The photo in this entry is one of the better ones I took on the trip. In it, Enrico and I stand in the northeastern corner of the garden with the solar unit between us. The photo was taken by Rene.
Pacific Ridge School (California, USA) high school student Alex Rodriguez constructed a simple solar panel unit using a suitcase and widely available electronic materials using an Omprakash grant with the intent of creating a test unit that could charge small electronic devices to allow small nonprofit organizations to become independent of the corporate electronic grid (get free electricity) and use an alternative electronic resource to generate it. The unit was built as cheaply and simply as possible for user friendliness, ease in repair, and ease in replacement of parts, as well as manufacturing costs. Omprakash planned that once the unit proved successful, the organization would be able to streamline the design manufacture more to sell cheaply to nonprofit organizations who want free (green) energy.
The solar unit project was a success and the unit functioned well enough. We received the solar unit a week before we left and aside from a slight misunderstanding on the purpose of the project on my part, the organizational aspect of the project went smoothly. I disassembled the unit to bring down to Ecuador to lower the risk the unit would break in the luggage on the way down, as we could not bring it as a carry-on or in its own suitcase considering the volume of our other luggage.
We have nicknamed it “La bomba”.
We brought it to Yachay Wasi the second day we came. They were delighted. I showed them how the unit was put together and tried my best to explain in Spanish how solar panels worked. I managed, with my mangled Spanish, to get my points across. They enjoyed my explanation immensely, particularly Fernando, who used to work as an electrician. Our first test that day was a CD player’s batteries. We put the unit out in the field and watched as the lights blinked on, the solar unit reawakening after its long voyage and reassembly.
Fernando and Laura appreciated Alex’s creation very much, though they wished we did not have to bring the unit back to the United States at the end of the month.
There was much to charge over the three and a half weeks we were there. The school as an institution is well-off by Ecuadorian standards, considering that they have several televisions and computers and many of the staff own cell phones, so much of the time the staff charged their electronic devices at the usual plugs as they were accustomed to do. However, because the unit was there as a source of free electricity, generated by the sun, no less, Fernando and Laura tried to use the unit as much as they could.
Here’s the record of “La Bomba’s” use, just in case the piece of paper gets lost somehow.
7/10 charged a CD player’s batteries for 3 hours. When I began charging, it was sunny, but I stopped charging the CD Player when it started to rain.
7/12 charged a cell phone for 4.5 hours. Sunny.
7/14 charged camera batteries for 4 hours. Sunny.
7/16 charged a cell phone for 2 hours. Sunny, then cloudy.
7/20 charged camera batteries for 3 hours. Sunny.
7/20 charged solar unit batteries for 2 hours. Sunny.
7/22 charged cell phone batteries for 5 hours. Sunny.
7/23 charged Fernando’s phone for 4 hours. Sunny.
7/24 charged camera batteries for 4 hours. Sunny.
7/25 charged Jacob’s cell phone for 3.5 hours. Sunny.
7/26 powered a CD player for 30 minutes. Sunny.
The only problem with “La Bomba’s” capacity to function was the switch on the converter. From day 1 it required an extra amount of force to stay on, so that I had to tape a small bolt to the switch in the ON position whenever I turned the unit on, and even then, if the tape wasn’t tight enough, or the bolt was in the wrong place, the green or red light would turn off and the plugged-in device wouldn’t charge. Other than this slight problem, the solar unit functioned well.
As a note, should anyone need it:
If it is any help figuring out the cost of electricity in Quito, the Hostel Villa Nancy spent $26 for 256 Kilowatt hours in the month of June.
In conclusion, I believe that this solar panel project was a success and, though it was not actually NEEDED there, the people at Yachay Wasi greatly appreciated its presence and without question, “the school really wants a solar panel” (translated quote from Laura). They have a passive solar water heater (a transparent tub inside of which the water gets heated by the sun) that the kids can use every once and a while for hot showers, but they would love (a) solar panel (s) to generate electricity directly from the sun. With a few design modifications and an instruction manual (written in the local language) as to how the unit functions and how a solar panel works, the unit would be quite appropriate for traveling and as a donation to other nonprofits.
Thank you, Omprakash and Alex Rodrigues for letting the Yachay Wasi School use the solar unit for the month. They are very grateful. I too am thankful, considering what a learning experience the solar unit project was.
Ari Kohorn
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