Heating an icehockey rink
Excel Energy found has written, that there is around 2'000 kWh used to heat an icehockey rink (Kunsteisbahn) day by day. This might be an abstract amount of energy for a normal citizen. What do you think, how many typical cell phones could be charged with the energy which is used to heat an icehockey rink?
Calculation data
As I have already noted, an ice rink needs around 2'000 kWh per day. A typical cell phone needs 0.01 kWh to charge.
Your Solution
Approximately ___ cell phones could be charged with the energy which is used to heat an ice rink.
Sources:
https://www.xcelenergy.com/staticfiles/xe/PDF/Marketing/MN-Bus-Custom-Efficiency-Ice-Rink-Savings-Suggestions.pdf
https://www.quora.com/How-much-in-kwh-does-it-take-to-charge-a-typical-cell-phone
by Rico Wirth
Global Bitcoin Electricity Consumption
The Cambridge University estimated (since the exact calculation is difficult) the global electricity consumption of Bitcoin mining around 121.36 Terawatt-hours (TWh).
What do you think? How long could the city of Zurich could be supplied with this amount of energy when we take the consumption data of Zurich for 2018 for example?
The city of Zurich could be supplied with energy for approximately _______ [years]. This is ridiculous!
[1] 
[2]
Data - City of Zurich
Energy consumption (Watt/Person | Stand: 2018):
[3]
Sources:
[1] BBC News (https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-56012952)
[2] stadt-zuerich.ch (https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/gud/de/index/umwelt_energie/energie-in-zahlen/2000-watt-indikatoren/primaerenergiebilanz.html)
[3] stadt-zuerich.ch (https://www.stadt-zuerich.ch/prd/de/index/statistik/themen/bevoelkerung/bevoelkerungsentwicklung/aktueller-bevoelkerungsbestand.html)
by Claudio & Kadir
An electric vehicle/car travels at an average speed of 54 km/h, consuming 240 Watt per 100 km on average.
The total distance is 237 km. How much energy is consumed during the whole distance in kWh?
In addition, the driver eats a pack of gummy bears containing 250g. The gummy bears have a nutritional value of 340 kcal per 100g.
How much kcal are consumed by the driver and the vehicle during this distance?
Written by Alexa and David
The distance by car from Zurich to Bern is approximately 123 km. An electric car consumes an average of 15 kWh/100 km.
How much kWh do you use to travel from Zurich to Bern?
Sandra & Joelle
We heat with a heat pump. Heat pumps extract natural energy from the earth, air or water and thus significantly reduce your heating costs.
Picture 1: Heat pump
Why is a heat pump worthwhile?
- Independence
The heat pump makes you independent of fluctuating [1] oil or gas prices
- Low heating costs
You save up to 75 % on fossil fuels
- Flexibility
You can enjoy comfortable domestic heating [2] as well as optional hot water and domestic cooling [3], expand your heating system to a hybrid system and integrate other renewable energies if you wish.
- Environmentally conscious
They produce up to 50% fewer emissions
- Comfort
Heat pumps require less maintenance [4]
How does a heat pump work?
Picture 2: Heat pump function
Vocabulary
[1] schwankende
[2] Wohnwärme
[3] Wohnraumkühlung
[4] Wartung
Hydropower is the usage of water to operate machines or generate electricity. Water is in a constant state of movement through a huge global cycle: it is evaporated [1] from lakes and oceans, it forms clouds, it drops as rain or snow, and then it returns to the sea. The energy of this water cycle, which is powered by the sun, can be drawn on to generate electricity or for such mechanical tasks as the milling of grain [2]. Hydropower uses a source of fuel water [3], that is not reduced or used up in the process. Because the water cycle is an infinite, ever-renewing system, hydropower is classified as renewable energy.
If running water is captured and transformed into electricity, it is referred to as hydropower or hydroelectricity. There are various types of hydropower plants, they are all powered by the kinetic energy of flowing water as it moves downstream. Turbines and generators turn the energy into electricity, which is then fed into the power grid [4] for use in households, companies and industries.
Types of hydropower and dams
There are different kinds of hydroelectric power plants [5], all of these are powered by More...
Wood is one of the oldest used plants and one of the most important plant-product as a resource. It's considered humankind’s very first source of energy. The deforestation was one of the first big intervention of mankind in the ecosystem. Today it is still the most important single source of renewable energy providing about 6% of the global total primary energy supply. More...
"Biomass" is a fancy word for something very simple: stuff that’s found in nature. People have used biomass energy ever since the very first caveman (Höhlenmensch) thought to make a fire out of wood! Today, biomass power plants use everything from animal waste to wood pellets to create electricity. There are lots of advantages to biomass energy, which is a renewable energy source.More...
In our cellar we have a heating and oil storage room (Heizungsraum und Heizöltank). Almost all the homes in our neighbourhood use oil for heating. Its sadly not the most eco-friendly way of heating.
We also have underfloor heating in most rooms in our house like the kitchen and bathrooms. This is very practical because it saves lots of space. (You don’t have a big heating unit in the centre of the room).
In the cold Winter months, we heat our house with a small wooden oven. It gives a nice cosy winter cabin feel. You’d be surprised at how much heat can be produced in this small fireplace (see picture below). We use local wood to support climate friendly transportation emissions.
More...
Because we own an old house we heat it with wood. We have a wood-fired heating system.
Picture 1: Oven
The wood we need is from our own forest. My father fells [1] the trees and cut them into pieces of firewood which fit in our oven.More...
Nuclear energy is primarily called the technology for secondary energy by nuclear fission. This technology has been used on a large scale to produce electricity since the 1950s.
As of January 2020, 447 reactor units with a total capacity of 397 GW were in operation in 31 countries. A further 53 reactor units with a total capacity of 54.7 GW are under construction. In addition, more than 100 nuclear power plants are planned for the coming decade.
Nuclear energy is obtained from nuclear, known as "radioactive" fuel. In this process, natural uranium is enriched and then used in a nuclear fission reaction to generate heat. Nuclear energy has the great advantage of being relatively cheap and environmentally friendly. At present, uranium is also still available in relatively large quantities.
However, the cost of mining uranium is very high. In addition, large amounts of CO2 are produced in the process, which has a very unfavorable effect on the climate. However, opponents see the greatest danger in the event of a nuclear meltdown.
Source:
https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kernkraftwerk
https://www.verivox.de/strom/themen/atomkraftwerk/
Which raw material is needed?
A) carbon
B) uranium
C) palladium
D) copper