Can Zero- Energy Homes Become Reality in Florida?
Esther
M.
7th
Grade, Ronald McNair Magnet School, Cocoa Florida
Teacher: Guytri Still
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Abstract:
Homes account for almost a third of all energy consumption in the U.S..
In view of possible future shortages of fossil energy resources (oil
and natural gas) it is important to find new ways of supplying homes
with energy. The purpose of this project was to determine if it could
be practically possible to build homes in Florida that aren’t
connected to an electrical grid (that is, build zero energy homes,
ZEH). It was hypothesized that ZEH can become a reality in Florida
Because there are very large resources of solar energy in our state.
First I determined how much electricity an average house consumes in Florida (taking our own house as an example). Then I calculated how much electrical power we will need from solar (or photovoltaic, PV) panels. I also determined how much energy we will have to save for the nighttime use when there is no sunshine. An electrolyzer can be used to convert solar electricity into hydrogen. Hydrogen will be stored and converted back to electricity at night using a fuel cell.
I conducted solar experiments on the production of hydrogen using a PV panel land an elctrolyzer and determined the best conditions for producing hydrogen. Collected hydrogen was used in a fuel cell to produce electricity and run a small motor. Based on observations, experiments and calculations, it was concluded that the PV panel with the area equal to the area of our roof would be adequate to produce the necessary quantity of electrical power and hydrogen for the daytime and nighttime use. Thus our house could potentially become a ZEH.
My hypothesis was correct.
