The Portable Solar Demonstration Device is a mobile off-grid photo-voltaic unit that I helped design and build in my Junior year of high school. It was my first large scale engineering intensive project, and it occupied the entirety of my free time (and more) through second trimester. The device features a rotating mechanism to raise and lower a full sized 175 watt PV panel in and out of its protective cart. The angle of the panel relative to the sun can be further adjusted using a secondary rotating system. It also features a 24 volt battery bank to store electricity, and a variety of meters, gauges, inverters, and other equipment to allow students to experiment with solar power and energy storage. The purpose of the device (which was funded by the student government and middle school science department) was to provide a unique educational tool for classes while also acting as a marketing program to fund the installation of a full sized solar array on the school roof (an installation that was successfully completed in 2011 with the help of a generous doner). The machine still resides on campus, and will hopefully continue to be operated through a student run program.
Features:
-175 watt PV panel
-2 deep cell marine/RV lead acid batteries (wired in series)
-24 volt inverter
-Solar charge controller
-Voltage, amperage meters
-Custom steel rotating frame
-Wooden construction for support frame
Build log:
The PSDD was one of my first CAD modeled designs. Almost every component was slowly created in Google SketchUp (the only CAD program I knew how to use at the time) over the course of 2 months.
This design and accompanying proposal was presented to the student government and school science department for funding, which it received a few weeks later. A small group of student volunteers and myself immediately began purchasing parts and building to meet a tight deadline two months later.
The design has an "H" shaped steel frame with the panel mounted to it. When the unit is deployed, the back of the enclosure swings open on hinges and allows the panel to rotate to the desired position. There is a simple pin mechanism that locks the panel in the "up" position. The two slots in the front allow the bottom legs of the "H" frame to pass through. They also allowed support legs to be inserted (a feature later removed) to prevent the unit from tipping in windy conditions.
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