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ENGR 100.420:  Solar Energy and Self-Powered Wireless Systems  (ECE)

Faculty:

Fatima Albrehi (TechComm),

Sarah Burcon (TechComm),

Zhaohui Zhong (EECS)

Winter Term

“In this class, students learn some micro computer programming, a little bit of how to do some control programming, some basic electronic concepts revolving around energy consumption, [and] solar energy generation.”

John Getsoian, Former ENGR 100 Lab Supervisor

Course Description:

Solar energy is a “free” source of renewable energy, provided that we have an efficient means to collect and use the energy at a reasonable cost. On smaller scales, solar energy also provides the ability to self-power systems that can be wirelessly interconnected to formulate the “Internet of Everything.” In this section of ENGR 100, students will learn about:

    • Solar energy collection and storage
    • Electrical circuits, micro-controllers, wireless technology, and energy/power 
    • Where electrical systems provide information collection, processing, and networking for all engineering fields. 

Term Project: 

Design, build, and test a wirelessly networked product that is self-powered by solar cells

Labs:

Experimental use of electrical circuits, solar cells, energy storage, micro-controllers, and wireless technology

Two students working on solar panel car
Students working together to connect electrical circuit to anemometer
Student inspecting solar panel board and wires