Practivistas solar 2015

Abstract

Short abstract describing the project from background to conclusion

Background

Describe the background of the project. Make sure to cover who, what, why, when and where…

Problem statement

​The objective of our project is to improve and secure current solar panel systems in the communities of Las Malvinas, La Yuca, and Ghetto2Garden, as well as educate community members on solar technology.

Criteria

Include a brief intro to the criteria and then include a table with constraints and weights (0-10 highest). Feel free to use the code from examples, such as CCAT pedal powered TV#Evaluation Criteria.

Grading Criteria for previous sections:

• Formatting (should look good, sortable table for criteria) +2
• Thoroughness of content (who, what, when, were, etc.) +4
• Considers audience (this will be read by people around the world and in the future, consider things such as there is more than one Santo Domingo) +3
• Extra (e.g. images) +1

Criteria

After meeting with the community of Las Malvinas, Tomas of Ghetto2Garden and the director of the school in La Yuca, our group thought these were the most important aspects of the three different solar projects.

Criteria	Weight	Constraints
durability	9	longevity under seasonal weather patterns. There are hard winds and a lot of rain in Santo Domingo during hurricane season
Educational Ability	7.5	Community members around the town can benefit greatly with the knowledge of building and maintaining solar systems
Security	10	Theft and vandalism are a worry for community members because solar power is expensive and a rich resource to have
Maintenance	8	Its necessary that is doesn't take a lot of work to keep the system up to par
Cost	8.5	We have a set budget for the three solar systems.
Safety	7	Solar systems will be in community spaces and need to be safe from damage
Efficiency	6.5	We will fill this out later (:

Literature Review

Introduce the literature review briefly and then use heading and subheadings for topics. This should focus on information… NO PLAGIARISM! ^[1] Copy and paste from this Practivistas Dominicana/literature review template.

Grading criteria for Literature Review:

• Formatting +1
• Spelling, grammar, etc. (even when this is not explicitly stated as a criteria, it is expected) +2
• Credibility (at least 1 book, 1 peer reviewed journal article, and many credible web references per student) +3
• Thoroughness and relevance (at least 3 very project relevant topics per student) +3
  • Remember engineering 215 students must use technical writting
• Extra (e.g. amazing sources, beautiful writing, above and beyond topic coverage, etc.) +1

Solar Photovoltaic Systems

A Brief Introduction of Solar Energy
The sun is extremely powerful and solar power technology enables people to harness the Suns energy to use for their own commercial or independent need. This is possible by solar cells, referred to as photovoltaic cells, which make up the solar panels. Photovoltaic cells are made from a semiconducting material that captures the Suns energy converting the light into electricity. The photovoltaic cells are just one component of the photovoltaic system that make up the weather sealed modules(panels). Solar power is great for small applications that use little or no land and result in minimal environmental impacts.^[2] Most photovoltaic systems have a capacity of 5 kW or less which is enough to provide power to homes and small buildings. This means that by having solar panels it is possible to live sufficiently off grid providing enough energy to sustain a household unconnected to the utility electrical grid.^[3]

Solar Panel Types
There are a variety of solar panel designs that result in differing efficiency and cost. The most practical and relevant panels on the market are crystalline silicon based. Crystalline silicone is the most expensive, but the most efficient available. There are two types of crystialine silicon, monocrystalline and polycrystalline and amorphous-silicon which deviates from crystalline. Of the three varieties, mono crystalline is the most efficient but the most expensive upfront. Even though it is the most expensive, it is the most common because of its haa an average efficiency of 15-18% and reaching as high as 20%^[4]. It is also the most popular in the market comprising of 80% of the photovoltaic systems installed. Polycrystalline is cheaper and is meant to increase production at a cheaper cost. This results in a cheaper solar panel at a cost of a less efficient system. The average efficiency of polycrystalline is reduced to a peak of 15%.^[5] Diverging from the crystalline silicon technology, amorphous silicon cells were developed and have an even lower efficiency of 8%.^[6]

Site Assessment
There are many factors that must be taken into consideration for a successful solar photovoltaic system for it to reach peak efficiency. These factors include climate and location on earth as well as physical placement, position and orientation of the solar panels. Harnessing the maximum direct sunlight available at a site is the goal of every solar panel installation. Solar energy is most successful in regions where there is an abundance of sunshine. For a successful system, it is ideal to install the panels in a location that receives a great amount of sun from times 8am-5pm.^[7] It is especially best where there is less deviation and refraction of the solar rays, or in any region where radiation levels exceed 1,700 Kwh/m^2 yr. At the location of PV system installation the physical orientation, placement and position of the solar panels are adjusted to harness the most sunlight that area can receive. For example, in regions close to the equator a low tilt is recommend to maximize solar gain.^{[8] [9]}

The commonly used solar panel systems by previous projects by Practivistas have been Photovoltaic (PV) systems. "Photovoltaics is the direct conversion of light into electricity at the atomic level. Some materials exhibit a property known as the photoelectric effect that causes them to absorb photons of light and release electrons. When these free electrons are captured, an electric current results that can be used as electricity." ^[10]

“Basic components of grid-connected PV systems with and without batteries are:
• Solar photovoltaic modules
• Array mounting racks
• Grounding equipment
• Combiner box
• Surge protection (often part of the combiner box)
• Inverter
• Meters – system meter and kilowatt-hour meter
• Disconnects:
- Array DC disconnect
- Inverter DC disconnect
- Inverter AC disconnect
- Exterior AC disconnect
If the system includes batteries, it will also require:
• Battery bank with cabling and housing structure
• Charge controller
• Battery disconnect” ^[11]

It is crucial to have good battery care in a PV system as there is a high risk of over charging your batteries due to high voltage at peak sun hours. With a charge controller you are able to limit this risk within the system and protect the battery ^[12] It is also crucial to have cabling in order to connect he solar panel system to the household power line and direct alternating and direct currents. "A series of cabling infrastructure is necessary to actually bring the converted power into homes and business. In essence, the solar cable is an wire that interconnects all parts of the solar PV system. Cabling networks can vary, but typically are designed to be UV and weather resistant and capable of dealing with extreme fluctuations in temperature (both heat and cold), since one common factor for these system is that they're used outdoors. The most common type of cabling used is a DC voltage of 1.8 kV and a temperature range from - 40 degrees Celsius to 90 degrees Celsius. Another important feature of the solar cable is that it must be insulated well enough to withstand the thermal and mechanical loads. To achieve this, most solar cables use plastic that are cross-linked using electron beams. This protects against the weather elements, including the sun's radiation and humidity that would otherwise erode the system over time." ^[13]

Basic Tools Needed for Installation
"Angle finder
Torpedo level
Fish tape
Chalk line
Cordless drill (14.4V or greater), multiple batteries
Unibit and multiple drill bits (wood, metal, masonry)
Hole saw
Hole punch
Torque wrench with deep sockets
Nut drivers (most common PV sizes are 7/16”, ½”, 9/16”)
Wire strippers
Crimpers
Needle-nose pliers
Lineman's pliers
Slip-joint pliers
Small cable cutters
Large cable cutters
AC/DC multimeter
Hacksaw
Tape measure
Blanket, cardboard or black plastic to keep modules from going “live” during installation
Heavy duty extension cords
Caulking gun
Fuse Pullers”^[14]

How to Assess the System

When a lead-acid battery is not completely charged, nor completely discharged for a period of approximately three days, the battery's carrying capacity is diminished. ^[15] Knowing when solar noon occurs is helpful in finding the peak sun hours for the solar system. ^[16] If the time at sunset if subtracted form the time at sunrise and divided by two, solar noon is calculated. Knowing the efficiency of the solar photovoltaic cells is helpful when determining what cell efficiency and quantity is best in meeting your needs. The equation is shown below:

maximum efficiency = maximum power output / incident radiation flux*area of collector ^[17]

Past Projects

In 2013 Ghetto2Garden was in an unsecured location and since then has relocated. There are now solar panels that must be reconnected to the main energy line. In 2013 they created a solar panel operated vaccine refrigerator that successfully stored medicine for the animals called a Solar Lighting Cube". ^[18]

Ghetto2Garden 2014
In 2014 Practivistas Dominicana students installed a US legal system at Ghetto2Garden (G2G). G2G is a shelter for dogs and cats that are close to dying. The shelter is a safe haven for animals that were on the street. There is a housing unit on the property that needed electrical power for lighting and a refridgerator. The most important aspect of the system for the team were functionality, durability, safety, security and easy of maintenance. The system was set up and running at the end of the program, summer 2014. Some of the lessons that the team learned during the process of this project were to contact help as soon as possible, always over-estimate the load, air flow is necessary for the panels, and a bigger gauge is needed when using DC compared to AC. The next steps for this project that were sited were to change the battery monitor to monitor all batteries instead of just one and to make the panels/system more secure. Also labels should be added to help with future maintenance. ^[19]

La Yuca Project 2014
Practivistas Dominicana installed a solar power energy system in La Yuca, a community in Santo Domingo. Its goal was to design and implement an efficient source of energy for two school rooms where there are frequent power outages."Upon completion of the installation of the solar power system in La Yuca, the team was successfully able to verify the working condition of the system."^[20] To improve this project, future practivistas can add a battery monitor that will show the battery voltage so they can be taken care of appropriately extending the battery life. Also to establish seemingly permanent system, the wires are needing be secured from the control panel to the control box. The system was a success and was fully functioning providing energy to the two schoolrooms.

Education

A lesson plan is needed in order to inform children and adults in the community about solar energy. It will begin with the basics on how solar panels work and then it will move into the importance of sustainability and renewable energy. ^[21] By bringing in solar-powered lights which can be disassembled, students will be able to gain hands-on experience. Incorporating tactile learning as well as visual and auditory learning is key to making sure the students understand the concepts being presented. ^[22]The goal of the class is to make sure the students know how the school's electricity is being generated. It is also intended that the students leave with knowledge on what renewable energy is and why it is needed. ^[23]

Construction

Very complete description of how final project is made. This large section should have lots of pictures. Please consider making a timeline in addition or instead. Use the Help:Images#Galleries and probably Template:How_to (e.g. Barrel O' Fun Worm Bin Instructions).

Timeline

Introduce the timeline and include a table of the timeline.

Grading criteria for timeline:

• Spelling and grammar +2
• Completeness of timeline +4
• Table formatting +1
• Timeline introduced +2
• Separate columns for proposed and actual completion date. +1

Costs

Description of costs, donations, the fact that this is just proposed, etc. See http://www.appropedia.org/Help:Table_examples#Cost_Table for a very nice looking table format.

Grading criteria for costs:

• Formatting (should look good, see http://www.appropedia.org/Help:Table_examples#Cost_Table formatting) +2
• Thoroughness and up-to-dateness of budget (should display necessary components, including donations, have an introduction, etc) +4
• Mathematical accuracy +3
• Extra (sortable, etc) +1

Operation

This is how to operate. It should have a brief introduction and very useful images with labels. Also it may work best for your project to use the step by step how to template {{How to}}. See #Troubleshooting for an example.

Maintenance

Introduce this maintenance section.

Schedule

This is when to maintain what.

Daily

• A daily task
• A daily task

Weekly

• a weekly task
• a weekly task

Monthly

• a monthly task
• a monthly task

Yearly

• a yearly task
• a yearly task

Every __ years

• task
• task

Instructions

This is how to use and maintain it. The step by step how to template {{How to}} is most likely best for this part.

Conclusion

Testing results

Describe the testing results.

Discussion

Discuss the testing results.

Lessons learned

Discuss lessons were learned during this project and what you would do different next time.

Next steps

Discuss any next steps for the project as it goes on into the future.

Troubleshooting

This is only how to troubleshoot basic operation. For complex issues, the solution might just say contact ________. It should be a table in this format:

Problem	Suggestion
Example issue	Example solution or suggestion
Does not turn on	Make sure it is plugged in
Another issue	Et cetera

Team

Introduce team and semester in the following format:

• Lonny Grafman
• for each team member.

Grading criteria for the remaining sections:

• Grammar and spelling +1
• Formatting +1
• Depth, breadth and accuracy of content +7
• Project documentation's potential for impact (e.g. reproduction) +1

References

Template:Reflist

Make sure to include other relevant categories at the bottom, e.g. [[Category:Rainater]], [[Category:Upcycling]], etc.