Senior Capstone Project

AzRISE has partnered with the University of Arizona’s new Sustainability Practice School and the Chemical Engineering Department to create a multidisciplinary project involving over 45 students. 

The objective of this project is to investigate a technical retrofit of PV panels that will increase efficiencies and produce a valuable by-product during the process. 

One of the major issues with solar panels is that their efficiency in producing electricity declines as temperature increases (The Impact of Ambient Temperature on the Efficiency of Photovoltaic Cells - Ryan Frederick and Forest Hayes). One solution is to install a cooling system that uses one or a combination of heat transfer media to remove the heat and dump it to a sink. Possible sinks include a reservoir system, to the campus heating system, or for use where warm water is needed.

 The building chosen for this project is the Harshbarger Mines building as it has a complicated, multi-level roof. The building is located centrally on campus close to dorms and other buildings that may have a need for heated water like the Union and the Photography Center. 

Students will be tasked with creating a cost effective system (should not add over $800 to each PV panel) able to bring panel temperatures down and have the ability to work with several main brands of solar panels (Sharp, Kyocera, and Solon). Student will need to consider connections to existing plumbing in the building or retrofit issues if attempting to relocate something for convenience. They must also determine the optimal orientation and angle of the panels.

Class Organization

This will be a two-semester project involving 9 teams 4-5 students each. At the end of the fall semester, each team will have to present their findings to campus sustainability groups and facilities management.

Throughout the project, the student teams will have to work with an assortment of stakeholders:

• Facilities Management

• Student sustainability committee

• Facilities Design & Construction

• Building managers

• Outside companies

There will also be a competition on which group has the best system and presentation. In addition to the oral presentation, students will also submit a 3 page executive summary detailing the background, constraints, solution, costs, energy savings, and future work.

Timeline

• Fall - Team-based competition

  • A scoping study and preliminary design will be done.

  • As a retrofit, real, messy issues will need to be handled like different heights, shading, etc.

• Spring – 3 groups to work on construction

  • Purchase, construction and redesign and optimization of best design from fall to be done

  • Teams will pitch designs to campus community at an open forum that stresses communication skills

  • Teams will have to demonstrate savings to Facilities Management in order to secure funding for project

• Winning design gets perfected and constructed in the late spring early summer

Student Benefits:

This project will challenge students to design a system that is not only efficient, but also economically feasible and marketable. This opportunity will expand engineering education beyond just the books by allowing students to engage in a real world project. Students will gain exposure to dimensions of management such as participating in professional meetings, creating budgets and proposals. Furthermore, the union between the engineering students and other student groups will foster an environment conducive to problem solving and innovation.

Lastly, the project will prepare students for a working in an industry that is bound to grow rapidly in the next few years, especially in Arizona.