frozenpuppy

Hey, our names are Tyler, Chris, Nick, and Steve. We're an engineering group from Leicester High school in MA funded by Epics. Basicly, to put it simple - We are building a solar panel on top of the roof of the school which will be wired to a battery. The battery will then provide a steady flow to the LED bulbs that are in the classroom. We are stuck on deciding which parts we need. We are funded with 500$, maybe more. We don't really know if we will get the extra yet. But we can't afford to waste money, and shipping time will set us back alot. We were wondering if anyone here can help us decide which parts we need because we're stumped. Which battery would we need? which light would we need in comparison to the solar panel? we bascly need something that would light up the class to a satisfactory level. ( doesnt have to be real bright)


Thanks in advance. I hope to hear from you soon - Tyler.


PS. Credit to EPICS, our sponsor.

AussieApprentice

Do you want to achieve light levels that meet the local standards for a classroom?
How long do you want to run these lights?
Are you using them during the day or at night?
Why are you using LEDs?

Spat72

Is this a simple test project or a long term application? That will help to decide on a battery.

Gel cell batteries are the common choice for long term applications due to low maintenance and longer life. Also gel cell batteries don't require near as much ventilation. You are installing them in a ventilated area I hope!

As mentioned before all the parts you use depend on how you are using the lights and how many lights you have. If you want help in parts selection we will need a lot more details.

Basics: load per light, number of lights, purpose of lights, hours of lights being used

also you will have to research how much sunlight you get at the location of the solar panels and make decision as to weather you will use stationary panels or sun tracking panels. Sun tracking systems allow you to use smaller panels but use up some of the battery reserve power.

MDShunk

Here's a solar job that happened not too far from your school

http://www.filmboston.com/burke/burkesolar.mov

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frozenpuppy

Sorry for not responding, the wireless in our classroom is really poor. Well, actually there conveniently happens to be a solar store in the town over, so i went there and he's hooking us up with what we need, for a ridiculously lower price than what we thought. Thanks alot for your help, sorry to waste your time.

LHS Engineering team