renewable energy production.