Renewable Energy
Survival in the Great Victoria Desert
Great Victoria Desert
The Great Victoria Desert is the largest desert in Australia, covering an area of 424,400km². It is the third largest in the world, after the Shara and Arabian desert. It spans over 700km from esat to west; the western part belongs at Western Australia and the eastern part extanding to South Australia.
Climate
There is little rain in the Great Victoria Desert, but not as little as one would suspect of a typical desert. The amount of rainfall ranges from 200-250mm a year, but the rain isn't . Southern parts recieve some winter rainfall, but further north, the only water source are from thunderstorms, which are not reliable. In Summer, the temperature is hot, ranging from 30 degrees celcius to 40 but the dry feeling is not uncomfortable as the humid climate of tropical areas in Australia. In Winter, the temperature range from 20 to 30 degress celcius during the day, but at night, it can be freezing, with frosts.
The Great Victoria Desert is nothing like how one would imagine a desert to look like. It is only called a desert because it has little rainfall.
SOLAR ENERGY
Solar energy is obtained from sunlight. Solar thermal technologies can be used for water heating, space heating, space cooling and process heat generationThe energy can be stored for use at night, for heating bathing water or other liquid we drink. The solar panels can be instored on the rooftops of a house. A medium sized grid tie solar panel system that generates about 797kWh a month would cost about $9600. That's usually enough for 2-3 people. So if the whole class was to live there, we would need around 12 of these solar panels. It's quite costly, but as you use it more, the money will be paid back to you as you wouldn't need have electricity bills coming each month with 3 digit numbers.Thermal mass is any material that can be used to store heat—heat from the Sun in the case of solar energy. Common thermal mass materials include stone, cement and water. Historically they have been used in arid climates or warm temperate regions to keep buildings cool by absorbing solar energy during the day and radiating stored heat to the cooler atmosphere at night. However they can be used in cold temperate areas to maintain warmth as well.A basic box cooker consists of an insulated container with a transparent lid. It can be used effectively with partially overcast skies and will typically reach temperatures of 90–150 °C. Panel cookers use a reflective panel to direct sunlight onto an insulated container
Geothermal
Geothermal is one of the most cleanest and effucient source of energy. Geothermal energy would be quite efficient to use in the desert, since the heat from underground would be hotter than normal places.By harnessing the steam from underground water heated by the Earth's magma at volcanic areas, this steam can be used to drive turbines in geothermal power stations to produce electricity. Geothermal energy can also be harnessed using a geothermal heat pump. A geothermal heat pump will pull heat from the earth in the winter and transfer it to your home. In the summer it will pull heat from your home and transfer it to the earth. It is much more efficient than a gas furnace or an air based air conditioner.Geothermal heat pumps can tap into this resource to heat and cool buildings. A geothermal heat pump system consists of a heat pump, an air delivery system (ductwork), and a heat exchanger-a system of pipes buried in the shallow ground near the building. In the winter, the heat pump removes heat from the heat exchanger and pumps it into the indoor air delivery system. In the summer, the process is reversed, and the heat pump moves heat from the indoor air into the heat exchanger. The heat removed from the indoor air during the summer can also be used to provide a free source of hot water.
Solar Panels
Geothermal Heat Pumps
Gemasolar
The 19.9 MW solar plant in Spain features 15 hours of storage and can supply power 24 hours a day