Active banners: 1 Visible banners: 1
Banner ID: 13 Has content: true
Hi, educators! Share your student reach in our short Impact Survey đź“š Survey Link
Solar Hot Water
Provided by: Project Drawdown |Published on: October 11, 2023
Articles/Websites
9101112AP
Synopsis
- In this article, students will read about the use of thermal energy from solar radiation as a climate solution that supplements electric and gas water heaters, reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- This article includes two scenarios for adopting solar water heating, the direct and indirect emissions caused by both solar hot water and existing hot water systems, financial implications, and how much emissions will be reduced for either of the given scenarios.
Subjects: Economics, Engineering
Authors: Project Drawdown
Region: Global
Languages: English
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This article is well-sourced and paints a conservative and realistic picture of both emissions reductions and financial savings.
- At the bottom of the article are steps that students and teachers can take to help in the fight against climate change, which is great for students who have climate anxiety or want a sense of agency in such a big issue.
Prerequisites
- Students may need the terms solar thermal collector, polynomial curve, and others defined prior to reading the article.
- Students should understand what climate change is, that the emissions from burning fossil fuels contribute to climate change, and that humans primarily use fossil fuels for energy.
- Students should have a basic understanding of statistics, data, and graphs.
Differentiation & Implementation
- To introduce the article, teachers can ask students to list all of the times they use hot water at home in a day. The teacher should encourage students to think of things like laundry and dishes as well. Then, the teacher can ask students if they have thought about the energy that is used to heat this water.
- Civics students can draft a bill using incentives and disincentives to encourage residential areas to implement solar hot water.
- Students can discuss the reasoning behind the prioritization model mentioned in the integration section, evaluating why some solutions would rank before others on the list.
- Students can also extend learning by reading about two of the other solutions linked in this article or any solution from the Table of Solutions.
- Language arts students can write a persuasive letter to a building manager in the area, convincing them to implement solar hot water.
Scientist Notes
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
About the Partner Provider
Project Drawdown
Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “drawdown”—the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. Cities, universities, corporations, philanthropies, policymakers, communities, educators, activists, and more turn to Project Drawdown as they look to advance effective climate action. Project Drawdown resources for educators include the database of Drawdown Solutions, educational video series Climate Solutions 101, the Drawdown Stories initiative, and more.
All resources can be used for your educational purposes with proper attribution to the content provider.
Teaching Materials
Educator Support
My Account
