SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SINGAPORE
[ ] Test a hypothesis: Hypothesis-driven research
[ ] Measure a value: Experimental research (I)
[ ] Measure a function or relationship: Experimental research (II)
[ ] Construct a model: Theoretical sciences and applied mathematics
[ ] Observational and exploratory research
[ X ] Improve a product or process: Industrial and applied research
Title: The Construction of a fully automated solar house
SCHOOL OF SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY, SINGAPORE
INVESTIGATIVE SKILLS IN SCIENCE
Names: A Manicka Praveen, Arjun Appavoo, Liaw Xiao Tao, Looi Chi Han
Class: S2-04_____
Group Reference: B
[ ] Test a hypothesis: Hypothesis-driven research
Title: The Construction of a fully automated solar house
The Engineering Problem
It is said that we are nearing the state of energy shortage or crisis. Power cuts will be more common even in developed countries. There will be a high level of inconvenience. We may not be able to use electrical appliances such as lamps, air conditioner and even our television. In the future, engineers may opt to manufacture eco-friendly solar houses to conserve energy. Our team are trying to do the same by building an automated solar house that is eco-friendly.
Hypothesis:
The solar house will be able to save up more than 50% of energy compared to a normal house.
It is said that we are nearing the state of energy shortage or crisis. Power cuts will be more common even in developed countries. There will be a high level of inconvenience. We may not be able to use electrical appliances such as lamps, air conditioner and even our television. In the future, engineers may opt to manufacture eco-friendly solar houses to conserve energy. Our team are trying to do the same by building an automated solar house that is eco-friendly.
The solar house will be able to save up more than 50% of energy compared to a normal house.
Specific Requirements
1.Lighting Control-The lighting control system will be based on Arduino programming with the use of one or more control devices. It is widely used in terms of location. It can be used indoor and outdoor in a commercial, industrial and residential area. The purpose of this system is to provide the suitable amount of light at different locations and at different times. They are used to minimise unnecessary energy usage. Some industrial spaces use this to support green building and energy conversation programs. The light sensor can be programmed in many ways.The most common ones would be according to the time of the day or by sunrise and sunset. We are using a light dependent resistor to control the lighting system based on different light intensity ranges. For example,if the lux is below a certain level,the lamp will turn on. However, if the lux is above a certain level, the lamp will be dimmed or turned off. However, if the user has a choice to use the manual system.
2.Green Aircon System- It uses thick paper with water pumping through it to cool down the air passing through it using evaporation. It uses only a little bit of electricity when the valve releases the water to flow to the paper.
3.Water Harvesting System-Water flows into the funnel during a rain and turns the turbine to generate electricity and the water can be used for plants/paper air con/normal water usage (Filtered). Water harvesting is the collection and accumulation of rainwater for reuse for normal water uses such as bathing,watering and cleaning. It also can be pumped through a turbine that is connected to a generator to generate energy. This system acts as an alternative source of water during regional water restrictions or during droughts. When the water is collected,the water flows through a active carbon filter which reduces the salinity and the presence of iron salts in the collected water.
Advantages:
1)Makes use of the natural surroundings to cope with the demand for drinkable water.
i)Reduces the chance of flooding,storms,landslides(because of erosion) and many other natural disasters.
ii)Relatively simple to install in households.
iii)Quality of water is better compared to surface water of water bodies.
There have been a few modified models of the water harvesting system. One of them would be the RainSaucer which looks like an upside down umbrella. It collects rain from the sky. This prevents the rainwater from being contaminated.
4.Solar Panel- The solar panels would be used to convert light energy from the sun and convert it to electrical energy. This would be our main source of energy. Solar energy is readily available and it is also quite powerful.
5.Lamp- It would be positioned upward towards the concave mirror so that the light is evenly spread throughout the house.
6.Fan- Four computer fans at each side. Drill a hole at each fan position. Its purpose is to suck air from the outer atmosphere and to cool the house by expelling the air through the paper aircon.
7.Window Panes- The window would be activated by a pulley system. When, the air is too humid, past a certain degree, the windows would be opened. But if there is rain, then the windows would close and not let water enter the house.
8.Paper- The paper is for the paper airconditioner
1.Lighting Control-The lighting control system will be based on Arduino programming with the use of one or more control devices. It is widely used in terms of location. It can be used indoor and outdoor in a commercial, industrial and residential area. The purpose of this system is to provide the suitable amount of light at different locations and at different times. They are used to minimise unnecessary energy usage. Some industrial spaces use this to support green building and energy conversation programs. The light sensor can be programmed in many ways.The most common ones would be according to the time of the day or by sunrise and sunset. We are using a light dependent resistor to control the lighting system based on different light intensity ranges. For example,if the lux is below a certain level,the lamp will turn on. However, if the lux is above a certain level, the lamp will be dimmed or turned off. However, if the user has a choice to use the manual system.
2.Green Aircon System- It uses thick paper with water pumping through it to cool down the air passing through it using evaporation. It uses only a little bit of electricity when the valve releases the water to flow to the paper.
3.Water Harvesting System-Water flows into the funnel during a rain and turns the turbine to generate electricity and the water can be used for plants/paper air con/normal water usage (Filtered). Water harvesting is the collection and accumulation of rainwater for reuse for normal water uses such as bathing,watering and cleaning. It also can be pumped through a turbine that is connected to a generator to generate energy. This system acts as an alternative source of water during regional water restrictions or during droughts. When the water is collected,the water flows through a active carbon filter which reduces the salinity and the presence of iron salts in the collected water.
Advantages:
1)Makes use of the natural surroundings to cope with the demand for drinkable water.
i)Reduces the chance of flooding,storms,landslides(because of erosion) and many other natural disasters.
ii)Relatively simple to install in households.
iii)Quality of water is better compared to surface water of water bodies.
There have been a few modified models of the water harvesting system. One of them would be the RainSaucer which looks like an upside down umbrella. It collects rain from the sky. This prevents the rainwater from being contaminated.
4.Solar Panel- The solar panels would be used to convert light energy from the sun and convert it to electrical energy. This would be our main source of energy. Solar energy is readily available and it is also quite powerful.
5.Lamp- It would be positioned upward towards the concave mirror so that the light is evenly spread throughout the house.
6.Fan- Four computer fans at each side. Drill a hole at each fan position. Its purpose is to suck air from the outer atmosphere and to cool the house by expelling the air through the paper aircon.
7.Window Panes- The window would be activated by a pulley system. When, the air is too humid, past a certain degree, the windows would be opened. But if there is rain, then the windows would close and not let water enter the house.
8.Paper- The paper is for the paper airconditioner
Alternatives
1.Simple Solar Panel with Normal Power Supply.
2.Wind energy-not applicable for Singapore.
3.Sound Energy from nearby traffic.
1.Simple Solar Panel with Normal Power Supply.
2.Wind energy-not applicable for Singapore.
3.Sound Energy from nearby traffic.
2.Wind energy-not applicable for Singapore.
3.Sound Energy from nearby traffic.
Best Solution: Automated Solar House using Arduino Sensors.
Materials Needed
1) Plywood
2) 2 Computer Fans
3) Lamp
4) Solar panels
5) Paper
6) Arduino Control Systems
7) Light sensor
8) Window Panes
9) Motion Sensors (2)
10) Wires
11) Metal contact/clips
12) Release Valves
13) Pipe
14) Fiberglass
15) Transitions coated glass
16) Wind turbine
17) Propeller Blades
18) Solar panels converter
19) Batteries
20) Metal Pole
21) Metal Sheets
22) Hinges
23) Knobs
24) Pulley Systems
25) Water turbine
26) Soil
27) Water filter
28)Regulator
29)12V to 9V down converter
30)Diode
31)Cylinder Tube
Procedures
Step 1: Blueprint of the house (Preparation of Project)
1a) We proceed to finalise and discuss which systems that we would be having by analysing what
would be most feasible, yet efficient and useful and very technological, within the time limit.
Catergorising Systems
1b) We settled on two categories of system. The first would be the systems whihch generate
elelctricity in a clean and effiecient manner. The second, would be the systems which consume the
electricity to not only show that our electricity generating systems work, but also that our energy
consumption systems requires less energy/resources to be used to obtain the particular ideal
temperature of house or other ideal scenarios.
Systems which generate electricity:
Soalr Panel
1c) We firstly considered the solar panel as part of the systems which generate clean energy. The
advatages of a solar panel is that it produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful
gases and carbon dioxide, thus meeting our requirements for a green house.Furthermore, upon
spreading over a large area, it is capable of generating a lot of electricity. However, its
diasadvantages are that not only is it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as the
advatages outdo the disadvantages, and that the space disadvatage is easily solved by placing it
merely on our roof, thus it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our
project.
Wind Turbine
1d) Secondly, we then considered harvesting wind energy from a large wind turbine beside the
house. However, we would be modifying it such that when a wind blows towards the wind turbine
in a different direction relative to the wind turbine’s fan, the wind turbine’s fan would spin towards
the wind direction so as to harvest the maximum amount of electricity fromt the surrounding wind.
The advantages of using a wind turbine is that it harvests a large amount of electricity in a windy
area, and produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide,
thus meeting our requirements for a green house. However, its diasadvantages are that not only is
it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as we have modified the wind turbine to
receive maximum wind energy, thus the wind turbine would be effiecient enough to outdo its
disadvatages. Thus, it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our project.
Hydroelectricity
1e) Thirdly, we then considered incooperating hydroelectricity into our generation of electricity.
Basically, we intend to harvest electricity from rain. We would funnel the rain down to a very small
sylinder to build up gravitational energy of the rain water. The water would then flow down, and
pass the turbine, generating electricity upon turning the turbine. The advatages of this system is
that we are able to harvest even more electricity by tapping on even more natural resources. It
produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide, thus
meeting our requirements for a green house. Furthermore, it is relatively cheap, as all that it
requires is a generator to generate the elecricity required. The disadvatages is that it might not be
very efficient as we are only collecting rain from the roof of the house. However, we felt that since
we are aiming for maximum usage of natural resources to build a green house, thus we felt that
this is relatively feasible, considering that it highlights even more of the green energy in which we
are harvesting, but uses relatively less space, less time and less money.
Systems which are green driven in the consumption of electricity/resources:
Energy Saving Bulbs
1f) Firstly, we settled on the basic lamp, which used energy saving bulbs. Basically, it is
used to show that our systems which generate electircity is effiecient enough to power this
ligh bub. Its advanatges are that it consumes less electircity, thus highlighting our motive of
a green house. The disadvantages is that it is very simple. However, as it is mostly used to
highlight green energy consumption and also to show that our generating systems work
effieciently, thus it is feasible to place it in.
Paper Air-conditioner
1g) Secondly, after great encouragement from our ISS teacher Mr Tan, we had also decided to
incoorperate the paper air-conditioner. Its advatages is that nto only is it very cheap to make, but it
also consumes much less electricity. Thus, simliar to the energy saving bulbs, it consumes less
electircity, thus highlighting our motive of a green house. The diasvanatge on the opposite
side, is that it is very difficult to make and master the system to make sure it is efficient
enough for the energy consumed by the fans which power the paper air con. However,
after deep consideration, if we are able to pull this off, it wil be effcient, thus making our
project even better. Thus, we have decided to incooperate it.
Hydroponics
1h) Last but not least, we thought of the fact that water resources is also currently running low.
Thus, we have decided to also attempt to make a green house by targetting at a different way too.
Basically, we would be using the rain water from the water generator cylinder. The water would
flow into sponge. Via osmosis, it would seperate throughout the enitre sponge. Following which,
once again by osmosis the water would rise up to the soil and be absorbed by the plants. The
advatages are that not only does it prevent pests, as well as harsh weather conditions, it also
allows an equal deviaiton of water across the entire soil and that it also prevents direct rain contact
which may destroy the plant’s structure. The diasdvantages are that not only is it time consuming
to make, but it is also very difficult to get it donw well as the water from part of the sponge might
just travel up directly to the plant, instead around the pther parts of the sponge.
Planning the entire house
1i) To allow the highest effieciency, we have decided to plan our model on google sketch up so as
to allow the ease of building as it would tell us the exact measurements and proportions of each
part, as well as a great understanding of what we would be doing and why.
Step 2: Constructing the Skeleton of our house(Including the doors and
shelves e.t.c)
For the house, we owud intend to build everything on the
a) Construction of shelves
Since we already have a crate as our house, the first step is to construct shelves where ever
needed.
Shelf used for placing temperature sensor, rain detector, as well as light intensitiy
sensor:
2aii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, with the length being the length of the
house, and the breadth approximately 5 inches.
2aii) Apply Epoxy 1 inch below the celing of the crate, on one side of the exterior walls.
2aiii) Place and apply pressure on the cut piece of ply wood where Epoxy was being applied to, for
approximately 5 minutes.
2aiv) Hammer 4 nails from the interior of the crate, to the piece of ply wood.
Shelf used for placing of all forms of circuit components as well as the arduino:
2avi) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch which can fit into the crate in a
horizontal position.
2aviii) Apply Epoxy to walls which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches below
the celing of the crate
2aviii) Insert the ply wood into the crate, where the Epoxy was being applied.
2aix) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2ax) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axi) At the each exterior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 4 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
Shelf used for placing of motion sensor above the planned door
2axii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, length of 3 inches, breadth of 3
inches.
2axiii) Apply Epoxy to the wall which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches
above the bottom of the crate, approximately 1 inch away from the conrner of the wall.
2axiiii) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2axiiii) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axiiiii) At the interior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 3 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
b) Construction of door(door for person living in the house)
2bi) Cut out a piece of wood from the bottom of the crate (where the two silts are) of size 13 inches
by 7 inches.
2bii) Align two small hinges to fit the piece of wood equally which was being cut out.
2biii) Drill 4 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2biv) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2bv) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house.
2bvi) Attach two circular cuboid to the mid point of the door, towards the opposite side where the
hinge is, interiorly and exteriorly as the ‘handle’.
c) Construction of door(door for human interaction with the house internally)
2ci) Using the opening already given by the crate, we would first align 3 large hinges on the given
opening piece of wood.
2cii) Drill 6 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2ciii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2civ) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house, at the back of the house (which used to be the top).
2cv) On the exterior of the door, we would attach a boogie wheel at the botom right corner of the
door to allow smooth and easy opening of the door.
2cvi) Approximately 15 inches above the boogie wheel, align a handle and mark the places to drill
holes into the door to mount the handle.
2cvii) Drill two holes to mount the handle
2cviii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
handle onto the piece of wood.
Step 3: Putting our Solar Panels in place into our Generating System
3a• Firstly, we install the solar panels on the top of the house. We would drill one hole,
which would allow the wire to enter the house.
3b• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
3c• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
3d• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
3e• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2f• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 4: Constructing a wind turbine, to be put in place into our Generating
System.
4a• Attach a vertical stabilizer to the back of the fan so that the fan faces the direction of
the wind when the wind pushes the stabilizer.
4b• Attach an external cylinder to the wind turbine which would allow the pole to pivot
around.
4c• Install the external cylinder to the front of the house by drilling a hole.
4d• Glue the external cylinder to the ground using epoxy to make sure it is stable.
4e• The turbine would turn based on the different wind directions to maximize the
efficiency of the system
4f• Kinetic energy from the wind goes to the generator, which converts the kinetic energy
to electrical energy.
4g• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the turbine, which would start spinning the turbine which is a waste of energy.
4h• The energy would then go to the battery, which would store the electricity.
4i• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
4j•This would go to the Arduino because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
4k•The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan
Step 5: Constructing a hydroelectricity turbine which uses rain water, to be
put in place into our Generating System.
2a.We use polycarbonate to build a support for the slanted platform which is also made
out of polycarbonate. The support is build perpendicular to the the roof of the house. We
attach the support and the platform using epoxy. The height of the three supports will be
15cm. Using Pythagoras theorem, 15cm squared plus 65cm squared equals to 4450cm
squared. Hence the length of the slanted platform is 66.7cm.
2b.We station a metal platform next to the side of the house. We then carve out a hole in
the metal piece which has the same area as the base of the cylinder. We slot the cylinder
tube in the hole. We then apply epoxy around the curve of the cylinder to make sure it is
attached to the platform. The dimensions of the metal platform are 17cm for thickness,
23cm for length and the length is the same as the house length.
2c.We block off half of the cylinder. The cylinder’s diameter is 6 inches.
2d.Place a turbine below which is connected to a motor(beside the turbine)
2e• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
2f• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
2g• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
2h• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2i• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 6: Connecting a light bulb to the battery which is attatched to the
arduino.
6)Build a ledge on the right-hand side which is about half the length of the house. Use
epoxy to attach it at about 2/3 of the height of the house.
6a)Clamp the table lamp at the edge of the ledge.
6ai)Position the lamp at an angle such that it faces the top right hand side of house.
6aii)Place a concave mirror parallel to the lamp.
Purpose:The lamp shine light on the concave mirror to spread the light more evenly
throughout the house.
6b)A wooden plate will be attached at the top of the house at about 3/4 of the height of the
house.
6c)A hole of 2cm diameter is drilled at the right hand side of the plate.
6d)The platform is for the battery, Arduino brain, regulator, down convertor and relay
system.
6e)The hole is for all wires to be connected back to the regulator and the voltage of the
electricity is down converted before it reaches the Arduino brain.
6f)We are using 2 sets of wire for the regulator, down convertor and down convertor. The
thickness of the wires including the insulator is approximately 2-3mm.
Step 7: Constructing a paper Air-Conditioner, to be put in place into our
energy saving system.
7a) Cut out a rectangular hole at one side of the wooden crate where the water tank is
placed.
7b) Fit a long thick piece (1 piece only) of paper at the space cut out 30cm (Length) by
12cm (Breadth) by 1mm (Thickness)
7c) Connect metal contacts at 2 ends of the paper (diagonally spaced)
7d) Connect wires from a servo which releases water to the 2 metal contacts
7e) Add a hatch at a position such that the servo will open the hatch that is surrounded by
flat rubber stoppers and let water from the tank flow through a rubber/plastic tube and
spread across the paper when there is an open circuit.
7f) At the other side of the paper aircon, mount 4 computer fans measuring 120mm by
120mm each, 2 on each side for push-pull arrangement and connect the wires in a parallel
circuit to the arduino.
Step 8: Construction of windows(closed automatically upon raining/motors)
a)Construction of Window
8ai) For the window, we would be using a simple transparent plastic board.
8aii) The window would be attached using a pivotable metal piece attached to the window,
and to the piece of wood, in the middle of the window.
8aiii) There would be a metal weight at the top of the window which would act as the
counter weight. The weight would approximately be 500g.
8aiv) There would be 2 metal bars attached to the sides of the top of the window. The
pulley would be attached to the metal bar.
8av) A wooded block in the house and outside the house would be used to limit the
window from moving out of control with our two pulley systems.
b)Moving the Window using Rain water
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the outside of the
window with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to the handle of a bucket.
b)Moving the Window using motor
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the inside of the window
with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to a motor which would coil to open the window.
We would then be using this entire set-up twice, once on the door used for interaction, just
below the handle, at the midpoint, and another abover the door.
Step 9: Constructing a hydroponics house, to be put in place into our
resource saving system.
9)This is basically a continuation from the water harvesting system.
9a)After the water flows through the turbine, excess water is then absorbed by a layer of
sponge of 1inch thickness.
9b)Eventually, the water flows down the layer of sponge which is placed under a layer of
soil of approximately 1 inch in thickness in a small greenhouse.
9c)Due to osmosis, the water flows to the soil.
9ci)This ensures the that the soil has sufficient levels of water most of the time.
9d)We will be using fake plants for the initial scaled-down house model.
9e)However,we may opt to use actual green bean plants for our bigger model.
Step 11: Mounting of Sensors to allow efficient saving when appliances not in
use
1a) For this, we need 1 temperature sensors, 1 light sensor, 1 rain sensor and 2 motion
sensor.
1b) On the ledge above the paper air-conditioner, we would place 1 light sensor and 1
temperature sensor. This would be attached to the ledge using either VelcroTM
or epoxy.
1c) There would be 1 motion sensor attached to the top of the door(where a shelf was
constructed), and another in the house, similarly using epoxy or VelcroTM.
Step 12: Programming(control system)
a) Light Control System( to control the switching on and off of the light, depending
on the amount of natural light coming in)
12ai) By using the light sensor, a code can be generated to make the light bulb turn on if
the natural light is too dim, or turn off if the natural light is bright enough.
12aii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [light sensor] < minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns on;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] > minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns off;
}
}
b) Temperature Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper
aircon, depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12bi) By using the temperature sensor, a code can be generated to make the paper air
con’s fan to turn on if the atmospheric air is too hot(with the windows close via motors), or
turn off if the atmospheric air is cooling enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12bii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [temperature sensor] > maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
c) Wind Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper aircon,
depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12ci) By using the ammeter at our wind turbine to calculate the wind speed of the
atmosphereic air, a code can be generated to make the paper air con’s fan to turn on if the
wind speed is too low(with the windows close via motors), or turn off if the wind speed is
high enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [ammeter] > current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
d) Saving electricity when the person is not in the house
12di) By using the motion sensor in the house and at the door, we can tell if the person
has left the house, or the person is still in the house. When the person is leaving the
house, the motion snesor in the house would stop sening for any motions, while the one at
the door sensed for motion. This would show that the person has left the house and
passed the door. Furthermore, when the person is coming back into the house, the motion
sensor would sense motion, and so would the one in the house sense for motion (after an
added delay), the electrical appliances in the house would turn on.
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(motion sensor in the house does not sense person)
{
if(motion sensor outside house sense person)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
light bulb turns off;
}
}
else if(motion sensor outside the house sense person)
{
if(motion sensor in the house sense person)
{
electrical appliances turns on accordingly to whether it is allowed by other controlled
systems or not
}
}
}
Servo to control amount of water going to paper Air-conditioner
Front view of house
Interior of house
Hydroponics system & Water Turbine
How the window opens
How water is collected for Paper Air Conditioner
Paper Air Conditioner
Solar Panel
Paper Air Conditioner
Sensors to be used
Shelf to place electrical compenents
Paper Air Condioner
Analysis of Data:
Everything will be recorded to a CCTV Camera for a period of time
Electricity during the day (Solar Panels)
->We can test whether the solar panels are charging the batteries by disconnecting the wind turbine and checking the footage of the voltmeter connected to the battery to determine whether the battery level increased or decreased. If the level increased, that means that the solar panel is charging at a rate faster than the battery is being depleted. If the level decreased, that means that the solar panel is charging at a slower rate than the battery being depleted and the circuit must be modified.
Paper Air Con
->We can test whether the paper air con is working effectively by placing the box in a room with a constant room temperature with a temperature sensor inside. If the air con is effectively cooling the air in the house, the temperatures recorded will dip and will be lower than room temperature most of the time. If it does not work effectively/at all, the temperature recorded will be very near room temperature.
Wind Turbine
->We can test whether the wind turbine is charging the battery by disconnecting the solar panels and connecting a voltmeter checking the footage of the voltmeter whether the voltage increased. If the wind turbine is charging the battery faster than it depletes, the voltage will increase over time. If the wind turbine is charging the battery slower than it depletes, the voltage will decrease over time.
Rain Turbine
->We can test whether the rain turbine is working by disconnecting the solar panels and wind turbine before hooking up a water tube to simulate rain and a voltmeter to check the voltage of the battery. Over a period of around 1-2hours, if the rain turbine is charging the battery at a rate faster than it depletes, the voltage will be higher after the 'rain' compared to before. If the rain turbine is not charging the battery faster than it depletes, the voltage measured will be lower after the 'rain' compared to before.
Electrical Circuits
->We can test whether the whole circuit is working by connecting everything together and checking the footage after a few days to see if the light bulbs and fans turn on or off as intended along with the data of temperature and voltage of the battery. If they work as intended, the circuit is stable and requires little or no adjustments to improve. If they do not, we have to find out the root problem and make changes to our circuit.
Battery
->We can test whether the battery is charging faster than it is depleting by connecting everything together and checking the data of the voltmeter after a few days. If the voltage is higher than initial voltage, that means that the battery is being charged faster than it is being depleted. If the voltage is lower than initial voltage, that means that the battery is being charged slower than it is being depleted and therefore further changes must be made to conserve more electricity.
Hydroponics (If time permits)
->We can test the distribution of the water to the plants by checking if the soil is damp at all times and not too wet (water overflowing) from the footage. If that is so, the distribution is good and it will require no more changes. If there are puddles of water overflowing or if the soil is too dry sometimes/most of the time, the distribution is not equal and it must be modified. To ensure accuracy of testing whether the two far ends of the soil has equal moisture, we would test their moisture levels by using a moisture sensor.
Risk assessment and management
1. List/identify the hazardous chemicals, activities, or devices that will be used.
We would be using drills, saws, screws, screwdrivers, pliers, hot glue gun and epoxy. We would be using the tools mainly to make ledges and cut holes to fit in the solar panels and other sensors and electronic devices. We would also be using wires for all the sensor and systems.
2. Identify and assess the risks involved.
While using the tools one might easily cut themselves with the sharp blade which might cause severe bleeding and also infection because of the wood shavings from the wood cutting. The wood shaving may also enter someone's eyes or mouth. The wires may come into contact with water which might cause a electrocution which might even lead to death.
3. Describe the safety precautions and procedures that will be used to reduce the risks.
While cutting, it is best to not keep fingers or any part of the body close to the blade. This is mostly because the blade can easily slide off and cut the fingers of the person using it. While using the drill, there would be wood shavings on the drill. It is best to use a brush and sweep off the wood shavings and not use our hands. We should also make sure the wire has no cuts while handling it. If there are cuts, the power should be turned off before handling it.
4. Describe the disposal procedures that will be used (when applicable).
The wood shavings should be put inside a plastic bag and disposed. This is to make sure the wood shavings does not fly in the wind while being disposed
5. List the source(s) of safety information.
- Safety tags on the drills and wires.
- Safety measurements in the Research lab and ADMT studio.
Bibliography
Wikipedia (2013, July 04). Renewable energy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Concentrating Solar Power. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/csp.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Solar Energy Resources. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/solar_resources.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Wind Energy Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/wind.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Hydropower Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/hydropower.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Microhydropower. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/microhydropower.html
Materials Needed
1) Plywood
2) 2 Computer Fans
3) Lamp
4) Solar panels
5) Paper
6) Arduino Control Systems
7) Light sensor
8) Window Panes
9) Motion Sensors (2)
10) Wires
11) Metal contact/clips
12) Release Valves
13) Pipe
14) Fiberglass
15) Transitions coated glass
16) Wind turbine
17) Propeller Blades
18) Solar panels converter
19) Batteries
20) Metal Pole
21) Metal Sheets
22) Hinges
23) Knobs
24) Pulley Systems
25) Water turbine
26) Soil
27) Water filter
28)Regulator
29)12V to 9V down converter
30)Diode
31)Cylinder Tube
29)12V to 9V down converter
30)Diode
31)Cylinder Tube
Procedures
Step 1: Blueprint of the house (Preparation of Project)
1a) We proceed to finalise and discuss which systems that we would be having by analysing what
would be most feasible, yet efficient and useful and very technological, within the time limit.
Catergorising Systems
1b) We settled on two categories of system. The first would be the systems whihch generate
elelctricity in a clean and effiecient manner. The second, would be the systems which consume the
electricity to not only show that our electricity generating systems work, but also that our energy
consumption systems requires less energy/resources to be used to obtain the particular ideal
temperature of house or other ideal scenarios.
Systems which generate electricity:
Soalr Panel
1c) We firstly considered the solar panel as part of the systems which generate clean energy. The
advatages of a solar panel is that it produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful
gases and carbon dioxide, thus meeting our requirements for a green house.Furthermore, upon
spreading over a large area, it is capable of generating a lot of electricity. However, its
diasadvantages are that not only is it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as the
advatages outdo the disadvantages, and that the space disadvatage is easily solved by placing it
merely on our roof, thus it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our
project.
Wind Turbine
1d) Secondly, we then considered harvesting wind energy from a large wind turbine beside the
house. However, we would be modifying it such that when a wind blows towards the wind turbine
in a different direction relative to the wind turbine’s fan, the wind turbine’s fan would spin towards
the wind direction so as to harvest the maximum amount of electricity fromt the surrounding wind.
The advantages of using a wind turbine is that it harvests a large amount of electricity in a windy
area, and produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide,
thus meeting our requirements for a green house. However, its diasadvantages are that not only is
it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as we have modified the wind turbine to
receive maximum wind energy, thus the wind turbine would be effiecient enough to outdo its
disadvatages. Thus, it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our project.
Hydroelectricity
1e) Thirdly, we then considered incooperating hydroelectricity into our generation of electricity.
Basically, we intend to harvest electricity from rain. We would funnel the rain down to a very small
sylinder to build up gravitational energy of the rain water. The water would then flow down, and
pass the turbine, generating electricity upon turning the turbine. The advatages of this system is
that we are able to harvest even more electricity by tapping on even more natural resources. It
produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide, thus
meeting our requirements for a green house. Furthermore, it is relatively cheap, as all that it
requires is a generator to generate the elecricity required. The disadvatages is that it might not be
very efficient as we are only collecting rain from the roof of the house. However, we felt that since
we are aiming for maximum usage of natural resources to build a green house, thus we felt that
this is relatively feasible, considering that it highlights even more of the green energy in which we
are harvesting, but uses relatively less space, less time and less money.
Systems which are green driven in the consumption of electricity/resources:
Energy Saving Bulbs
1f) Firstly, we settled on the basic lamp, which used energy saving bulbs. Basically, it is
used to show that our systems which generate electircity is effiecient enough to power this
ligh bub. Its advanatges are that it consumes less electircity, thus highlighting our motive of
a green house. The disadvantages is that it is very simple. However, as it is mostly used to
highlight green energy consumption and also to show that our generating systems work
effieciently, thus it is feasible to place it in.
Paper Air-conditioner
1g) Secondly, after great encouragement from our ISS teacher Mr Tan, we had also decided to
incoorperate the paper air-conditioner. Its advatages is that nto only is it very cheap to make, but it
also consumes much less electricity. Thus, simliar to the energy saving bulbs, it consumes less
electircity, thus highlighting our motive of a green house. The diasvanatge on the opposite
side, is that it is very difficult to make and master the system to make sure it is efficient
enough for the energy consumed by the fans which power the paper air con. However,
after deep consideration, if we are able to pull this off, it wil be effcient, thus making our
project even better. Thus, we have decided to incooperate it.
Hydroponics
1h) Last but not least, we thought of the fact that water resources is also currently running low.
Thus, we have decided to also attempt to make a green house by targetting at a different way too.
Basically, we would be using the rain water from the water generator cylinder. The water would
flow into sponge. Via osmosis, it would seperate throughout the enitre sponge. Following which,
once again by osmosis the water would rise up to the soil and be absorbed by the plants. The
advatages are that not only does it prevent pests, as well as harsh weather conditions, it also
allows an equal deviaiton of water across the entire soil and that it also prevents direct rain contact
which may destroy the plant’s structure. The diasdvantages are that not only is it time consuming
to make, but it is also very difficult to get it donw well as the water from part of the sponge might
just travel up directly to the plant, instead around the pther parts of the sponge.
Planning the entire house
1i) To allow the highest effieciency, we have decided to plan our model on google sketch up so as
to allow the ease of building as it would tell us the exact measurements and proportions of each
part, as well as a great understanding of what we would be doing and why.
Step 2: Constructing the Skeleton of our house(Including the doors and
shelves e.t.c)
For the house, we owud intend to build everything on the
a) Construction of shelves
Since we already have a crate as our house, the first step is to construct shelves where ever
needed.
Shelf used for placing temperature sensor, rain detector, as well as light intensitiy
sensor:
2aii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, with the length being the length of the
house, and the breadth approximately 5 inches.
2aii) Apply Epoxy 1 inch below the celing of the crate, on one side of the exterior walls.
2aiii) Place and apply pressure on the cut piece of ply wood where Epoxy was being applied to, for
approximately 5 minutes.
2aiv) Hammer 4 nails from the interior of the crate, to the piece of ply wood.
Shelf used for placing of all forms of circuit components as well as the arduino:
2avi) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch which can fit into the crate in a
horizontal position.
2aviii) Apply Epoxy to walls which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches below
the celing of the crate
2aviii) Insert the ply wood into the crate, where the Epoxy was being applied.
2aix) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2ax) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axi) At the each exterior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 4 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
Shelf used for placing of motion sensor above the planned door
2axii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, length of 3 inches, breadth of 3
inches.
2axiii) Apply Epoxy to the wall which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches
above the bottom of the crate, approximately 1 inch away from the conrner of the wall.
2axiiii) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2axiiii) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axiiiii) At the interior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 3 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
b) Construction of door(door for person living in the house)
2bi) Cut out a piece of wood from the bottom of the crate (where the two silts are) of size 13 inches
by 7 inches.
2bii) Align two small hinges to fit the piece of wood equally which was being cut out.
2biii) Drill 4 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2biv) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2bv) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house.
2bvi) Attach two circular cuboid to the mid point of the door, towards the opposite side where the
hinge is, interiorly and exteriorly as the ‘handle’.
c) Construction of door(door for human interaction with the house internally)
2ci) Using the opening already given by the crate, we would first align 3 large hinges on the given
opening piece of wood.
2cii) Drill 6 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2ciii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2civ) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house, at the back of the house (which used to be the top).
2cv) On the exterior of the door, we would attach a boogie wheel at the botom right corner of the
door to allow smooth and easy opening of the door.
2cvi) Approximately 15 inches above the boogie wheel, align a handle and mark the places to drill
holes into the door to mount the handle.
2cvii) Drill two holes to mount the handle
2cviii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
handle onto the piece of wood.
Step 3: Putting our Solar Panels in place into our Generating System
3a• Firstly, we install the solar panels on the top of the house. We would drill one hole,
which would allow the wire to enter the house.
3b• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
3c• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
3d• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
3e• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2f• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 4: Constructing a wind turbine, to be put in place into our Generating
System.
4a• Attach a vertical stabilizer to the back of the fan so that the fan faces the direction of
the wind when the wind pushes the stabilizer.
4b• Attach an external cylinder to the wind turbine which would allow the pole to pivot
around.
4c• Install the external cylinder to the front of the house by drilling a hole.
4d• Glue the external cylinder to the ground using epoxy to make sure it is stable.
4e• The turbine would turn based on the different wind directions to maximize the
efficiency of the system
4f• Kinetic energy from the wind goes to the generator, which converts the kinetic energy
to electrical energy.
4g• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the turbine, which would start spinning the turbine which is a waste of energy.
4h• The energy would then go to the battery, which would store the electricity.
4i• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
4j•This would go to the Arduino because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
4k•The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan
Step 5: Constructing a hydroelectricity turbine which uses rain water, to be
put in place into our Generating System.
2a.We use polycarbonate to build a support for the slanted platform which is also made
out of polycarbonate. The support is build perpendicular to the the roof of the house. We
attach the support and the platform using epoxy. The height of the three supports will be
15cm. Using Pythagoras theorem, 15cm squared plus 65cm squared equals to 4450cm
squared. Hence the length of the slanted platform is 66.7cm.
2b.We station a metal platform next to the side of the house. We then carve out a hole in
the metal piece which has the same area as the base of the cylinder. We slot the cylinder
tube in the hole. We then apply epoxy around the curve of the cylinder to make sure it is
attached to the platform. The dimensions of the metal platform are 17cm for thickness,
23cm for length and the length is the same as the house length.
2c.We block off half of the cylinder. The cylinder’s diameter is 6 inches.
2d.Place a turbine below which is connected to a motor(beside the turbine)
2e• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
2f• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
2g• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
2h• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2i• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 6: Connecting a light bulb to the battery which is attatched to the
arduino.
6)Build a ledge on the right-hand side which is about half the length of the house. Use
epoxy to attach it at about 2/3 of the height of the house.
6a)Clamp the table lamp at the edge of the ledge.
6ai)Position the lamp at an angle such that it faces the top right hand side of house.
6aii)Place a concave mirror parallel to the lamp.
Purpose:The lamp shine light on the concave mirror to spread the light more evenly
throughout the house.
6b)A wooden plate will be attached at the top of the house at about 3/4 of the height of the
house.
6c)A hole of 2cm diameter is drilled at the right hand side of the plate.
6d)The platform is for the battery, Arduino brain, regulator, down convertor and relay
system.
6e)The hole is for all wires to be connected back to the regulator and the voltage of the
electricity is down converted before it reaches the Arduino brain.
6f)We are using 2 sets of wire for the regulator, down convertor and down convertor. The
thickness of the wires including the insulator is approximately 2-3mm.
Step 7: Constructing a paper Air-Conditioner, to be put in place into our
energy saving system.
7a) Cut out a rectangular hole at one side of the wooden crate where the water tank is
placed.
7b) Fit a long thick piece (1 piece only) of paper at the space cut out 30cm (Length) by
12cm (Breadth) by 1mm (Thickness)
7c) Connect metal contacts at 2 ends of the paper (diagonally spaced)
7d) Connect wires from a servo which releases water to the 2 metal contacts
7e) Add a hatch at a position such that the servo will open the hatch that is surrounded by
flat rubber stoppers and let water from the tank flow through a rubber/plastic tube and
spread across the paper when there is an open circuit.
7f) At the other side of the paper aircon, mount 4 computer fans measuring 120mm by
120mm each, 2 on each side for push-pull arrangement and connect the wires in a parallel
circuit to the arduino.
Step 8: Construction of windows(closed automatically upon raining/motors)
a)Construction of Window
8ai) For the window, we would be using a simple transparent plastic board.
8aii) The window would be attached using a pivotable metal piece attached to the window,
and to the piece of wood, in the middle of the window.
8aiii) There would be a metal weight at the top of the window which would act as the
counter weight. The weight would approximately be 500g.
8aiv) There would be 2 metal bars attached to the sides of the top of the window. The
pulley would be attached to the metal bar.
8av) A wooded block in the house and outside the house would be used to limit the
window from moving out of control with our two pulley systems.
b)Moving the Window using Rain water
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the outside of the
window with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to the handle of a bucket.
b)Moving the Window using motor
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the inside of the window
with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to a motor which would coil to open the window.
We would then be using this entire set-up twice, once on the door used for interaction, just
below the handle, at the midpoint, and another abover the door.
Step 9: Constructing a hydroponics house, to be put in place into our
resource saving system.
9)This is basically a continuation from the water harvesting system.
9a)After the water flows through the turbine, excess water is then absorbed by a layer of
sponge of 1inch thickness.
9b)Eventually, the water flows down the layer of sponge which is placed under a layer of
soil of approximately 1 inch in thickness in a small greenhouse.
9c)Due to osmosis, the water flows to the soil.
9ci)This ensures the that the soil has sufficient levels of water most of the time.
9d)We will be using fake plants for the initial scaled-down house model.
9e)However,we may opt to use actual green bean plants for our bigger model.
Step 11: Mounting of Sensors to allow efficient saving when appliances not in
use
1a) For this, we need 1 temperature sensors, 1 light sensor, 1 rain sensor and 2 motion
sensor.
1b) On the ledge above the paper air-conditioner, we would place 1 light sensor and 1
temperature sensor. This would be attached to the ledge using either VelcroTM
or epoxy.
1c) There would be 1 motion sensor attached to the top of the door(where a shelf was
constructed), and another in the house, similarly using epoxy or VelcroTM.
Step 12: Programming(control system)
a) Light Control System( to control the switching on and off of the light, depending
on the amount of natural light coming in)
12ai) By using the light sensor, a code can be generated to make the light bulb turn on if
the natural light is too dim, or turn off if the natural light is bright enough.
12aii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [light sensor] < minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns on;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] > minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns off;
}
}
b) Temperature Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper
aircon, depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12bi) By using the temperature sensor, a code can be generated to make the paper air
con’s fan to turn on if the atmospheric air is too hot(with the windows close via motors), or
turn off if the atmospheric air is cooling enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12bii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [temperature sensor] > maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
c) Wind Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper aircon,
depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12ci) By using the ammeter at our wind turbine to calculate the wind speed of the
atmosphereic air, a code can be generated to make the paper air con’s fan to turn on if the
wind speed is too low(with the windows close via motors), or turn off if the wind speed is
high enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [ammeter] > current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
d) Saving electricity when the person is not in the house
12di) By using the motion sensor in the house and at the door, we can tell if the person
has left the house, or the person is still in the house. When the person is leaving the
house, the motion snesor in the house would stop sening for any motions, while the one at
the door sensed for motion. This would show that the person has left the house and
passed the door. Furthermore, when the person is coming back into the house, the motion
sensor would sense motion, and so would the one in the house sense for motion (after an
added delay), the electrical appliances in the house would turn on.
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(motion sensor in the house does not sense person)
{
if(motion sensor outside house sense person)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
light bulb turns off;
}
}
else if(motion sensor outside the house sense person)
{
if(motion sensor in the house sense person)
{
electrical appliances turns on accordingly to whether it is allowed by other controlled
systems or not
}
}
}
1a) We proceed to finalise and discuss which systems that we would be having by analysing what
would be most feasible, yet efficient and useful and very technological, within the time limit.
Catergorising Systems
1b) We settled on two categories of system. The first would be the systems whihch generate
elelctricity in a clean and effiecient manner. The second, would be the systems which consume the
electricity to not only show that our electricity generating systems work, but also that our energy
consumption systems requires less energy/resources to be used to obtain the particular ideal
temperature of house or other ideal scenarios.
Systems which generate electricity:
Soalr Panel
1c) We firstly considered the solar panel as part of the systems which generate clean energy. The
advatages of a solar panel is that it produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful
gases and carbon dioxide, thus meeting our requirements for a green house.Furthermore, upon
spreading over a large area, it is capable of generating a lot of electricity. However, its
diasadvantages are that not only is it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as the
advatages outdo the disadvantages, and that the space disadvatage is easily solved by placing it
merely on our roof, thus it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our
project.
Wind Turbine
1d) Secondly, we then considered harvesting wind energy from a large wind turbine beside the
house. However, we would be modifying it such that when a wind blows towards the wind turbine
in a different direction relative to the wind turbine’s fan, the wind turbine’s fan would spin towards
the wind direction so as to harvest the maximum amount of electricity fromt the surrounding wind.
The advantages of using a wind turbine is that it harvests a large amount of electricity in a windy
area, and produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide,
thus meeting our requirements for a green house. However, its diasadvantages are that not only is
it expensive, but also takes up a lot of space. However, as we have modified the wind turbine to
receive maximum wind energy, thus the wind turbine would be effiecient enough to outdo its
disadvatages. Thus, it meets our requirements and is deemed suitable and useful in our project.
Hydroelectricity
1e) Thirdly, we then considered incooperating hydroelectricity into our generation of electricity.
Basically, we intend to harvest electricity from rain. We would funnel the rain down to a very small
sylinder to build up gravitational energy of the rain water. The water would then flow down, and
pass the turbine, generating electricity upon turning the turbine. The advatages of this system is
that we are able to harvest even more electricity by tapping on even more natural resources. It
produces 100% clean energy, without the emission of harmful gases and carbon dioxide, thus
meeting our requirements for a green house. Furthermore, it is relatively cheap, as all that it
requires is a generator to generate the elecricity required. The disadvatages is that it might not be
very efficient as we are only collecting rain from the roof of the house. However, we felt that since
we are aiming for maximum usage of natural resources to build a green house, thus we felt that
this is relatively feasible, considering that it highlights even more of the green energy in which we
are harvesting, but uses relatively less space, less time and less money.
Systems which are green driven in the consumption of electricity/resources:
Energy Saving Bulbs
1f) Firstly, we settled on the basic lamp, which used energy saving bulbs. Basically, it is
used to show that our systems which generate electircity is effiecient enough to power this
ligh bub. Its advanatges are that it consumes less electircity, thus highlighting our motive of
a green house. The disadvantages is that it is very simple. However, as it is mostly used to
highlight green energy consumption and also to show that our generating systems work
effieciently, thus it is feasible to place it in.
Paper Air-conditioner
1g) Secondly, after great encouragement from our ISS teacher Mr Tan, we had also decided to
incoorperate the paper air-conditioner. Its advatages is that nto only is it very cheap to make, but it
also consumes much less electricity. Thus, simliar to the energy saving bulbs, it consumes less
electircity, thus highlighting our motive of a green house. The diasvanatge on the opposite
side, is that it is very difficult to make and master the system to make sure it is efficient
enough for the energy consumed by the fans which power the paper air con. However,
after deep consideration, if we are able to pull this off, it wil be effcient, thus making our
project even better. Thus, we have decided to incooperate it.
Hydroponics
1h) Last but not least, we thought of the fact that water resources is also currently running low.
Thus, we have decided to also attempt to make a green house by targetting at a different way too.
Basically, we would be using the rain water from the water generator cylinder. The water would
flow into sponge. Via osmosis, it would seperate throughout the enitre sponge. Following which,
once again by osmosis the water would rise up to the soil and be absorbed by the plants. The
advatages are that not only does it prevent pests, as well as harsh weather conditions, it also
allows an equal deviaiton of water across the entire soil and that it also prevents direct rain contact
which may destroy the plant’s structure. The diasdvantages are that not only is it time consuming
to make, but it is also very difficult to get it donw well as the water from part of the sponge might
just travel up directly to the plant, instead around the pther parts of the sponge.
Planning the entire house
1i) To allow the highest effieciency, we have decided to plan our model on google sketch up so as
to allow the ease of building as it would tell us the exact measurements and proportions of each
part, as well as a great understanding of what we would be doing and why.
Step 2: Constructing the Skeleton of our house(Including the doors and
shelves e.t.c)
For the house, we owud intend to build everything on the
a) Construction of shelves
Since we already have a crate as our house, the first step is to construct shelves where ever
needed.
Shelf used for placing temperature sensor, rain detector, as well as light intensitiy
sensor:
2aii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, with the length being the length of the
house, and the breadth approximately 5 inches.
2aii) Apply Epoxy 1 inch below the celing of the crate, on one side of the exterior walls.
2aiii) Place and apply pressure on the cut piece of ply wood where Epoxy was being applied to, for
approximately 5 minutes.
2aiv) Hammer 4 nails from the interior of the crate, to the piece of ply wood.
Shelf used for placing of all forms of circuit components as well as the arduino:
2avi) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch which can fit into the crate in a
horizontal position.
2aviii) Apply Epoxy to walls which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches below
the celing of the crate
2aviii) Insert the ply wood into the crate, where the Epoxy was being applied.
2aix) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2ax) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axi) At the each exterior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 4 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
Shelf used for placing of motion sensor above the planned door
2axii) Cut a piece of ply wood, height of approximately 1 inch, length of 3 inches, breadth of 3
inches.
2axiii) Apply Epoxy to the wall which the ply wood would be placed at, approximately 5 inches
above the bottom of the crate, approximately 1 inch away from the conrner of the wall.
2axiiii) Apply presure to the ply wood for approximately 5 minutes.
2axiiii) Stop applying presure but hold the ply wood in place.
2axiiiii) At the interior wall of the crate where the ply wood was being placed, hammer 3 nails
into the ply wood, evenly spreaded across.
b) Construction of door(door for person living in the house)
2bi) Cut out a piece of wood from the bottom of the crate (where the two silts are) of size 13 inches
by 7 inches.
2bii) Align two small hinges to fit the piece of wood equally which was being cut out.
2biii) Drill 4 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2biv) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2bv) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house.
2bvi) Attach two circular cuboid to the mid point of the door, towards the opposite side where the
hinge is, interiorly and exteriorly as the ‘handle’.
c) Construction of door(door for human interaction with the house internally)
2ci) Using the opening already given by the crate, we would first align 3 large hinges on the given
opening piece of wood.
2cii) Drill 6 holes, 2 for each hinge on the piece of wood.
2ciii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
hinges onto the piece of wood.
2civ) Repeat steps 2biii to 2biv to fasten the door with the hinge onto the house, with the hinges
nearer towards the left side of the house, at the back of the house (which used to be the top).
2cv) On the exterior of the door, we would attach a boogie wheel at the botom right corner of the
door to allow smooth and easy opening of the door.
2cvi) Approximately 15 inches above the boogie wheel, align a handle and mark the places to drill
holes into the door to mount the handle.
2cvii) Drill two holes to mount the handle
2cviii) Screw in a screw for each hole and tighten it with a nut ,together with a washer, to fasten the
handle onto the piece of wood.
Step 3: Putting our Solar Panels in place into our Generating System
3a• Firstly, we install the solar panels on the top of the house. We would drill one hole,
which would allow the wire to enter the house.
3b• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
3c• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
3d• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
3e• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2f• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 4: Constructing a wind turbine, to be put in place into our Generating
System.
4a• Attach a vertical stabilizer to the back of the fan so that the fan faces the direction of
the wind when the wind pushes the stabilizer.
4b• Attach an external cylinder to the wind turbine which would allow the pole to pivot
around.
4c• Install the external cylinder to the front of the house by drilling a hole.
4d• Glue the external cylinder to the ground using epoxy to make sure it is stable.
4e• The turbine would turn based on the different wind directions to maximize the
efficiency of the system
4f• Kinetic energy from the wind goes to the generator, which converts the kinetic energy
to electrical energy.
4g• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the turbine, which would start spinning the turbine which is a waste of energy.
4h• The energy would then go to the battery, which would store the electricity.
4i• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
4j•This would go to the Arduino because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
4k•The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan
Step 5: Constructing a hydroelectricity turbine which uses rain water, to be
put in place into our Generating System.
2a.We use polycarbonate to build a support for the slanted platform which is also made
out of polycarbonate. The support is build perpendicular to the the roof of the house. We
attach the support and the platform using epoxy. The height of the three supports will be
15cm. Using Pythagoras theorem, 15cm squared plus 65cm squared equals to 4450cm
squared. Hence the length of the slanted platform is 66.7cm.
2b.We station a metal platform next to the side of the house. We then carve out a hole in
the metal piece which has the same area as the base of the cylinder. We slot the cylinder
tube in the hole. We then apply epoxy around the curve of the cylinder to make sure it is
attached to the platform. The dimensions of the metal platform are 17cm for thickness,
23cm for length and the length is the same as the house length.
2c.We block off half of the cylinder. The cylinder’s diameter is 6 inches.
2d.Place a turbine below which is connected to a motor(beside the turbine)
2e• The electricity travels to the diode, which makes sure the electricity does not go back
wards to the solar panel and wastes energy
2f• The electricity would then go to the battery for storage.
2g• The electricity would then go to the 12V to 9V convertor.
2h• This is done because, our Arduino system runs on 9V.
2i• The Arduino system would then distribute the electricity based on different conditions to
the different outputs such as the light and the fan.
Step 6: Connecting a light bulb to the battery which is attatched to the
arduino.
6)Build a ledge on the right-hand side which is about half the length of the house. Use
epoxy to attach it at about 2/3 of the height of the house.
6a)Clamp the table lamp at the edge of the ledge.
6ai)Position the lamp at an angle such that it faces the top right hand side of house.
6aii)Place a concave mirror parallel to the lamp.
Purpose:The lamp shine light on the concave mirror to spread the light more evenly
throughout the house.
6b)A wooden plate will be attached at the top of the house at about 3/4 of the height of the
house.
6c)A hole of 2cm diameter is drilled at the right hand side of the plate.
6d)The platform is for the battery, Arduino brain, regulator, down convertor and relay
system.
6e)The hole is for all wires to be connected back to the regulator and the voltage of the
electricity is down converted before it reaches the Arduino brain.
6f)We are using 2 sets of wire for the regulator, down convertor and down convertor. The
thickness of the wires including the insulator is approximately 2-3mm.
Step 7: Constructing a paper Air-Conditioner, to be put in place into our
energy saving system.
7a) Cut out a rectangular hole at one side of the wooden crate where the water tank is
placed.
7b) Fit a long thick piece (1 piece only) of paper at the space cut out 30cm (Length) by
12cm (Breadth) by 1mm (Thickness)
7c) Connect metal contacts at 2 ends of the paper (diagonally spaced)
7d) Connect wires from a servo which releases water to the 2 metal contacts
7e) Add a hatch at a position such that the servo will open the hatch that is surrounded by
flat rubber stoppers and let water from the tank flow through a rubber/plastic tube and
spread across the paper when there is an open circuit.
7f) At the other side of the paper aircon, mount 4 computer fans measuring 120mm by
120mm each, 2 on each side for push-pull arrangement and connect the wires in a parallel
circuit to the arduino.
Step 8: Construction of windows(closed automatically upon raining/motors)
a)Construction of Window
8ai) For the window, we would be using a simple transparent plastic board.
8aii) The window would be attached using a pivotable metal piece attached to the window,
and to the piece of wood, in the middle of the window.
8aiii) There would be a metal weight at the top of the window which would act as the
counter weight. The weight would approximately be 500g.
8aiv) There would be 2 metal bars attached to the sides of the top of the window. The
pulley would be attached to the metal bar.
8av) A wooded block in the house and outside the house would be used to limit the
window from moving out of control with our two pulley systems.
b)Moving the Window using Rain water
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the outside of the
window with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to the handle of a bucket.
b)Moving the Window using motor
8bi) A piece of wood will be attatched to the top of the window, on the inside of the window
with a hole drilled into it large enough to fit a nylon string.
8bii) Nylon string (fishing string) would be slotted through the hole and tied.
8biii) It would then run through from the window, through the pulley.
8biii) The end of the string would be tied to a motor which would coil to open the window.
We would then be using this entire set-up twice, once on the door used for interaction, just
below the handle, at the midpoint, and another abover the door.
Step 9: Constructing a hydroponics house, to be put in place into our
resource saving system.
9)This is basically a continuation from the water harvesting system.
9a)After the water flows through the turbine, excess water is then absorbed by a layer of
sponge of 1inch thickness.
9b)Eventually, the water flows down the layer of sponge which is placed under a layer of
soil of approximately 1 inch in thickness in a small greenhouse.
9c)Due to osmosis, the water flows to the soil.
9ci)This ensures the that the soil has sufficient levels of water most of the time.
9d)We will be using fake plants for the initial scaled-down house model.
9e)However,we may opt to use actual green bean plants for our bigger model.
Step 11: Mounting of Sensors to allow efficient saving when appliances not in
use
1a) For this, we need 1 temperature sensors, 1 light sensor, 1 rain sensor and 2 motion
sensor.
1b) On the ledge above the paper air-conditioner, we would place 1 light sensor and 1
temperature sensor. This would be attached to the ledge using either VelcroTM
or epoxy.
1c) There would be 1 motion sensor attached to the top of the door(where a shelf was
constructed), and another in the house, similarly using epoxy or VelcroTM.
Step 12: Programming(control system)
a) Light Control System( to control the switching on and off of the light, depending
on the amount of natural light coming in)
12ai) By using the light sensor, a code can be generated to make the light bulb turn on if
the natural light is too dim, or turn off if the natural light is bright enough.
12aii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [light sensor] < minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns on;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] > minimum required light value)
{
light bulb turns off;
}
}
b) Temperature Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper
aircon, depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12bi) By using the temperature sensor, a code can be generated to make the paper air
con’s fan to turn on if the atmospheric air is too hot(with the windows close via motors), or
turn off if the atmospheric air is cooling enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12bii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [temperature sensor] > maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < maximum suitable temperature)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
c) Wind Control System( to control the switching on and off of the paper aircon,
depending on the temperature of the atmosphere)
12ci) By using the ammeter at our wind turbine to calculate the wind speed of the
atmosphereic air, a code can be generated to make the paper air con’s fan to turn on if the
wind speed is too low(with the windows close via motors), or turn off if the wind speed is
high enough (with the windows opened via motors.)
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(SensorValue [ammeter] > current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns on;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
}
else if(SensorValue [light sensor] < current when wind speed is relatively high)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor coils pulley to open window;
}
}
d) Saving electricity when the person is not in the house
12di) By using the motion sensor in the house and at the door, we can tell if the person
has left the house, or the person is still in the house. When the person is leaving the
house, the motion snesor in the house would stop sening for any motions, while the one at
the door sensed for motion. This would show that the person has left the house and
passed the door. Furthermore, when the person is coming back into the house, the motion
sensor would sense motion, and so would the one in the house sense for motion (after an
added delay), the electrical appliances in the house would turn on.
12cii) while(1==1)
{
if(motion sensor in the house does not sense person)
{
if(motion sensor outside house sense person)
{
paper air con’s fan turns off;
window motor uncoils pulley to close window;
light bulb turns off;
}
}
else if(motion sensor outside the house sense person)
{
if(motion sensor in the house sense person)
{
electrical appliances turns on accordingly to whether it is allowed by other controlled
systems or not
}
}
}
Servo to control amount of water going to paper Air-conditioner
Front view of house
Interior of house
Hydroponics system & Water Turbine
How the window opens
How water is collected for Paper Air Conditioner
Paper Air Conditioner
Solar Panel
Paper Air Conditioner
Sensors to be used
Shelf to place electrical compenents
Analysis of Data:
Everything will be recorded to a CCTV Camera for a period of time
Electricity during the day (Solar Panels)
->We can test whether the solar panels are charging the batteries by disconnecting the wind turbine and checking the footage of the voltmeter connected to the battery to determine whether the battery level increased or decreased. If the level increased, that means that the solar panel is charging at a rate faster than the battery is being depleted. If the level decreased, that means that the solar panel is charging at a slower rate than the battery being depleted and the circuit must be modified.
Paper Air Con
->We can test whether the paper air con is working effectively by placing the box in a room with a constant room temperature with a temperature sensor inside. If the air con is effectively cooling the air in the house, the temperatures recorded will dip and will be lower than room temperature most of the time. If it does not work effectively/at all, the temperature recorded will be very near room temperature.
Wind Turbine
->We can test whether the wind turbine is charging the battery by disconnecting the solar panels and connecting a voltmeter checking the footage of the voltmeter whether the voltage increased. If the wind turbine is charging the battery faster than it depletes, the voltage will increase over time. If the wind turbine is charging the battery slower than it depletes, the voltage will decrease over time.
Rain Turbine
->We can test whether the rain turbine is working by disconnecting the solar panels and wind turbine before hooking up a water tube to simulate rain and a voltmeter to check the voltage of the battery. Over a period of around 1-2hours, if the rain turbine is charging the battery at a rate faster than it depletes, the voltage will be higher after the 'rain' compared to before. If the rain turbine is not charging the battery faster than it depletes, the voltage measured will be lower after the 'rain' compared to before.
Electrical Circuits
->We can test whether the whole circuit is working by connecting everything together and checking the footage after a few days to see if the light bulbs and fans turn on or off as intended along with the data of temperature and voltage of the battery. If they work as intended, the circuit is stable and requires little or no adjustments to improve. If they do not, we have to find out the root problem and make changes to our circuit.
Battery
->We can test whether the battery is charging faster than it is depleting by connecting everything together and checking the data of the voltmeter after a few days. If the voltage is higher than initial voltage, that means that the battery is being charged faster than it is being depleted. If the voltage is lower than initial voltage, that means that the battery is being charged slower than it is being depleted and therefore further changes must be made to conserve more electricity.
Hydroponics (If time permits)
->We can test the distribution of the water to the plants by checking if the soil is damp at all times and not too wet (water overflowing) from the footage. If that is so, the distribution is good and it will require no more changes. If there are puddles of water overflowing or if the soil is too dry sometimes/most of the time, the distribution is not equal and it must be modified. To ensure accuracy of testing whether the two far ends of the soil has equal moisture, we would test their moisture levels by using a moisture sensor.
Risk assessment and management
1. List/identify the hazardous chemicals, activities, or devices that will be used.
We would be using drills, saws, screws, screwdrivers, pliers, hot glue gun and epoxy. We would be using the tools mainly to make ledges and cut holes to fit in the solar panels and other sensors and electronic devices. We would also be using wires for all the sensor and systems.
2. Identify and assess the risks involved.
3. Describe the safety precautions and procedures that will be used to reduce the risks.
While cutting, it is best to not keep fingers or any part of the body close to the blade. This is mostly because the blade can easily slide off and cut the fingers of the person using it. While using the drill, there would be wood shavings on the drill. It is best to use a brush and sweep off the wood shavings and not use our hands. We should also make sure the wire has no cuts while handling it. If there are cuts, the power should be turned off before handling it.
4. Describe the disposal procedures that will be used (when applicable).
The wood shavings should be put inside a plastic bag and disposed. This is to make sure the wood shavings does not fly in the wind while being disposed
5. List the source(s) of safety information.
- Safety tags on the drills and wires.
- Safety measurements in the Research lab and ADMT studio.
We would be using drills, saws, screws, screwdrivers, pliers, hot glue gun and epoxy. We would be using the tools mainly to make ledges and cut holes to fit in the solar panels and other sensors and electronic devices. We would also be using wires for all the sensor and systems.
2. Identify and assess the risks involved.
While using the tools one might easily cut themselves with the sharp blade which might cause severe bleeding and also infection because of the wood shavings from the wood cutting. The wood shaving may also enter someone's eyes or mouth. The wires may come into contact with water which might cause a electrocution which might even lead to death.
3. Describe the safety precautions and procedures that will be used to reduce the risks.
While cutting, it is best to not keep fingers or any part of the body close to the blade. This is mostly because the blade can easily slide off and cut the fingers of the person using it. While using the drill, there would be wood shavings on the drill. It is best to use a brush and sweep off the wood shavings and not use our hands. We should also make sure the wire has no cuts while handling it. If there are cuts, the power should be turned off before handling it.
4. Describe the disposal procedures that will be used (when applicable).
The wood shavings should be put inside a plastic bag and disposed. This is to make sure the wood shavings does not fly in the wind while being disposed
5. List the source(s) of safety information.
- Safety tags on the drills and wires.
- Safety measurements in the Research lab and ADMT studio.
Bibliography
Wikipedia (2013, July 04). Renewable energy. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Renewable_energy
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Concentrating Solar Power. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/csp.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Solar Energy Resources. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/solar_resources.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Wind Energy Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/wind.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Hydropower Technologies. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/hydropower.html
U.S Department of Energy(2013, July 04). Energy Basics: Microhydropower. Retrieved from http://www.eere.energy.gov/basics/renewable_energy/microhydropower.html
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