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U.S. Department of Energy
Office of Scientific and Technical Information

Model for early solar energy education. Final report

Technical Report ·
OSTI ID:5644296

The sixth grade students at Travis Elementary School in Odessa, Texas built a solar energy system that heats the water for their classroom sink and provides about 50% of the space heating in their room. The students built a bank system of four 3' x 10' plate collectors and installed them on the roof of their school with a piping system flowing to a 218 gallon water storage container located within the classroom. A heat exchanger in the storage tank discharges hot water directly to a faucet in the classroom. To provide heat to the classroom a pump draws heated water through a piping system to a hydronic coil. A blower fan draws room air over the hot coils to heat the room. Eutectic salts in plastic containers are used in the storage tank to maintain the temperature of the heated water. Sensors are integrated into the system at the storage tank and collectors to automatically turn the system on and off. Besides developing vocational, mathematic, and scientific skills, the sixth grade students developed communication skills by presenting the project to various organizations and schools in the community.

Research Organization:
Travis Elementary School, Odessa, TX (USA)
DOE Contract Number:
FG46-80R612051
OSTI ID:
5644296
Report Number(s):
DOE/R6/12051-T1; ON: DE84002967
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English