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in sustainability, appropriate technology and poverty reduction.
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There are many applications for the direct use of solar thermal energy, space heating and cooling, water heating, crop drying and solar cooking. It is a technology which is well understood and widely used in many countries throughout the world. Most solar thermal technologies have been in existence in one form or another for centuries and have a well-established manufacturing base in most sun-rich developed countries.
The most common use for solar thermal technology is for domestic water heating. Hundreds of thousands of domestic hot water systems are in use throughout the world, especially in areas such as the Mediterranean and Australia where there is high solar insolation (the total energy per unit area received from the sun). As world oil prices vary, it is a technology which is rapidly gaining acceptance as an energy saving measure in both domestic and commercial water heating applications. Presently, domestic water heaters are usually only found amongst wealthier sections of the community in developing countries.
Converting a very used gas power lawnmower into a solar charged, low emission, almost silent, lawn cutting machine.
Sustainable energy is the provision of energy that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their needs. Sustainable energy sources are most often regarded as including all renewable energy sources, such as hydroelectricity, solar energy and power, wind power, wave power, geothermal energy and power, biomass fuel and energy, and tidal power. It usually also includes technologies that improve energy efficiency. While many renewable energy projects are large-scale, renewable technologies are also suited to rural and remote areas, where energy is often crucial in human development. As of 2011, small solar photovoltaic (PV) systems provide electricity to a few million households, and micro-hydro configured into mini-grids serves many more. Over 44 million households use biogas made in household-scale digesters for lighting and/or cooking, and more than 166 million households rely on a new generation of more-efficient biomass cookstoves. |
ENGR 215 Introduction to Design projects – Fall 2008: Full Belly Project: The Fall 2008 semester of Engineering 215 worked with the Full Belly Project to adapt their Universal Nut Sheller in the following three manners:
- Reducing the cost and cement content of the UNS for manufacture in West Africa: The LC sheller and The Full Bell
- Utilizing waste plastic bags to make the UNS molds in Haiti: Hot Dang Plastic Encasement and Pressed Plastic
- Adapting a US version of the UNS to serve as a source of funding and outreach: Nutsy, Multiplicity and Simple Simon
| Fall 2008 ENGR 215 Intro to Design Projects - Full Belly Project | ||||||||||||||
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- FREE Chaps of Open-Source Lab: How to Build Your Own Hardware and Reduce Research Costs
- Recycle waste plastic into valuable products at home
- Students Build a School from Waste Products in the Dominican Republic
- Salt: Clears Muddy Water for Solar Water Disinfection
- Open access to The Case for Open Source Appropriate Technology
- Occupy Sustainability
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[×] Medical devices
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