Team Little Blue Dune Buggy

Abstract

Friends of the Dunes, the client, teamed up with Humboldt State University's Engineering introduction to design class to design and construct various aspects of the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center (HCNC). Team Little Blue Dune Buggy was formed to design and implement trail lighting from the parking lot to specific events hosted at the HCNC. Little Blue Dune Buggy consists of Kyle Sipes, Kyle Page, Laythen Martines, and Curtis Beaudry. Many brainstorming sessions resulted in several alternative solutions for the trail lighting. Each of these solutions were compared and scored according to how well they met specified criteria. The final solution was chosen through this process and several discussions with the client. The implemented solution consists of an on site solar powered light charging station.

The Client
HCNC

Background

Since 1982, the not-for-profit organization Friends of the Dunes (FOD) has aided in the conservation of coastal lands. FOD hosts many community based restoration efforts as well as educational programs and guided tours. Carol Vander Meer has been the representative of FOD who meets with us on a weekly basis. Throughout the design process she has stressed the importance of the trail lighting for special events hosted at night. The lighting will be implemented from the parking lot to the HCNC for these evening events.

Problem Statement & Criteria

Problem Statement

The trail connecting the parking lot of Friends of the Dunes to the Humboldt Coastal Nature Center requires an off-grid lighting system to guide visitors to special evening events.

Criteria

The specified criteria as discussed by the group with the client is listed on a scale of 1-10 below.

Criteria Weight Description
Leveraging Local Resources 6 Must try to use as many local and donated resources as possible.
Trail Coverage 10 Must cover 150 feet of trail at a two foot height.
Cost 8 The final product must cost no more than $400.
Appropriateness of Materials 6 Consider environmentally friendly materials when designing the trail lighting.
Ease of Use/ Maintenance 8 Must be able to be used by volunteer workers.Maintenance must be able to be completed by volunteer workers.

Final Design

The final design begins with the sun. The design implements two photovoltaic panels, rated at (6 volts and 65 watts each), which will harness energy from the sun to power the lighting for the trail. Both of the solar panels were donated by Backwoods Solar. These solar panels will be mounted on top of a shed at Friends of the Dunes and the electrical components will be housed inside. When in use, the panels will be angled so that they can best capture incoming sunlight. The panels will be held at their angle with a rod that is attached to the panel with a hinge. This rod locks the panels into place at a 38 degree angle, which is appropriate for the gathering of energy. Wiring will run from the back of the solar panels into the device and connect to a (10 amp) charge controller. The charge controller keeps the machine from over-charging itself and removes the risk of fire or explosion from over-charging. The wiring from the charge controller also leads into a (300 watt) power inverter which converts the direct current electricity gathered by the solar panels into alternating current electricity that will be used to charge the lights. Two surge protectors will be plugged into the power inverter to allow for 10 lights to be charged at a time. The charging cables for the lights will be plugged into the surge protectors and run through small holes on the side of the device. The cables can then be plugged into the lights which will be hanging from hooks on the side of the device or magnetically attached to the metal walls of the shed. The picture below shows the electrical components used in the design. The panel for the system is mounted on top of a newly constructed shed and the electrical components are housed inside the locked shed at all times.

The lights being used in the design are ten 3.5 watt LED 130 lights provided by Cooper Industries. Each light takes about 4 hours of sun to fully charge. Throughout the year the lights will take various lengths of time to charge due to various amount of solar radiation in each month. These lengths can be calculated using the table provided in the testing results section. Once charged, the lights can be stored until an event that requires lighting for the trail. Due to the high lumen output of each light, not all ten will be needed to give enough light to the trail. This allows for volunteers at the event to replace any light that may go out during the event with another fully charged one. The lights will be spaced along the trail, angled towards the ground on individual bars.

Costs

Design Hours

The image on the right displays the total number of hours spent on each section of the design project. The total hours spent on the project was 304.

Design Hours Total= 304

Material Costs

Below are the costs of each component of the solar powered light charging station. Significant cost reduction occurred as a result of donations from Cooper Industries,Backwoods Solar, and Solar Racks. The overall cost of the solar powered light charging station was $162.37. Projected cost total for this project came out to $800.75.

Quantity Material Source Our Cost ($) Cost ($)
2 6 Volt Solar Panel Donated 0 130.00
1 Inverter Donated 0 99.00
10 LED Lights Donated 0 400.00
1 Charge Controller Donated 0 6.60
1 Roof Cement Ace 7.99 7.99
2 Vinyl Gloves Ace 1.49 1.49
1 Conduit 1" Ace 4.99 4.99
1 Clamp Hose 3/8" to 7/8" Ace 2.98 2.98
2 Surge Strip 7 Outlet Ace 37.98 37.98
3 Elbow 90 1/2" SXS SCH40 Ace 1.47 1.47
1 Conduit PVC 1/2X10 Ace 2.99 2.99
1 Fuses Ace 6.50 6.50
1 Fuse Housing Ace 3.50 3.50
1 7 Amp Hour Battery Interstate Battery 26.95 26.95
1 Acrylic Caulk 10 oz Myrtletown Lumber Yard 1.43 1.43
1.25 Sheetrock Screws 1" Myrtletown Lumber Yard 2.59 2.59
4 Misc. Nuts and Bolts Myrtletown Lumber Yard 6.00 6.00
2 Misc Nuts. and Bolts Myrtletown Lumber Yard 1.30 1.30
2 Misc. Nuts and Bolts Myrtletown Lumber Yard .50 .50
1 Misc. Wood Myrtletown Lumber Yard 28.00 28.00
1 Tape 3/4X20 Do-It Best Lumber .59 .59
1 Wire Conn Small Yellow Do-It Best Lumber 1.44 1.44
10 Round Hooks Do-It Best Lumber 5.87 5.87
6 Wire 10-2WG NM350 Do-It Best Lumber 8.57 8.57
1 3/4X10 Strap, Galv Do-It Best Lumber 2.12 2.12
1 10 oz Roof Patch Myrtletown Lumber Yard 1.95 1.95
1 Caulk Gun Myrtletown Lumber Yard 2.97 1.35
1 PVC 1" Myrtletown Lumber Yard 2.20 6.60
Total Cost $162.37 $800.75

Maintenance Time

The maintenance costs for the solar powered light charging station are listed in the table below. Very few maintenance tasks are required for the solar charging station per year. The maximum maintenance time for the system is 70 minutes per year.

Task Time(min/year)
Clean solar panel surface 25
Replace wiring (if necessary) 30
Tighten bolts on solar panel mount 15
Total 70

Testing Results

Through the testing of our solar panel system we were able to determine that ample energy is being supplied and passed throughout the entire system. The table below displays the amount of days it will take for the solar shack to charge the lights according to the peak hours of sunlight for each month.

Month Minimum Full Sunlight Energy Made By Panel Days To Charge(based on peak sunlight hours)
January 1.8 hr/day 93.6 Wh/day 1.5 days
February 2.6 hr/day 135 Wh/day 1 day
March 3.6 hr/day 187 Wh/day 1 day
April 4.8 hr/day 249 Wh/day 1 day
May 6.7 hr/day 348 Wh/day 1 day
June 7.6 hr/day 395 Wh/day 1 day
July 7.6 hr/day 384 Wh/day 1 day
August 6.4 hr/day 332 Wh/day 1 day
September 5.1 hr/day 265 Wh/day 1 day
October 3.8 hr/day 197.6 Wh/day 1 day
November 2.4 hr/day 124.8 Wh/day 1.1 day
December 1.8 hr/day 93.6 Wh/day 1.5 day

The Table below displays the amount of solar energy collected by each component of the system. These numbers represent the amount of voltage collected in direct current (dc) or alternating current (ac). This information was gathered using a multimeter at the site.

Source Voltage
Panel 20.2 V(dc)
Charge Controller 14.5 V(dc)
Battery 14.5 V(dc)
Inverter 113.8 V(ac)
Surge Protectors 113.8 V(ac)

How To Build

Discussion

References

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