A senior project about renewable energy sources. It covers points such as how to install and maintain solar systems (both photovoltaic and water heating), modifying a car to run on biofuel, a personal project to build a solar powered RC car, and a personal project to model a virtual city which is green. Provides a contact sheet of companies that may aid consumers in acquiring and installing said systems (Mexico mainly) The sources are all cited Presentation applies largely to Mexico, but is easily extrapolated to other countries (except contact sheet)

1. A Renewable World: The
Future Ahead Of Us
A Senior Project by Alejandro
Sauter Forseck

2. Index
• Part 1 – Reducing Your Carbon Footprint
• Part 2 – Contact Sheet
• Part 3 – Solar Powered RC Car
• Part 4 – Virtual City Model

3. Reducing Your Carbon
Footprint
Alejandro Sauter

4. What is a carbon footprint?
• Carbon footprint: a measure of the impact
our activities on the environment
– It relates to the amount of greenhouse gases
produced in our day-to-day lives

5. Primary Carbon Footprint
• The primary
footprint is a
measure of our direct
emissions of
CO2 from the burning
of fossil fuels
including domestic
energy consumption
and transportation
– We control this
footprint directly

6. Secondary Carbon Footprint
• The secondary
footprint is a
measure of the
indirect
CO2 emissions from
the whole lifecycle of
products we use
– Associated with their
manufacture and
eventual breakdown

7. Addressing Your Primary Carbon
Footprint
• Besides regular measures, there are two
main segments to address:
– Transportation
– Household

8. The Household Carbon Footprint
– Thermoelectric 23,121.17 mW (45.2%)
– Carbon 2,600 mW (5.1%)
– Thermoelectric (Independent Producers)
11,906.90 (23.3%)
– Remaining % is hydroelectric, nuclear, eolic,
and geothermic (cleaner energy sources)

9. Reducing The Household Carbon
Footprint
• Two ways
– Water-heating solar panels
– Photovoltaic panels

10. Installation
• Water-heating solar panels
– simple and cost-friendly
– mainly requires plumbing/tubing

11. Maintenance
• Water-heating solar panels
– durable, almost no maintenance
– 5 to 10 year warranty
– check tubing every year, revisions every 3-5
years

12. Costs
• Water-heating solar panels
– varies, depending on system type and
capacity
– 5,500 to 7,500 USD
– reduce bills and emissions significantly

13. Carbon Footprint Reduction
• Water-heating solar panels
– 230kgCO2/year when replacing gas and
510kgCO2/year when replacing electric
immersion heating

14. Installation
• Photovoltaic solar panels
– connection to fuse box
– batteries, controller, inverter
– monitor
– CFE back-up

15. Maintenance
• Photovoltaic solar
panels
– equalize every 6
months – 1 year
(refresh water in
batteries)
– clean solar panels
(dust)
– change batteries every
5-10 yrs
– change solar panels
every 15-20 yrs

16. Costs
• Photovoltaic solar panels
– 1,000 USD/panel
– 380 USD/battery
– 800 USD/controller
– 3,000 USD/invertor
– 165 USD/switch box PV
– 450 USD/switch box
AC/DC
– 800 USD/monitor install
– 2,500-3,000 USD/materials
& installment

17. Carbon Footprint Reduction
• CFE energy
production
percentages/kW
• Your usual kW
consumption daily
• Emissions per each
kW of each energy
source
=total

18. Reducing The Transportational
Carbon Footprint
• Traditional ways
– Carpool
– Smaller cars
– Conservative driving
style
• Direct investment
– Hybrid cars
– Biofuels
– Diesel cars
(transitional)

19. Installation
• Biofuel cars
• *Some cars (i.e. Jeep)
are already FlexFuel
(take a percentage of
biofuel ~ usually 85%)
– Spark plug
(Iridium/Platinum)
– ECU (Engine Control Unit)
• 2 to 4 cylinders
• 5 to 6 cylinders
• 8 cylinders

20. Maintenance
• Biofuel cars
– Normal car
maintenance
– 2-3 years
check/replace fuel
lines (if made of plastic
components)
– Change spark plugs
every 160,000 km

21. Costs
• Biofuel car
– Pulsar spark plug (Platinum/Iridium)
• 219/249 pesos
– 2-4 cylinder ECU
• 6,500 pesos
– 5-6 cylinder ECU
• 7,600 pesos
– 8 cylinder ECU
• 8,600 pesos

22. Carbon Footprint Reduction
• Biofuel cars
– 70-80% less emissions
than normal cars
• 58 lbs of hydrocarbons
• 431 lbs of carbon
monoxide
• 29 lbs of nitrogen
oxides
• 8,600 lbs of carbon
dioxide
– Up to 70% savings on
fuel costs

23. The Future?
• Hydrogen used in
cars
– FCX Clarity 
Hydrogen fuel cells,
electric engine
– BMW Hydrogen 7 
Uses hydrogen in a
combustion engine

24. Sources
• Slide 4,5,6  carbon footprint  http://
www.carbonfootprint.com/carbonfootprint.html
• Slide 8  CFE production 
http://www.cfe.gob.mx/QuienesSomos/estadisticas/Paginas/Indicadoresde
• Slide 10,11,12,13  water heating solar panels 
http://www.energysavingtrust.org.uk/Generate-your-own-energy/Solar-wa
• Slide 14,15,16,17 first-hand experience, outback manuals
• Slide 18,19,20,21,22  www.fuelflexmexico.com.mx
• Slide 22  http://www.epa.gov/oms/consumer/f00013.htm
• Slide 23  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BMW_Hydrogen_7
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/FCX_Clarity

25. Index

26. Contact Sheet
• Photovoltaic Solar Panels
– http://www.erdmsolar.com/
– http://www.solartec.mx/
• Water-Heating Solar Panels
– http://www.iluminacionsolar.com.mx/
– http://www.genersys-solar.com.mx/
• Biofuel Mods
– http://fuelflexmexico.com.mx/
– FlexFuel Car List (2010) 
http://www.autobytel.com/green-cars/list-of-2010-flex-fuel-v

27. Index

28. Solar Powered RC Car
• Opening car bottom
• Connecting solar
panel cables with
capacitor, capacitor to
battery port

29. Solar Powered RC Car
• Insert battery and
close battery port
(solar panel 
capacitor  battery
 car) , now the solar
panel charges the
battery which powers
the car
• Mount solar panel

30. Solar Powered RC Car
• Mount capacitor and
cables so car may run

31. Solar Powered RC Car (setbacks)
• Battery (old, didn’t
deliver enough power,
didn’t hold much
charge)
– Reduce weight (take
down car, build it
again)
– Mount 2 solar panels
to charge battery
faster

32. Index

33. Virtual City Model
• Based on Montreal terrain
• Specs
– 1,747,807 MW-h annual usage  90% solar, 10%
wind
– Population: 668,620
– Life expectancy – 89 years
– Unemployment – 5%
– 794,981 tons of waste produced
• 45% recycled
• 25% burned in waste to energy incinerators
• 20% normal incinerators
• 10% landfills

42. Index

43. Thank You!
• Sources listed in respective parts
• Special thanks to
– Maxis  SC3000 program for city
– Tim Kabeary  Interview/providing info on
systems and guidance
– Friends and family who provided support!