The Taa-'at-dvn Chee-ne' Tetlh-tvm' Food Forest in Crescent City at College of the Redwoods Del Norte serves to increase healthy food acess, create a living laboratory for regenerative food production, host workshops, programs and events for the community. Our Appropriate Technology class at Cal Poly Humboldt in the Spring of 2021 partnered with them to bring power to their community. To align with their sustainable model we designed a solar system with four panels mounted on a pole that would best suit their needs. This system would help kick start the growing season in the chillier climate by powering four seed mats in their greenhouse and potentially fans during the summertime to increase greenhouse air circulation and temperature moderation. The system would come with proper electrical outlets and a battery to be able to bring power in a variety of ways to the site, only increasing the Food Forest's ability to best serve their community.
Introduction video:
Background[edit | edit source]
This project involves mounting four solar panels on two poles near a hoop greenhouse at the Taa-at-dvn' Chee-ne Tethl-tvm Food Forest in Crescent City, CA. These solar panels will be able to generate power for four seedmats during the winter and early spring months and several fans during the rest of the warmer months out of the year. These panels will provide the first source of power for the site. In short, there is so much that power can bring to a site that does not have on, and the solar aspect most definitely fits with the sustainable values the Food Forest wants to represent and promote
Problem statement[edit | edit source]
The objective of this project is to successfully design, build and test Solar applications that will have a lasting impact in the Taa-at-dvn' Chee-ne Tethl-tvm Food Forest in Crescent City, CA. We hope to communicate with the staff and some active community members to best fit the needs of all for this space. By using solar, we will be able to power four seed mats and increase air circulation and lower temperatures in the greenhouse during warmer months. This project needs to be a low-budget approach, while still successfully being useful and sustainable for this community. The most important needs of the client is community involvement, solar, and power.
Project Evaluation Criteria[edit | edit source]
Table for criteria below:
| Criteria | Constraints | Weight
(1-10) |
|---|---|---|
| Cost | Must be under the budget | 10 |
| Aesthetics | Must look professional & pleasing to the eye | 6 |
| Safety | Must be safely installed | 10 |
| Maintainabilty/ Durability | Must last for many years | 9 |
| Functionality | Must meet energy demand for 4 seed mats 24/7 Janurary-April | 10 |
| Educational Experiance | Must be recreatable by looking on Appropedia page & plaque of sorts will educate community on how project was created | 9 |
| Community | Will be able to power seed mats for greenhouse | 7 |
| Reproducibillity | Community memebers and/or people on the internet should be able to reproduce this project based off of instructions/information on Appropedia page | 8 |
Literature Review[edit | edit source]
See the literature review at Taa-'at-dvn Chee-ne' Tetlh-tvm Food Forest Solar System/Literature review.
Budget[edit | edit source]
Table for Budget below:
| Quantity | Material | Source | Cost ($) | Total ($) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | EcoFlow Delta 1800W / 1300Wh Solar Generator [Quad Kit] + 4 x 100W 12V Mono Solar Panels | Shopsolarkits.com | 1,709.00 | 1,709.00 |
| 1 | Tamarack Solar UNI-SP/02 > Side of Pole Mount for Two 45 Inch Solar Panels | Ecodirect.com | 155 | 310 |
| 1 | DEWENWILS Outdoor Digital Power Strip Timer, Outdoor Multi Socket Time Timer, Waterproof 6 Outlet Garden Power Stake, 6ft Extension Cord,Digital Timer for Lights,1800W/15A Heavy Duty | Amazon | 25.99 | 25.99 |
| 4 | VIVOSUN Seedling Heat Mat Digital Thermostat Combo 10"X20.75" | Amazon | 35 | 140 |
| 1 | Wiring: 50ft conduit, Alex Tech ½ inch split wire black | Amazon | 19.99 | 19.99 |
| 1 | Wiring: Cable Leader 16 AWG Outlet Saver Power Extension Cord (NEMA 5-15P to NEMA 5-15R) UL Listed (10 Foot (1 Pack)) | Amazon | 10.25 | 10.25 |
| 1 | Wiring: Solar Connectors MC4 Male/Female IP67 Waterproof Solar Panel Cable Connectors (6 Pairs Solar connectors) | Amazon | 8.99 | 8.99 |
| Total Cost | $2,224 | |||
Poster[edit | edit source]
This poster will displayed on site to educate the food forest community on the project:
Prototyping[edit | edit source]
Team's First Prototype:
Video of prototype 1[edit | edit source]
Construction[edit | edit source]
This video will show how the solar panel system is going to work once fully set up.
Instructions[edit | edit source]
This YouTube video below will show you how to connect all the materials, the panels particularly to charge the battery, to power the devices!
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Prototype 4
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Prototype 5
Conclusion[edit | edit source]
The system was pretty simple in the end and as one can see in the videos made above to test to see if it works all you need to do is connect each panel to see if a charge is happening. Unfortunately due to timing, we were not able to finalize our project due to not getting pole mounting system installed in time. However once that is installed and everything is finalized, we will insert photos on our appropriate site to show the final product.
Team[edit | edit source]
- Sydney Simon
- Sara Daniel
- Cassidy Mullennix
- Sophia Borgeson
