Renewable Energies

 

About This Topic

Renewable, clean energy sources are a valuable solution to address the environmental and societal challenges associated with climate change. Switching to greener energy sources can help ease the adverse effects of climate change while promoting sustainability and reducing greenhouse gas emissions. Learn more about the importance of renewable energies and how these datasets can inform decisions, influence habits, and inspire positive action toward a greener world.

Where is the data coming from?:

Here you can find a collection of all datasets used in the projects below. Click on each title to view the information for yourself, or download project-specific spreadsheets from each individual project

Create your own Data Visualization Project!

We’ve simplified the data above to make it more easy to understand! This simplified data is used to make the MakeCode for the sample projects below. You can use this simplified data to create your own projects too!

Science Spotlight Education Reference: 

Want to learn more about this topic? Check out some Science Spotlight Research papers written by Canadian Science Centres and Museums in collaboration with the GenAction Initiative!

Data Visualization Projects

SERVO MOTOR PROJECT

Green Energy Forecast

Project Description:

The Green Energy Forecast Project is an innovative tool that provides users with an average percentage of electricity usage generated by fossil fuels for any upcoming given time. With the ability to switch through different months and time of day, users can stay informed and plan ahead as to how to use their electronics wisely. To show off this electricity usage data, this project utilises a servo motor attached to the micro:bit to indicate the percentage of electricity generated by fossil fuels in their province at that specific moment in time. This empowers users to make more informed decisions about their energy consumption and support the transition towards cleaner, greener energy sources.

START BUILDING! Green Energy Forecast Instructions

Legend

On your display project, you’ll want to created a ranged scale from 0 – 100 in the area above the servo to show the percentage of energy generate by fossil fuels

Use the LED display grid to sort through the time periods

Button A 

This button will cycle through the months

  • January/February/March
  • April/May/June
  • July/Aug
  • Sept/October
  • November/December

Button B 

This button will cycle through the hours of the day

  • 7 am – 11 am
  • 11am – 3pm
  • 3pm – 9pm
  • 9 pm – 3 am
  • 3 am – 7 am

Make Code:

Electronic Kit: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/free-kits/#activity

Servo Motor Setup:

Hardware Setup Support: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/hardware/#activity

NEOPIXEL RING PROJECT

Green Energy Forecast

Project Description:

This Green Energy Forecast Project allows users the opportunity to view the average annual output of Green Energy sources – Hydro, Wind, and Solar – over the past ten years from 2012 to 2022 in megatonnes (mT). The ability to switch through different years gives users a valuable look into the trends and patterns of green energy production over time. Examine the trends and patterns in green energy production over the past ten years, and develop deeper understanding of the efforts made against climate change and development of renewable resources

You also have the ability to view this data against the total output of energy from nonrenewable sources, giving more context to the impact of renewable resources

START BUILDING! Green Energy Forecast Instructions

Legend

On your display project, you’ll want to create a colour scale to show what the LED colours represent

  • Blue – Hydro Power
  • White – Wind Power
  • Yellow – Solar Power 
  • Red – Power from non Renewable Sources

 Use the LED display grid to sort through the years

Button A

This button will cycle forward through the years between 2012 and 2022

Button B

This button will cycle backwards through the years

Button A + B

This button will allow the user to add Non Renewable resources to the dataset to see how Green Energy sources compare to Fossil Fuels

Make Code: 

Electronic Kit: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/free-kits/#activity

Neopixel Grid Setup:

Hardware Setup Support: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/hardware/#activity

SERVO MOTOR PROJECT

Renewable Energy Percentage of Total Energy Output

Project Description:

This project enables students to visualise provincial energy data and determine the proportion of renewable energy sources in the total energy output (in Megawatt hours). By utilising the previous year’s data (2022), students can forecast the current output for any time period of the year, which can be specified by selecting a month grouping (in 3 month intervals) and time of day (divided into 6-hour sections: 12am – 6am, 6 am – 12pm…etc.)

Students can also specify what data they would like to display, switching between displaying all renewable energies generated within their selected province as group, or individually (hydro, solar, wind, and geothermal (if applicable). This project is useful not only as a tool for monitoring a province’s energy output but also as a way to increase awareness regarding its capacity and dedication towards green energy sources.

 

START BUILDING! Renewable Energy Percentage of Total Energy Output Instructions

Legend

On your display project, you’ll want to create a ranged scale in the area above the servo motor to show the percentage of energy generated by renewable energies. Make this scale from 0 – 50 because, unfortunately, no province produces more than 50% renewable energies at this time.

SHAKE  the micro:bit to have the LED screen display text of the type of energy selected, as well of the percentage it makes of the total energy output for that time period

Use the LED display grid to sort through the time periods

Button A

This button will cycle through the month groups

  • January/February/March
  • April/May/June
  • July/Aug/September
  • October/November/December

 

 

Button B 

This button will cycle through the hours of the day

  • 12am – 6am
  • 6am – 12pm
  • 12pm – 6pm
  • 6pm – 12am

 

 

Button A + B 

This button will cycle through the Type of Energy to display

  • All Renewables
  • Hydro
  • Wind
  • Solar
  • Geothermal (if applicable)

 

 

 

Make Code:

Electronic Kit: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/free-kits/#activity

Servo Motor Setup:

Hardware Setup Support: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/hardware/#activity

SERVO MOTOR PROJECT

Is This A Good Time To Use Electricity?

Project Description:

Electricity companies use the terms “off-peak” and “on-peak” to tell people when it’s best to use electricity. But sometimes these terms are confusing and hard to remember. This project is designed to make it easier for students to understand when electricity is cheapest and when it’s most expensive.

The project uses data from the previous year (2022) to show students the times when the most electricity is produced. Students can choose a specific time period by selecting a group of months (in 3 month intervals) and a time of day (divided into 6-hour sections: 12am-6am, 6am-12pm… etc.). Then, the micro:bit will tell them if that time coincides with the times of the day when the most energy is produced. If it does match, then the servo will recommend that this is NOT a good time of the day to use electricity. This way, students can help lower the energy demand, by using more electronics when output is at its low point of the day

START BUILDING! Is This a Good Time to Use Electricity? Instructions

Legend

On your display project, you’ll simply need two options for the servo motor to point at, a NO on the left side, and a YES on the right

Use the LED display grid to sort through the time periods

Button A

This button will cycle through the month groups

  • January/February/March
  • April/May/June
  • July/Aug/September
  • October/November/December

 

Button B 

This button will cycle through the hours of the day

  • 12am – 6am
  • 6am – 12pm
  • 12pm – 6pm
  • 6pm – 12am

 

Button A + B 

Press this button to display a message on the LED screen showing the current selected month group and the time of day.

 

Make Code: 

Electronic Kit: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/free-kits/#activity

Servo Motor Setup:

Hardware Setup Support: https://steamlabs.ca/data-visualization/hardware/#activity