RUNNING HEADING: LAB NOTEBOOK 6

Jarrett Lash & Hahnbee Lee

January 24th, 2017
Solar Energy: Out on a Limb

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Materials and Methods

Over the past two weeks we were able to link the panels together in a manner that
is capable of providing the Raspberry Pi with the necessary power to run the systems.
The branches still have yet to be printed so the panels were laid out on a picnic table
outside (Figure 1) and were then connected to the Solar Lithium Ion Power Converter.
Following, the charge was relayed into the 5V Lipo USB Charger, then plugged into the
Raspberry Pi itself. This two-step energy preparation stage is needed in order to best
utilize the energy being captured (Figure 2). The ingrained capacitor on the Solar
Lithium Ion Power Converter allows for slight amounts of storage of the energy we
capture to compensate for decreases in light magnification, whether it be a cloud or night
(Figure 3). Additionally, we will add a large capacitor to store all excess energy once we
determine its complete output. We found pretty intense fluctuations on light readings
from the Multimeter we were using to determine the basic output of one solar panel. We
hope that by linking all fifteen together and placing it through the necessary converters
that the energy source will best be stabilized.

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Figure 1: Here is the tree with the panels on a picnic table outside. We used this setup to
determine what the basic output of the panels was and if it was possible for the panels to
power the Raspberry Pi.

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Figure 2: This is the view of the Raspberry Pi and the other Adafruit Electronics that are
converting the power to something usable for the Pi. It can be seen that both the light on
the Pi as well as the light on the Powerbooster are engaged showing that there is input
power from the panels allowing for them to be powered.

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Figure 3: The capacitor on the Solar Converter allows for the stabilization of charge and
output.

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Data and Results

As stated in our last Lab Notebook, we have not collected any data. We are still
in the process of forming our design so we can construct our PVTree for testing. But the
quantitative data we plan on collecting is the amount of solar energy collected when we
change the different angles at which the panels will be set and program different pattern
at which our tree will move in accordance to sunlight. We plan on making a logger proesque system that will inform us on how much energy we have collected over a specific
time period in a day. Qualitative data will be in the different features and structures we
end up deeming the most effective which is evidently the characteristics that allow us to
gain the most sunlight in a day. Data will be measured in ratio between lux detected and
electricity harnessed to ensure a common pattern as well as steady and reliable results.

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References
Cockfield. B. (2015). Two Axis Solar Tracker. Retrieved October 25. 2016 from:
http://hackaday.com/2015/08/25/two-axis-solar-tracker/
Dimitrokalia, E., Mackrilla, J., Jones G., Ramachersb Y., Caina R. (2015). Moving away
from
flat solar panels to PVTrees: exploring ideas and peoples perceptions. Retrieved
September 15, 2016 from:
http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/about/environment/carbon/solar_trees/downloads/pro
ceeding_paper2015.pdf
Sarokin. J. (2014). How to: Build a Solar Powered Raspberry Pi. [Video File]. Retrieved
October 20. 2016 from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YpAYDcW_Jx0
Verma, N., Mazumder, S. (2014). An Investigation of Solar Trees for Effective Sunlight
Capture
Using Monte Carlo Simulations of Solar Radiation Transport. Retrieved
September 27, 2016 from:
https://kb.osu.edu/dspace/bitstream/handle/1811/68744/Navni_Verma_Hayes_Res
earch_Forum15.pdf?sequence=1
Zhr, M., Friedrich, D., Kloth, T. Y., Goldmann, G., & Helmut Tributsch, H. (2010).
Bionic
Photovoltaic Panels Bio-Inspired by Green Leaves. Retrieved September 19,
2016, from
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/49293285_Bionic_Photovoltaic_Panels_
Bio-Inspired_by_Green_Leaves

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