Climate Literacy
Clean: Solar Water Heater
Student teams design and build solar water heaters to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy. Once the model devices are constructed, young scholars perform efficiency calculations and compare...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar Water Heater
Student teams design and build solar water heating devices that mimic those used in residences to capture energy in the form of solar radiation and convert it to thermal energy. This thermal energy is next transferred to water (to be...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar Water: Heat It Up!
Students explore energy efficiency, focusing on renewable energy, by designing and building flat-plate solar water heaters. They apply their understanding of the three forms of heat transfer (conduction, convection and radiation), as...
TeachEngineering
Teach Engineering: Solar Power
Students 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.
PBS
Nova Teacher: Saved by the Sun: Classroom Activity
During the lesson, students will also design, build and test a solar cooker that pasteurizes water.
Other
California Energy Commission: Solar Energy Science Projects [Pdf]
Four science projects in which students learn how solar energy works and how thermal energy is transferred and utlized in a solar air heater, a solar water heater, a solar hot dog cooker, and a solar cell.