Schematics of Solar Trackers from Other people

Since there are lots of solar tracker designs.  I decided to make a post containing a bunch of different designs, so that maybe my team or another team can use them as inspiration for our own design.

1. HinesLab Helio Sun Tracker
http://www.hineslab.com/SolarTracker.html

Above is the original sketch of this man's idea.  Here are some more schematics.

This drawing would use Fresnel lens to concentrate light

This one uses a Parabolic reflector.

This is his mechanism for if it were floating in water.

I thought these were all interesting designs because when I was driving home the other day I was watching the long grass sway about and I thought maybe that would be an interesting solar tracker idea...apparently so did someone else haha.

2. Traxle - A Czech Republic Company who uses varying positions of mirrors in a triangular pattern.

http://www.solar-trackers.com/photogallery.asp

3. ZomeWorkers - SunBlender

http://zomeworks.com/files/sunbenderTM/Sunbender%20Brochure%202009.pdf

Adjusts for hot and cool season.

Hot Season Sunbender that cools

SunBender that is for cool season.

4. SolFocus - Uses their design to focus the light

http://www.solfocus.com/es/

Close up of the focusing units

Larger scale view of trackers

5. MecaSolar - "Flexible" Solar

http://mecasolar.com/_bin/caracteristicas_fijos.php

Direcly mounts into the ground and based upon the depth of mounting can create a flexible appearance.

A few common characteristics:

- all have generally large surface area

- most are flat and dark

- most are fixed and have some sort of rotation/swivel ability

- most are expensive

- work only in direct sunlight areas

- use mirrors or lens to enhance amount absorbed my solar cell

- most are not things people want in their yards because they are a bit clunky...

My questions are:

- How can a solar tracker be made with less clunk, but same surface area (like the rod trackers example #1)

- For cloudly days, besides an expensive umbrella, is there anything else these might be able to do?

- Can the tracking mechanism be replaced with something that does it naturally, like plant motion

- Can these be made more attractive for parks, or homes?

- Can non-flat surfaces be used to make solar trackers, perhaps increasing it's surface area?

- What can these things do at night?

New Psychoanalysis...

This class is experimental on many different levels.  I feel like the psychological aspect of the class is enormous.  Handling all the various situations has been a mental trial.  A few of us talked to Max (Professor Shtein) today and we had an interesting discussion regarding this class and it spurred some thoughts.  One thing I did want to say first was that I think part of our "paralysis" with this final project has been overanalysis, but also our desire to be perfect.  I know, personally, I'm hindered by my fear of failure.  I think this is what happened with our first presentation.  We moved sideways not forwards because we wanted the perfect idea.  It is a VERY new way of thinking to just start making something and then edit as we go.  At least here, our process has always been think think think think.  Also, our process always has been about the bigger picture.  It's hard to think not in the big picture, but tackle smaller things.  How do you measure success?  How do you know what you're doing is enough?  We'll see....

Christopher Columbus with no wind for its sails....

After reading the announcement posted about our project, the excitment and interest of our group scattered faster than 5th graders on the last day of school before summer....  Finding this out now means we have wasted precious days, four meetings, and "hundreds of hours".  We met today and the stimulation was gone.  We were all in shell-shock.  No one knows what we can and can't do now.  And no one knows even what to do.  I'm completely lost because this is my senior design project.  This is what I'm supposed to be showing companies when I'm trying to get a job.  However, what am I going to be showing these people?  Obviously I can talk a lot about the experience, which has been very valuable, but if the team does not create anything tangible...then all I have is talk, with no support.  What I mean by tangible is something that demonstrates teamwork, engineering, and purpose.  I feel like we are expected to make something that has no impact.  More of something that "looks cool".  I don't want to just make something that looks cool.  I don't want to make a "trophy wife" project.  I need substance.  No matter what we do for our surface, I don't see what it is going to improve upon.  I don't mind making a heliotropic surface, I have ideas about it, but not knowing it till late in the game, is extremely frustrating.  This is the one time in my undergraduate career in which I get to make something, and now no one in my group even wants to do anything because everyone's annoyed with the news.  The wind from our sails has been sucked away.

On a lighter note, this is an example of a heliotropic surface I would like to do. 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Fyre3lAt64&feature=player_embedded
Another longer, cooler video.  If you go to like 3:15ish you will see fire stimulating it and it's really cool.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BLTcVNyOhUc&feature=player_embedded
It's the Mimosa púdica. 

Babel

My group for smartsurfaces met today to discuss the various inspirations we had unearthed over the weekend.  Our ideas ranged from algae, to teaching solar, to water designs.  We were a little all over the place.  The ideas were there, but piecing them together is going to be difficult.  I've had difficulty with this idea phase because I am, unfortunately, so problem driven. I want to make a smartsurface to improve the quality of life. When I don't see the why, or how, I just have a hard time understanding what's the point? I feel like once we get started on an idea things will have more forward motion, but choosing an idea is by far the hardest part.  I am really excited about my team and I know once we get everyone inspired, something great will come of this.

We all have extremely high expectations, and we all have different things we think are most important to creating a successful smart surface.  No one wants to back down from their idea, because we all have personal attachments to our ideas.  And not only do we have personal attachments, we also don't understand why everyone else doesn't see why this is the most important aspect of our project.  This is why I've titled this blog entry Babel, because that's exactly what it feels like at times.  We're each speaking our own language, passionately, and intensely, but no one understands a word of what we're saying.

Also, as a side note I thought I would mention a cool thing that BASF is doing.  They are making microcapsules that contain Vitamin A to help children and other under-privleged people who need this vitamin but may not be getting it from their diet.  http://www.basf.com/group/corporate/en/news-and-media-relations/science-around-us/food-fortification/story

Apparently, Vitamin A is not produced by the body naturally, and hence it must be consumed.  However, Vitamin A rich foods are usually too expensive so foods less rich in this vitamin must be resorted to.  Vitamin A is important because it prevents blindness and helps your immune system to fight diseases such as the measles.  So BASF is making these capsules to be incorporated into the less nutricious, cheap foods that are commonly eaten.  I found this article interesting not because this is a "fresh idea" but because it was a very simple solution that can do great things.

"New" Team....sort of and Solar Decathalon

So I got my final teams yesterday for SmartSurfaces.  We actually discovered that our team is the exact same as a few weeks ago except for one person, so it's the Fabric Team + Johanna.  I really enjoy my team and I'm excited for our project.  We had two criteria we came up with.  We were focused on actually have a surface be interactive with humans, and not strictly by sight but by possibly other senses.  Our other criteria was using our smartsurface to better the quality of human life, either through water purification or improving soil quality etc..  So instead of having a cool light pattern appear, we would have something with more of a positive human impact. 

As for interesting stuff going on..... 

The Solar Decathlon Held by the Department of Energy has finished http://ecogeek.org/.  Above is the winning team's house (Team Germany) http://www.solardecathlon.org/.  The Solar decathlon is where teams make houses that are 100% powered by renewable energy.  Some of the team's houses also produce more electricity than they use.  There are some very cool contraptions and things used to make the house functional.  The diferent things teams used for insulation, rain collection, lighting, heating/cooling etc. are all very unique.  Since it is a decathalon there a bunch of different events that each house is judged on:
Architecture, Market Viability, Engineering, Lighting Design, Communications, Comfort Zone, Hot Water, Appliances, Home Entertainment, Net Metering

Here are more pictures

Here is the passive-heating water wall of University of Arizona.  It is made of recyled water bottles.

This is a close up of the passive-heating water-wall of University of Arizona's solar-powered house.






Here is University of Wisconsin's RainWater Collector.








 
Here is the automated external shading and krypton-filled glass used by Team Ontario/BC's solar-powered house to insulate their house.





 



Energy efficient lighting used by Virginia Tech's House.

The Night Before.....

The past few weeks we have been learning various things so that we have some tools to help us when we make our final project.  Tomorrow we get our final teams to start our big project.  I'm a little worried and a little anxious.  I'm excited to finally get our final teams.  However, I am also nervous because the dynamic of the group is very important and I hope we have good dynamics (or can learn to have good dynamics...if that's actually possible).  I feel as though I'm a pretty easy person to get along with, so long as the person does work.  If a person does not do work, that's when I get frustrated. 

Covalent Energy - Light Concentrating Solar Cells

Anyways....here is something cool I found.  Jonathan Mapel has these plastic sheets with organic dyes (in different colors) that direct light along the sheet and illuminates the edges.  He suggests then putting the solar cells on the edges, where the light has been concentrated.  He says hes wants to use dyes that are good at absorbing white light and then bad at absorbing whatever color (wavelength) that the sheet is. 

Here is a video of him explaining this in more detail.

http://link.brightcove.com/services/player/bcpid37875717001?bctid=1653764292

I found this video really interesting because he is reducing the amount of solar cell material that is needed. So instead of needing to cover the entire panel with solar cells, only the edges would have solar cells.  I never really had looked at "directing" the sunlight, instead of trying to have the largest surface area.  It's a very interesting idea. 

Here is his company's website, Covalent Solar http://www.covalentsolar.com/

Quote of the week:

“Yes, halfway through this project we’ll discover the impossible, but we know how to build through the impossible. Impossible is when we do our best work.”
-Unknown from website http://www.randsinrepose.com/archives/2009/03/23/the_makers_of_things.html