Radbot) to help reduce the amount of heating people need to use at home to stay warm and comfortable.
Like turning lights off when they aren't needed, avoiding wasting energy on heating is good for the same reasons. Cutting waste saves money and means that less climate-changing CO2 goes into the atmosphere.
After the Eco Warriors we then moved to one of the Year 4 classrooms for the rest of the afternoon. We stayed put and the two classes swapped rooms for us half-way through to save us lugging equipment around. (Thank you!)
For each of the Y4 sessions we go through the slide deck (put together by Alison).
We looked at how solar PV works, and at what times of day and year it works less well. Also some of the places solar power is used, from desktop calculators to the International Space Station (ISS).
We also look at why solar power is a good thing, displacing fossil-fuel electricity generation, and mitigating climate change.
(In the case of the ISS, running an extension cable or getting regular coal deliveries up there would be tricky, so solar is almost the only game in town.)
Again, most of Y4 had heard of climate change, though not everyone was sure what it was, or whether it was a good or a bad thing!
Y4 had lots of good ideas about things that run on electricity and that solar panels might help power.
After the talk we split each class into three groups, and rotated them through three activities:
In more detail Sandra says that her group was: working out which way was South based on the direction the solar panels were facing and looking at a map of the world which had different colours to show which parts of the world have greater amount of sunlight (known as irradiance) and are therefore better suited to using solar power than others. We also talked about whether solar panels work better when it's hot and sunny or when it's cold and sunny — which do you think it is? Well it might surprise you to know it's when it's cold and sunny because electronics work better when they're colder.
For the circuits practical session there was a spare solar panel, LED lamp, and music player so that some children could investigate independently.
There was also a small clear plastic box with a small solar panel, meter and LED. Individual children were asked to find places to take the box hat would have the meter go to minimum and to maximum, and that would have the LED light up. (You have to be right next to a window to get the LED to come on!)
(FAQ: Fourth-year Asked Questions?)
Solar power is using energy from sunshine to make electricity or hot water.
Solar panels make electricity from sunlight. Making electricity is also called "generating" electricity.
Night! Solar panels do not make electricity at night.
Winter! Solar panels do not make much electricity in winter.
Summer! Solar panels make most electricity in a sunny summer.
Cold. Solar panels make electricity best when they are cold. (So a cold bright spring day can be very good for making electricity!)
Wind turbines make lots of electricity in windy winters, here in the UK.
We used to make electricity mainly by burning coal and gas. But they put too much of a gas called carbon dioxide into the air. Carbon dioxide is also called CO2 (Sea-Oh-Two). CO2 is making the planet warmer and changing the climate in bad ways. Solar and wind don't make CO2 when making electricity.
Yes, it does! You already turn lights off in empty rooms to save energy. You shouldn't heat empty rooms either. Heating uses lots more energy than lighting.