Project: ​Renewable Energy Sources In Mexico

Members​: Chris Bettencourt, Clayton Brush, Nate Hirst, Kaiyuan Sun,

Alec Tatton, Lucas Jouve
 Post Review Plan Team S.W.E.E.T.

Rating System: ​We rated each system based on Cost, Time to Maintain, Difficulty to build, and
Safety of the system. Each category was weighted having Cost and Safety at 30% and
Maintenance and Construction at 20% each. The final scores determined the recommendation.

Hot Water System

Alternative’s Overview

Alternative 1: Parabolic Mirror

These parabolic mirrors are focused onto a reservoir with copper tubing to recycle the hot
water. Performance was estimated using surface area and Solar Heat Flux. The approximation
was found to be 19.2 (kw•hr)/day which is equivalent to heating 9 showers from 32 to 90 °F with
65 liters each shower. This was assuming the sun was utilizing each surface area rather than just
one or two at a time. The approximation is a lot higher than a more realistic estimate of closer to
3 showers.
Critical discussion on this topic included the point that clouds were not taken into account
in the performance estimate and would greatly reduce the efficiency of the systems.

Alternative 2: Framed Tubing

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Performance was approximated as 8.14 (kw•hr)/day that equates to about 4 showers per
day of 90 °F water.
Discussion on this alternative included a Trade Study on other commercially available
products that are similar in scope.

Alternative 3: Parabolic Trough

Approximate performance was calculated to be 7.24 (kw•hr)/day for this system, or about
3.5 showers per day.
Discussion on a study between 3D versus a 2D mirror was suggested. One example is the
Crescent Dunes Solar Energy Project in Nevada.

Solar Tracker Add-on.

The solar tracker will move any system with the sun throughout the day. This add-on
could be attached to any of the three systems and improve the efficiency by up to 25%. However,
it would add anywhere from $50-$100 of cost to each system and would require more technical
skills. The optimization of each system will begin during the testing phase of the project.

Path Forward
The decided path forward is to use the framed tubing system. Design decisions will be
implemented based on testing results, such as the size of the system, adding insulation, and
implementing evacuated tubes. Each optimization will be implemented based on cost and
performance justifications.

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 Post Review Plan Team S.W.E.E.T.

Cooking System

Alternatives Overview:

Alternative 1: Biodigester

Performance was estimated at 200 liters of methane per day which would allow for about
2 hours of continuous cooking time. However this is heavily dependant on what organic matter
is being put in the biodigester tank. The livestock that most of the community owns would not
be sufficient in most cases to sustain an effective anaerobic biodigester process. This system also
adds another chore for families to have to take care of on a regular basis, as it has to be filled and
emptied to continue working in the designed way.

Alternative 2: Rocket Stove

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This alternative consists of a griddle on top of a rocket stove. This allows the rocket
stove to be used as a burner for pots directly or to heat the skillet to cook on directly.
Commercially available options are about 185 dollars which fits within the budget. One of the
issues found during design is residual heat held by the metal will heat up a house in a climate
that is already warm. We also discussed how well the community will use this system and the

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reasons the design felt it would be used are because it does not add a chore to their lifestyle but it
still requires wood gathering. This rocket stove would be designed to accept small sticks and
require much less wood than the traditional stove.

Alternative 3: Repair Existing Stoves

-
This alternative was considered because it is a very cost efficient and easy way to
improve the health and quality of life. One of the major discussions with this topic is that
because the system is currently in use the risk of it not being used is extremely low. They also
have the skills to work on these stoves as they are the ones that built them originally but by
showing techniques that improve airflow they can increase quality of life.

Path Forward

The decided path forward for the cooking system is the rocket stove alternative. This
system will still require a fire to be started and used, however it will burn hotter and heat up
quicker than a traditional stove. It only requires small sticks for fuel.

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Backup Power System

Alternatives Overview

Alternative 1: Grid Charged System:

This System would require the use of a charger that can be plugged into the wall and will
remain plugged in until the power goes out and the battery would then be discharged in order to
run lights and phone chargers. A major discussion was had as to whether or not this would be
cost effective compared to other systems as the upfront cost is lower but the cost is continuous
over time. Reasons we did not choose this system is because it will add some cost to the
community and because the backup power needs to be used when there is a power outage. So
one of the reflections with that was that if the power goes out for too long that the battery
discharged it will not be possible to charge it which will make the grid charged system useless to
the community.

Alternative 2: Generator and Battery:

This system would use a generator in line with a battery to provide power during the
blackouts. It is a basic system that can be used for low power usage to charge the battery and it
could also be used to run larger appliances one at a time. However it requires Gasoline and

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regular maintenance to make sure it will work when needed. Parts of the things we learned about
the community we are designing systems for is that they are really concerned about expenses and
that they are trying to limit the use of propane which is one of their biggest expenses each month.
Knowing that using a generator and a battery does not seems to be a system that will be used by
the community since they will probably not pay for some gasoline in order to power up the
generator. Also the price a generator and a battery will exceed the budget that we have for the
system.

Alternative 3: Solar Panel and Battery

A small solar panel and battery are the recommended solution as a small Solar panel reduces the
upfront cost of the system and does not require a continuous investment over time in fuel or
electricity. Also since it can be recharged with the sun light this system can be used even if there
is a long power outage, this system would still be usable for the primary purpose to charge
phones and power small light. Because of the cost effectiveness, easy maintenance and the
practicality of this system that we choose the solar panel and the battery as the recommended
solution for the back up power . A major design discussion was the fact that DC power does not
travel well over long distances and making the system a fixed entity may reduce its effectiveness.
The thought process to make it most effective is to make it mobile and small this reduces wire
cost and makes it mobile for families to move where it is most useful.

Path Forward
Decided path forward is to use the solar panel and the battery as a backup power system. The
solar is one of the most popular clean energy now and it can easily gain in any place on earth.
Maintain this system is easier than the generator and it is also more stable than grid charged
system. Even if it is not the cheapest design in three of the systems but when it is built, it can be
used for a long time and no other cost until it died.

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Integrated Solar System:

- The integrated Photovoltaic system was presented as an alternative to replace all 3 of

these systems with a single solution. The ability to use solar to meet all of the needs of
the community would greatly reduce maintenance and simplify their life. However this
system is technical as well as extremely expensive in order to provide and store the
power needed to run a hot water heater, and cooking appliance. However it would reduce
energy bills and would always be working even when the grid power was out. This
would make the backup power system the primary power system.