How is energy generated and stored so that it can be chosen to make products and power systems?
Sources, generation and storage of energy, including fossil fuels, biofuels and renewable sources, and the factors that decide which source is appropriate for a product or system.
A focused answer to Edexcel GCSE Design and Technology 1.3 on the sources, generation and storage of energy, covering fossil fuels, biofuels, tidal, wind, solar and hydroelectric, and the factors that decide which source suits a product.
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What this dot point is asking
This is Edexcel key idea 1.3, the first part: the sources, generation and storage of energy (1.3.1). Edexcel wants you to know the processes, applications, characteristics, advantages and disadvantages of each source so you can discriminate between them and select appropriately. In Section A this appears as short open-response questions naming sources and as Evaluate or Discuss extended-open-response questions comparing sources for a product. A separate page covers powering systems and electronics (1.3.2, 1.6, 1.7).
Sources of energy
- Fossil fuels (finite): oil, gas and coal are burned to drive turbines or engines. They give high, controllable output on demand, but are finite, will run out, and release carbon dioxide and pollutants.
- Biofuels (renewable but with limits): biodiesel and biomass come from crops and organic waste. They are renewable and can reuse waste, but growing fuel crops competes with food and land.
- Tidal: barrages and turbines capture the predictable rise and fall of tides. Reliable and clean, but expensive to build and limited to suitable coasts.
- Wind: turbines convert wind into electricity. Clean and increasingly cheap, but intermittent and dependent on wind speed and location.
- Solar: photovoltaic cells convert sunlight into electricity. Clean, modular and good for remote products, but output varies with weather, season and time of day.
- Hydroelectric: falling or flowing water spins turbines. Reliable and long-lived, but needs dams and suitable geography and can flood habitats.
Generating and storing energy
A renewable source only produces electricity when the natural flow is available, so storage matters.
Batteries are either single-use (primary) cells, which are discarded when flat, or rechargeable (secondary) cells, which can be charged many times and suit portable and renewable systems. Rechargeable batteries reduce waste but cost more and degrade over their life.
Choosing an appropriate energy source
A designer weighs these factors together. A wearable device prioritises portability and a small rechargeable cell; a remote sign suits solar with a battery; a power tool needs high output, so the mains or a high-capacity battery; a sustainable brief prioritises low environmental impact, favouring renewables.
Exam-style practice questions
Practice questions written in the style of Pearson Edexcel exam questions on this dot point, with worked answer explainers. The year tag is the paper they imitate, not the source.
Edexcel 20226 marksEvaluate the use of solar power rather than mains electricity to power a public car park ticket machine. (6 marks)Show worked answer →
A 6-mark Evaluate is levels-marked. Markers reward a balanced argument weighing the advantages and disadvantages of solar power for this specific application, with a conclusion.
Advantages: a solar panel and battery make the ticket machine independent of the mains, so it can be sited anywhere in the car park without trenching a cable, cutting installation cost and disruption. Solar is renewable and produces no emissions in use, lowering running cost and carbon footprint, and a battery stores charge for night and cloudy days.
Disadvantages: output depends on the weather and season, so in a dull winter the battery may not fully charge and the machine could fail when most needed. The panel and battery add cost, the battery degrades and must be replaced, and the panel can be shaded, soiled or vandalised.
A Level 3 answer ties both sides to the car park context and concludes, for example, that solar suits a low-power, outdoor machine provided the battery is sized for winter, otherwise a mains supply is safer. Markers reward the balance and the applied judgement.
Edexcel 20204 marksExplain two factors a designer should consider when choosing an energy source to power a portable product. (4 marks)Show worked answer →
A 4-mark "explain two factors" question gives 2 marks per developed factor.
Factor 1: portability of the power source (1). A portable product needs a compact, lightweight source such as a rechargeable battery rather than a mains lead, so the user can move freely (1).
Factor 2: power output (1). The source must supply enough current for the product to work for a reasonable time, so a designer matches the battery capacity to the load to avoid a flat battery during use (1).
Markers accept any two of Edexcel's factors (portability, environmental impact, power output, circuit or system connections, cost), each with a developed reason. Just naming a factor earns 1 of the 2 marks.
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Sources & how we know this
- Pearson Edexcel GCSE (9-1) Design and Technology (1DT0) specification — Pearson Edexcel (2022)