Date of Graduation

5-2025

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Bachelor of Science in Chemical Engineering

Degree Level

Undergraduate

Department

Chemical Engineering

Advisor/Mentor

Walker, Heather

Abstract

Photovoltaic solar cells are utilized in solar panels to convert sunlight into usable electricity. Since the energy derived from solar panels produces far less greenhouse gas than typical fuels such as coal and natural gas do, it is considered a clean source of energy and is vital to sustainability efforts. Sustainability is often defined by three pillars: environmental, social, and economical. Solar energy incorporates each of these pillars into its process, allowing it to be an effective tool to teach sustainability to students. A previously written lab that employs solar panels focused on the efficiency of converting light into electricity. However, the original lab instructions were unclear, leading to difficulties in reproducibility and inconsistent results among students. To address this issue, a proposal was made to revise the lab in order to enhance its clarity and repeatability. Participation in the lab as it was written allowed for necessary updates to the instructions to become apparent, allowing for the procedure to be revised in a way to increase student understanding. The proposal also determined the need to more explicitly incorporate the economic pillar of sustainability into the lab. Through research, three methods were found to introduce the economic pillar of sustainability and expand upon the environmental branch that was already included. These methods were to determine the greenhouse gas emissions of the lab solar panel, determine the overall efficiency of energy utilization, and to calculate the payback period of a residential solar panel in the state. The incorporation of these approaches and the updates to the procedure allow students to perform the lab in a way that produces consistent results and teaches them the principles of sustainability.

Keywords

Solar Panel; Sustainability; Solar Panel Lab; Solar Energy; Energy Efficiency

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