TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Design a Solar City
Students design and build a model city powered by the sun! They learn about the benefits of solar power, and how architectural and building engineers integrate photovoltaic panels into the design of buildings.
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Photovoltaic Efficiency
Through a series of four lessons, students are introduced to many factors that affect the power output of photovoltaic (PV) solar panels. Factors such as the angle of the sun, temperature of the panels, specific circuit characteristics,...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar Angles and Tracking Systems
Students learn about the daily and annual cycles of solar angles used in power calculations to maximize photovoltaic power generation. They gain an overview of solar tracking systems that improve PV panel efficiency by following the sun...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: The Temperature Effect
Students explore how the efficiency of a solar photovoltaic (PV) panel is affected by the ambient temperature. They learn how engineers predict the power output of a PV panel at different temperatures and examine some real-world...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Maximum Power Point
Students learn how to find the maximum power point (MPP) of a photovoltaic (PV) panel in order to optimize its efficiency at creating solar power. They also learn about real-world applications and technologies that use this technique, as...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Concentrated Solar Power
Students learn how the total solar irradiance hitting a photovoltaic (PV) panel can be increased through the use of a concentrating device, such as a reflector or lens. This is the final lesson in the Photovoltaic Efficiency unit and is...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar Power
Learners learn about solar energy and how to calculate the amount of solar energy available at a given location and time of day on Earth. The importance of determining incoming solar energy for solar devices is discussed.
NASA
Nasa Star Child: The Hubble Space Telescope (Level 1)
This article for younger students introduces the Hubble Space Telescope and what it is doing in outer space.
US Department of Energy
U.s. Department of Energy: Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
Access to information, policy initiatives, advice, and analysis on issues of energy efficiency and renewable energy, from the U.S. Department of Energy. Its network is responsible for tracking the technological, economic, and...
US Department of Energy
U.s. Department of Energy: Solar Energy Technologies Program: Solar Multimedia
Browse and download from this multimedia collection which contains photographs, videos, B-roll, graphics, and animations related to solar technologies, research, and projects.
![State Energy Conservation Office: Feasibility of Photovoltaic Systems [Pdf] Handout](https://d15y2dacu3jp90.cloudfront.net/images/attachment_defaults/resource/large/FPO-knovation.png "State Energy Conservation Office: Feasibility of Photovoltaic Systems [Pdf] Handout")
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Feasibility of Photovoltaic Systems [Pdf]
Summarizes how a photovoltaic or PV system works to convert solar energy into electricity. Explains how to estimate what size of PV system is needed and what the cost would be, and provides a worksheet with formulas for calculating...
Khan Academy
Khan Academy: Energy Through Time
The quest for energy has always been a balancing act. As humans have gained greater control over their environment, they've found abundant resources - and faced numerous challenges. This article traces the history of our quest for energy.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Learning About Photovoltaic Systems [Pdf]
Explains how photovoltaic systems work and how Texas homeowners are using them. Discusses how a homeowner can use solar energy and still be on the electricity grid system.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Passive Solar Design for Homes [Pdf]
Discusses different features that can be incorporated into a home's design in order to harness solar energy.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Cooking With the Sun [Pdf]
An introduction to solar cookers, how they are designed, and how to use one.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Solar Water Heaters [Pdf]
Explains the types of solar water heaters a home can have. These include a passive system, an active system, and a solar collector, as well as the need for a storage tank. It also gives tips on how to get the best use from a solar water...
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Solar Electricity Works for Texas [Pdf]
Discusses photovoltaic energy systems and their many applications, e.g., in telecommunications, consumer products, space technology, solar lights, etc.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Solar and Electric Cars [Pdf]
Learn the differences between cars powered by different fuels. Looks at solar, electric, hybrid and gasoline-powered cars.
State Energy Conservation Office-Texas
State Energy Conservation Office: Electricity From the Sun [Pdf]
Discusses forms of renewable energy that rely on the sun. For example, wind is created when solar energy heats the air, and biomass is solar energy that has been stored in plants.
National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine
The National Academies: Renewable Sources: Solar
Solar energy is an appealing alternative to conventional sources of energy because it produces no greenhouse gases. An overview of its advantages and disadvantages is presented here.
TryEngineering
Try Engineering: Here Comes the Sun
Students work in teams to learn about solar panel design, simple circuits, and how solar energy is used to provide power to simple machines such as calculators.
University of Wisconsin
The Why Files: Super Solar Cells
An understandable description of modern research that is currently being conducted to develop a more efficient photovoltaic (solar energy) cell. It also contains links to other pages on renewable energy sources.
Other
Energy Resources
Finding alternative energy sources is a challenge facing the leaders of today and tomorrow. Andy Darvill has created an impressive resource, summarizing various renewable and non-renewable energy resources.
US Department of Energy
U.s. Department of Energy: Energy Sources: Solar
The U.S. Department of Energy provides links pertaining to solar energy. Understand the current technologies and issues with this resource.