(Image courtesy of UN)

Q1: What is a statement that summarizes the “macro” version of your problem? What is a statement that summarizes the “micro” version of your problem? In both cases think of an “elevator pitch” version of your problem statements.

By: Carol Obando-Derstine, Jade Sessions, Christie Ortega, and Andy Chung

 A “macro” version of our problem is how it is experienced from a big picture perspective. Our project pertains to solar energy technology. Even though humans have been using solar energy for thousands of years and eventually learned to make electricity from it, the U.S. Energy Information Administration notes 12% of electricity consumed in the U.S. comes from renewable sources. Of that figure, only 11% comes specifically from solar energy. Approximately 79% of electricity consumed comes from fossil fuel sources that are warming our planet at alarming rates. Shifting to higher levels of renewable energy is tied to the United Nation’s goal to limit global warming to 1.5 C to tackle climate change and minimize its impact by 2030.

A plausible elevator pitch is:

We need electricity to come from higher levels of renewable energy than the current 12% if we are to stave off the deleterious effects of climate change. We can maximize our most abundant energy resource –the sun–by making solar panels more efficient. A simple, effective, and low-cost solution is to apply a phase change material to the back of panels to ensure they remain at ideal temperatures. This engineering solution can help lessen our dependency on fossil fuels and slow further climate change impacts.

(References: U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy; U.S. Energy Information Administration; and UN Climate Action Goal 13.)

In contrast to a macro view, a micro version of the problem is how it impacts the lives of primary stakeholders and the secondary impacts it has. The problem is our oversized reliance on fossil fuels that continue to warm our planet. The U.S. Global Change Research Program’s Fourth National Climate Assessment lists many implications for Americans. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection (DEP) lists the prevalent impacts of climate change specific to PA: more flooding, heat and respiratory deaths, disease and pests, and disruptions to agricultural systems. These impacts have a deleterious effect on public health, agriculture, and increased strains on infrastructure and emergency services. Negative results were also seen in tourism and recreation. One example of health impacts is that Pennsylvania has the highest rates of Lyme disease in the nation, which tripled in ten years to nearly 12,000 in 2017, leading to facial paralysis, arthritis, and compromising an individual’s ability to work and contribute to the economy. On the economic toll to all Pennsylvanians, the Pennsylvania Emergency Management Agency (PEMA) estimates that in 2018 severe weather caused approximately $125 million in damages to public infrastructure, with the public absorbing over half of it on the local, county, or state level not covered by federal aid. The impact on people’s lives and wellbeing is stark from not enough consumption of energy coming from renewable energy.

An elevator speech for the micro considerations is:

There are direct impacts on people’s health, wellbeing, and economic outcomes tied to confronting climate change. Climate change is indeed the existential threat of our times, and we must tackle it from many different angles. One way is to increase the efficiency of solar panels by lowering their temperature because the laws of thermodynamics tell us that increased heat of any electronic equipment decreases their power output.

 (References: National Climate Assessment, Fourth National Climate Assessment, Volume II; PA DEP’s Climate Change in PA; CDC, Lyme Disease; and Energy Sage, How Hot Weather Affects Solar Panel.)

 

Q2: Based on your life experience, skills and interests, what would a design process that is both uniquely yours and effective look like?

By: Carol Obando-Derstine

In class, we learned about Stanford D School’s Design Thinking Process Guide that suggests the following iterative, not necessarily linear, processes to this work: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, and Test. Based on my life experiences, skills, and interests, I would spend considerable time on the empathize, define, and ideate stages to ensure a thorough understanding of the matter.

My initial higher education experience in the aughts included a master’s from Penn State University in Community Psychology and Social Change. My career path as a child therapist, executive director of two nonprofits, and in public relations for a federal senator and a public utility honed my skills in listening to people. I decided on this career path because I was interested in improving communities, so I was trained to listen to concerns and strategize on coalition building. These are all essential skills for design thinking.

Fast forward twenty years and I am back in school but now studying energy systems engineering because of an interest in sustainability and renewable energy. The core of my personality and all my work and volunteer experiences keep me focused on helping others. Putting people at the center of solutions is crucial and makes an effective design process. It is precisely what I am doing currently as a volunteer for the Lehigh Valley Civilian Climate Corps. In Bill Aulet’s book, Disciplined Entrepreneurship, he notes this work is about “seeing the world through the eyes of the customer vs. seeing the world through the perspective of the company.” I cannot agree more.

The other crucial aspect to keep in mind is solutions are not final. If a person stays curious, they will continue to innovate and make improvements along the way. Again, it is about being impact-focused and realizing design thinking is an iterative process every step of the way.

Q3: You have begun to talk to stakeholders for your project, and will continue to do so going forward. For these conversations, list 10 hypotheses for your project that you will need to validate, and 10 assumptions your project is making, and the basis for those assumptions.

By: Carol Obando-Derstine, Jade Sessions, Christie Ortega, and Andy Chung

Hypotheses

1. Commercial grade Calcium Chloride Hexahydrate (CaCl₂* 6H₂O), as a phase change material (PCM), has the necessary latent heat of fusion to maintain solar panels at a constant temperature.
2. Placing a PCM behind a solar panel will increase the energy efficiency of the panel and serve as an energy storage mechanism.
3. Putting a heat sink behind the PCM will further increase the efficiency of the solar panel.
4. Solar panels combined with PCM will have a lower chance of degradation at different temperatures and seasons.
5. Solar panels with PCM will be more efficient than panels not integrating PCM under similar climate conditions.
6. Solar panels with PCM will have a higher life expectancy than those without PCM.
7. Commercial grade CaCl₂* 6H₂O will have a constant heat of fusion throughout the life expectancy of the solar panels.
8. The box containing the PCM will structurally withstand any weather conditions.
9. Solar panels with PCM will be affordable to customers, and there is an economic value to the addition of the PCM.
10. The materials used to create the PCM will be ethically sourced and able to be recycled.

Assumptions

1. Commercial grade CaCl₂* 6H₂O has a fairly constant heat of fusion on the basis that it is impure.
2. Commercial grade CaCl₂* 6H₂O will not produce any gas because it has a high heat of vaporization.
3. The experimental and control solar panels will be exposed to the same heat lamp simultaneously.
4. Solar panels’ efficiency and power output are negatively correlated with temperature increases. The graph below, from a previous study, demonstrated this effect. As the temperature increased from 28 degrees celsius to 80 degrees celsius, there was a significant decrease in power in crystalline silicon solar cells.

Figure 1. Graph of the effect of temperature on power drop of a solar panel.

5. PCM can be used to extract heat from solar panels. A study in Indonesia demonstrated that a solar panel combined with a PCM decreased the panel’s temperature by 10 degrees celsius (1).
6. PCM can increase the efficiency of the solar panel. A study in Malaysia demonstrated that a PV-PCM panel increased from 8.3% to 10.1% (1).
7. The use of PCM and fined heat sinks will contribute to the thermal management of the solar panel. A study conducted in New Zealand on photovoltaic cells using PCM-infused graphite and aluminum fins demonstrated that a constant temperature could be maintained over time (2).
8. Approximately 10 thermocouples (T/C) will be necessary for temperature detection
9. Using two resistance temperature detectors (RTDs), although more precise than T/Cs, will be sufficient to keep costs down.
10. We will need insulation around the T/Cs and RTDs.

References:

1. Sourav Khanna, K.S. Reddy, and Tapas K. Mallick. 2018. Optimization of finned solar photovoltaic phase change material (finned pv-pcm) system.
2. Peter Atkin and Mohammed M. Farid. 2015. Improving the efficiency of photovoltaic cells using PCM infused graphite and alumnium fins.