Renewable Energy

Using ambient heat with the aid of a Peltier heat pump

Principle

If an electric current flows through the Peltier element, then one side will heat up, the other will cool down. In the process, the temperature of the warm side has an influence on the temperature of the cold side.
This can be used, e.g., for c ...

Pumping water using solar energy

Principle

So-called hydro-electric power stations have large water reservoirs up high that store water prior to use. The water is pumped up to them from coal-burning power stations or nuclear power stations etc. using electric energy. Waste products such as CO ...

Pumping water using wind energy

Principle

New application areas are being continually looked for to extend the use of renewable energies. Wind, for example, generates energy that is not constant, but the storage of this has been found to be difficult. For this reason, excess wind energy could ...

Efficiency of the pump in the conversion of electric energy to potential energy

Principle

The efficiency attained in this experiment, only 2 % to 3 %, is very low compared to that of pumps used in practice, which can reach 20 % to 90 %. This difference is mainly due to the size of the pump and, in particular and despite the small scale of ...

Running water drives a generator

Principle

The process of pumping water by electric energy is reversed in this experiment, i.e. running water is used to generate a voltage.

Task

Can water drive a motor?

Heating water using a parabolic trough

Principle

This experiment explains the principle behind the use of a parabolic trough in the heating of liquids and the benefits it offers. A parabolic trough enables a larger share of incident energy to be utilised. It so increases the efficiency of the appar ...

How heating is influenced by the position of the absorber in the parabolic trough

Principle

This experiment shows how great the effect of exact alignment of the test tube and the parabolic trough is on the heating of the water. Even a small focal point offset results in distinctly weaker heating.
 
Exact alignment is impor ...

Model of a parabolic trough field

Principle

Water in an insulated black pipe is heated by the sun in a parabolic trough power station. The parabolic trough bundles the incident rays of light to obtain a higher efficiency.

The heat evaporates water in the pipe. The steam so produced is ...