SOLAR
SOLAR
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Fully portable and solar-powered lamp for households in Non-Interconnected Zones (NIZ).
Fully portable and solar-powered lamp for households in Non-Interconnected Zones (NIZ).
An extraordinary opportunity to work with a great black community on Colombia’s Pacific coast. In Colombia, many families live under unfulfilled basic needs – particularly those with the discontinuity or absence of the electric energy service. The continuity of this service enables the realization of different activities at the family and community levels.
Chucheros-Ensenada del Tigre, Bahia Malaga, Colombia
A survey on the requirements of the community was carried out through social inquiry on those habits mediated by the lighting process in the Chucheros-Ensenada del Tigre black community in the Colombian Pacific coast, since they live with a discontinuous and unstable electric power service. Life in this community is directly affected by the conditions of the electric power service, considering that being in a sparsely inhabited coastal area makes the density of darkness at night greater than that in cities.
Proposal process
Proposal process
Final proposal: Solar
Solar aims to facilitate activities that require light inside and outside homes, which different members of the communities perform after daylight hours.
Solar is a proposal for a fully portable solar-powered lamp made of recycled polypropylene and recycled high-density polyethylene (rPP 50% - rHDPE 50%). It offers a versatile tool capable of fulfilling the requirements and needs of the local communities without harming the environment.
Material exploration
Recycled polypropylene and recycled high-density polyethylene
Sample 1: 100% rPP, sample 2: 50% rPP + 50% rHDPE, sample 3: 25% rPP + 75% rHDPE, sample 4: 100% rHDPE.
Sample 5: 75% rPP + 25% rHDPE, sample 6: 60% rPP + 40% rHDPE, sample 7: 40% rPP + 60% rHDPE, sample 8: 20% rPP + 80% rHDPE.
Material characterization and heat absorption
Samples 1 - 4
Sample 2: 50% rPP + 50% rHDPE
Sample 4: 100% rHDPE.
Sample 1: 100% rPP
Sample 3: 25% rPP + 75% rHDPE
Material characterization and heat absorption
Samples 5 - 8
Sample 5: 75% rPP + 25% rHDPE
Sample 6: 60% rPP + 40% rHDPE
Sample 7: 40% rPP + 60% rHDPE
Sample 8: 20% rPP + 80% rHDPE
SOLAR final material
Recycled polypropylene and recycled high-density polyethylene (rPP 50% - rHDPE 50%).
Chucheros-Ensenada del Tigre, Bahia Malaga, Colombia
Prototype process
Electronic system proposal
The electronic system proposal was designed with components that I could find in the market. The proposal draws upon energy through a storage system that accumulates the energy supplied by a photovoltaic panel during the day, and then delivers it to a lighting system during the night.
The lamp's electronic system principal components are a rechargeable battery with 3.7 V and 2000 mA lithium polymer technology, a 2W polycrystalline solar panel, 3 LEDs with their designed electronic card, and the battery charge control circuit (based on the TP4056 module).
Solar capacity
Maximum discharge = Rate C*Capacity
Battery capacity is 2000 mA with a C rate equal to 2, a maximum continuous discharge of 4 A is theoretically obtained for a period of 30 minutes. Nevertheless, during the experimental tests, the electrical current supplied to the lighting system was 500 mA, which guarantees that the system has autonomy of at least 4 hours, delivering the nominal power that gradually decreases until it is completely exhausted.
Prototype + Test
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