Solar energy science projects

This is a good guide for making simple and affordable solar science projects.

One of the projects is to build a solar water heater. Solar water heaters use the sun to heat water in collectors mounted on the roof of a house.

One type of solar water heater is so-called a thermosyphon system. With thermosyphoning, water in the collector heats, it becomes lighter and rises into the tank above. Meanwhile, cooler water in the tank sinks down pipes to the bottom of the collector, causing circulation throughout the system. The storage tank must be above the collector for the thermosiphoning to work.

These science projects here will help the students learn about solar energy and how it works. Some of the experiments may require help from an adult.

Each project is broken into several parts:

• The purpose of the experiment
• The materials and equipment you will need to do the experiment
• Where to find some of the materials
• How to assemble and conduct the experiment
• What you may see during the experiment
• How the specific energy type works.

The experiments are the following:

• Solar Air Heater
• Solar Water Heater
• Solar Hot Dog Cooker
• Effects of Amount and Wavelength of Light on a Solar Cell

And a Glossary at the end of the booklet.

Download Solar Energy Science Projects [16 p. .5MB] from here!