Revision as of 18:33, 5 August 2013

Background

The streets are not the most suitable habitat for animals to live in. Animals are especially vulnerable when they need rehabilitation, recovery, and rest. Ghetto2Garden takes care of cats and dogs with reduced potential for adoption; that are deformed, blind, unwanted, elderly, and/or are terminally ill.

The Ghetto2Garden initiative was developed initially in an attempt to find an appropriate shelter to house 6 cats and 40 dogs. Currently Ghetto2Garden houses 50 dogs and 10 cats who have been rescued from the streets of Santo Domingo and provides these animals with a care facility where they can live the rest of their days in peace and happiness. This student involvement in this project is the result of the collaboration between Colectivo Revark and the Practivistas Dominicana Program in an attempt to bring sustainable construction and renewable energy to the construction of the shelter.

Objective Statement

The objective of this Appropriate Technology project was to develop and construct a renewable energy system with Ghetto2Garden dog shelter program. We worked on putting together renewable energy for Ghetto2Garden to not only have a more dependable source of energy but to lessen carbon emissions. The renewable energy system will eventually be used to power a vaccination refrigerator and other miscellaneous units such as cell phone chargers and laptops. Solar energy was the most accessible and appropriate technology for Ghetto2Garden. The project consisted of two parts; Building a "Solar Power Cube", and constructing a "Solar Lighting Cube."

Location

Because Ghetto2Garden was in the process of finding a new site for the animal refuge, the project took place in La Yuca.

La Yuca del Naco, Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Literature Review

See the literature review done for the Ghetto2Garden project here.

Criteria

The work of this project was done in collaboration with the architectural team RevArk and the father of the project, Tomás. The priorities associated with the criteria for the Recyclable Cubes were determined by discussion with the collaborators.

Criteria	Weight (0-10)	Constraints
Aesthetics	5	Must be acceptable to the client's vision
Durability	7	Maintenance must be simple with few necessary repairs
Mobility	5	Must be transportable to the location, partial set-up before arrival
Feasibility	9	Must be able to complete it, with easy construction within the time frame
Creativity	8	Must reflect the creativity shown in architectural plans
Energy Produced	10	Must be at least able to steadily produce 200 watts
Cost	7	Must be less than $1000 US
Security	10	Must be unobtrusive and obviously well secured

Proposed Timeline

Date	Activity	Members
June 17	Criteria & Timeline Due	Everyone
June 20	All research on Batteries, inverters, and complete construction process (including soldering) must be complete and uploaded to Appropedia. Also research the best angles for light to hit solar panels for max output.	Everyone
June 22	Must have a meeting with Tomas by this date	Everyone + RevArk
June 23	Make sure all materials and equipment is bought	Simone & Will
June 28	Complete first panel and figure out optimal method of attachment.	Everyone
July 1	Project completed	Everyone
Week of July 1	Presentations	Everyone

Final Design

Solar Power Cube

Colectivo ReVark, an experimental group that investigates applications of sustainable design and construction, designed a animal refuge for Ghetto2Garden. This animal refuge is designed to incorporate liquid shipping cubes as dog kennels which were coincidentally designed to double (or triple) as solar lighting cubes and a solar power cube. Other forms of alternative energy were considered, but solar energy turned out to be the most accessible and appropriate technology in this case.

Design and Construction Process

Design

Sizing the system
Resistance to the elements
Mobility
Security
Technical Issues

See Photovoltaics for more information about sizing a solar system, wire sizing, and the components of a system.

Construction

Cutting the cube
Joining the two panels
Mounting the panels
Soldering wires
Connecting the system together

Materials used:

Liquid shipping container
Solar panels
Inverter
Solar Charge Controller
Deep Cycle Batteries
Switch
Wire
Metal Bars

Liquid Shipping Container
Solar Panels
"Control Board"

Components

Device	Specifications	Description
Solar Panels	Two 140W Panels in parallel	Used to charge Two 6V batteries in series with 225AH
Fuse	35A Fuse	The fuse is used to protect the elements of the circuit
Solar Charge Controller	12/24V 30A	The Solar Charge Controller protects the batteries from being destroyed by the solar panels by opening the circuit when they are fully charged. Furthermore, it regulates the amperage at which the batteries are charged.
Switch	30 Amp	The Switch is used to disconnect the batteries from the system if needed.
Deep Cycle Batteries	Two 6V in series 225AH	The Batteries will be used to power a vaccination fridge and other miscellaneous uses.
Inverter	200W 12V	Used to convert Direct Current to Alternating Current.
Liquid Shipping Container	Roughly a cubic meter	Solar array is mounted to the top and the cube is used to house batteries, inverter, as well as the charge controller.
Electrical wires	8 gauge 10 gauge	10 gauge wire was used to connect panels to charge controller. 8 gauge was used to connect everything else.
Terminal Connectors		Used to connect the batteries in series.

Budget

Materials	Unit Price $(DOP)	Quantity	Cost $(DOP)	Cost $(USD)
140 watt Solar Panel	N/A	2	13,941.00	340.02
Solar Charge Controller	3,500.00	1	3,500.00	85.37
Deep Cycle Battery (6V)	4,000.00	2	8,000.00	195.12
Fuse and Housing	15.00	1	15.00	0.37
Switch	50.00	1	50.00	1.33
Inverter	Donated	1	0.00	0.00
Electrical Wire	625.00	1	625.00	15.24
Battery terminal connectors	75.00	2	150.00	3.66
Liquid Shipping Container	Donated	1	0.00	0.00
Total Cost			$26,281.00	$641.00

Important Instructions - Read Before Use

Give cube more tilt to allow water to properly flow off of panels
Absolutely no more than 200 watts plugged into the inverter
During times of no sun, cut down on energy consumption
When connecting the system
- 1st - Connect the batteries to the charge controller
- 2nd - Connect the solar panels to the charge controller
- 3rd - Connect the inverter to the charge controller
The inverter has an on/off button
Be very careful around the battery terminals
The red wire is positive
The striped wire is negative

When Moving the Solar Cube

Remove the solar panel from the cube
Remove the batteries from the cube
Do not leave the disconnected panels facing the sun
Be careful with panel during transportation, it is fragile

Video

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Solar Lighting Cube

The solar lighting cube is planned to be a unit on top of each of the shelter structures that will provide lighting for the dog houses for approximately 3 hours without sun.