Experiment

            When I started this project, I needed some information to help me learn more and be more accurately informed about solar energy. I went to the library to get any solar energy books I could find. In the books, I found all kinds of interesting information about millions of different ways to use solar energy. I saw people using it to heat water for their house, to heat their homes at night, to heat their pool, and even to cool their house off at night by using the solar collector. I learned the most amazing things that I never had heard of before. I also looked on the internet at websites for information. When I started my experiment, I used a notebook to record information and experiment data so that I could later compare temperatures and make charts.

            The first step in my science fair of making solar collectors was to gather ALL of my supplies so that I would not have to go to any store during my critical data collecting portion of my experiment. The supplies that I used were as follows: a 50 foot hose, two pieces of ¾ inch plywood that is 16 by 16 inches, tape measure, four number 10 3 in. long screws, a 5 gallon bucket, a small pump, two three foot long pieces of extra hose, a can of dark blue spray paint, a can of hot pink spray paint, plastic to cover the hoses, and two pieces of wood 1” x 1 1/2” x 24” long.  Step 2; lay the hose out in half and use cutters to cut the 50 ft. hose in half so that each piece is now 25 ft. long. Take one of the 25 ft. hoses and starting in the middle, coil the hose to fill the surface area of the plywood. The hose should not be hanging off of the edge to far. However, a little bit of the hose hanging over the edge is okay. Step 3, take one of the 24’ x 1 x 1 ½ piece of wood on the diagonal of the 16’ x 16’ plywood and use two of the screws to secure and hold the coiled hose on the plywood by screwing each end of the 24’ x 1 x 1 ½ pieces of wood on plywood. Repeat steps two and three for the second piece of 25 ft. hose. At the end of step 3 you should have two 25ft coiled solar collectors of hose on a piece of plywood

            Step 4, take both of the spray paints and spray one of the hoses blue and the other pink. The hoses should be coated so that none of the hose color is showing, the plywood does not have to be painted but will most likely end up being painted which is okay. Then let the paint dry. Step 5; next cover each solar collector with a piece of plastic to protect the hose from the wind during the experiment. Your finished product is the solar collector. Step 6; get the five gallon bucket, pump, and additional small pieces of hose used to connects the pumps to the solar collector and the bucket, and the blue or pink solar collector, depending on which one you want to test first. Set up the pump next to the bucket and the pink or blue solar collector which you prop up on a chair facing the direction of the sun. Step 7; fill the bucket up half way, approximately two and a half gallons. Step 8, take the two 3 foot hoses and attach them to the pump, one on one side and one on the other (it doesn’t matter which goes on which side). Screw one 3 foot hose to the shorter piece of hose coming out of the solar collector. Place the other piece of 3 foot hose in the bucket full of water. The solar collector, the pump and the bucket should now make a complete circuit of a never ending flow of water if you were to turn the pump on. However, do not turn it on yet.

            Step 9, Place oil in the pump, before you attach the hoses, if the pump directions say so. Then put a thermometer in the water bucket to get the starting temperature of the water. In a note book, write down the time and the temperature before you start. Step 10; plug the pump in to get the experiment started. Check the temperature every fifteen minutes for an hour. Make sure to record the temperatures every single time. Repeat steps 6 through 10 for the second solar collector that you have not tested yet. Every other day you run the experiment, switch them so that the first solar collector is run second. Also, make sure that when you run the experiments the time frames of the first and the second are the same. Repeat this experiment many different times. Compare your results and even change the variables to have some fun.