Lighting an African School with Alternative Energy

Meghan Borz mborz1@yahoo.com Adrianna Matheis adrianna.matheis@gmail.com Brian Mendel bmendel@comcast.net 1. Abstract Insufficient lighting is an issue in many poverty-stricken nations. ithout proper electric lighting! residents of impoverished communities resort to using potentially hazardous light sources! such as kerosene lamps! candles! and car batteries used to light lightbulbs. Burkina "aso! located in #estern Africa! is one of the poorest nations in the #orld! #ith an annual per capita income of $%%&. 'ur goal is to po#er a school in (aba! Burkina "aso because it currently has no electricity. )he po#er sources that #e considered included #ind! solar! hydropo#er! combustion of biomass! and energy-generating playground e*uipment. After taking efficiency! cost! and sustainability into account! it #as decided that +ha#n "rayne,s invention! the indbelt seemed most feasible for implementation in (aba. )his piece of technology #ould be best because it is easy to store! easy to repair! and relatively ine-pensive. 2. Introduction .-treme poverty! corruption in the government! and lack of running #ater are /ust a fe# of the problems in (aba! Burkina "aso. )he residents of this area also do not have electricity! #hich means that their school does not have lighting. )he children attend school in the morning and late afternoon because it is too hot for the children to be in school at midday. At night! the girls have an obligation to prepare dinner for their families and take care of their younger siblings. +ince the ma/ority of the village cannot afford proper lighting! to#n meetings cannot be held at night and children cannot study. A pro/ect like this is normally e-ecuted in stages. "irst! a contact is established #ith a resident of the area in need. )his contact provides the specific details about the problem to the engineers. 0e-t! an assessment of the situation is made through several trips to the area. 1uring these trips! residents are intervie#ed to determine the ma/or problems in that area and decide #hether or not the people need and #ant the help of the engineers. )hen! the design process begins and the plans are laid out to be put into effect. "inally! the team returns to the area in need! implements the design using the labor of members of the community! and teaches the residents of the community ho# to repair and maintain the e*uipment. 3. Background )he alternative energy sources initially considered #ere solar po#er!

hydropo#er! #ind po#er! solar thermal po#er! biomass! and human-generated energy 2such as electricity-producing playground e*uipment3. 'ptions for po#er sources #ere narro#ed do#n after environmental limitations! comple-ity of design! cost! and availability of materials #ere taken into consideration. +olar po#er #as an option eliminated for economic reasons4 the price of one photovoltaic panel averaged $5&&. +ince Burkina "aso is a poverty-stricken country! the residents #ould not be able to afford to maintain these e-pensive panels. Also! the device needs to be simple so it can be repaired by the to#nspeople #ith ease! but a solar po#er system is comple- and difficult to repair. 6ydropo#er #as eliminated because it is usually used in con/unction #ith solar po#er and there is no source of running #ater in the region. Methane gas capture involves burning biomass! usually fire#ood or rotting vegetation4 this #ould not #ork because there is very little vegetation in (aba. )he vegetation that is there is used for consumption and cannot be #asted. e narro#ed our search do#n to human-generated energy and #ind po#er. 6uman-generated energy #as eliminated once #e learned about the daily routines of the average child in (aba. 'riginally the design plan #as to use a merry-go-round for the children to play on that #ould create energy using a turbine. )hrough our intervie# #ith Andrea 7ung! #e realized that this #as impractical because the children do not have any playgrounds or much play time. )he girls have to help take care of the family and feed the family and the boys need to help plant and harvest the crops. hen the boys are not #orking soccer is the only recreational activity they participate in. )he final alternative energy source decided on #as #ind. ind turbines are

e-pensive! usually over a thousand dollars each! and are therefore not feasible for implementation in (aba. )he design created by +ha#n "rayne! kno#n as the indbelt! could be a potential solution to these problems #ith #ind po#er. )he indbelt is small! and thus easily transported. It has a simple design! #hich makes it easy to repair. Also! most of the materials are easily accessible and affordable for the residents of (aba. )he device consists of a tensioned membrane that oscillates bet#een t#o magnets #hen #ind is present in order to produce electricity. 6umdinger #ind energy 2"rayne,s company3 has three sizes of indbelts8 micro! medium! and large. )he micro indbelt! as its name suggests! is the smallest model. It re*uires a minimum #ind speed of five miles per hour and can function properly in #inds up to t#enty miles per hour. Intended to be used as batteries are currently! the micro indbelt can produce appro-imately 9&& #att-hours 2 h3 over a 9& year lifespan :1;! #hich is enough to po#er a small <.1. )he micro indbelt is capable of producing a ma-imum of %& milli#atts in 1& mph #inds :1;. It generates A= po#er that can be converted to 5 volt 1= po#er. Also! the micro indbelt is small enough to fit in a person,s hand. .ven though this model of indbelt is easily stored and does not re*uire as much material to build and maintain! it does not produce enough electricity to feasibly po#er fluorescent light bulbs. )he medium indbelt! #hich ranges from 1-5 meters in length! is the best model that could be used in the school. It has an output of > atts. If multiple medium indbelts and ample energy storage could be implemented! they could reasonably po#er fluorescent light bulbs. )he main problem #ith this model of indbelt is that it has not been fully developed. )herefore!

the costs of implementation and maintenance are currently unkno#n. )he large indbelt! #hich is ? meters in length! #ould not be a practical po#er source because it could not be easily stored. )he school has ten rooms that need light! each @> meters s*uared. If t#o lightbulbs are installed per room! 9& total lightbulbs #ould be needed. Assuming that each bulb re*uires %& #atts! #e #ould need to produce ?&& #atts. )herefore! #e #ould need to implement 1A& medium indbelts! #hich produce > #atts each. )he indbelt produces po#er through a series of steps. hen #ind blo#s across the membrane! vibrations are created through a phenomenon kno#n as aeroelastic flutter! the same phenomenon that caused the collapse of the )acoma 0arro#s Bridge. )he membrane then moves the cantilever! causing the magnets to oscillate. )he oscillation of the magnets induces a current through the coil4 this current travels through the coil and to the circuit board. 6o#ever! the indbelt produces alternating current! and the lightbulbs run on direct current. )herefore! #e used diodes in the circuit board to control the flo# of the current 2see figure 13. igure 1

After passing through the circuit board! the current travels to a capacitor #hich smoothes the current to create a direct current to the load. !. "esign "ecisions )he indbelt #as invented to light <.1 lamps and radios in the homes of the less fortunate in 6aiti. e believe that this alternative energy source #ill be feasible in an area such as (aba because it has a cool! #indy season lasts from 0ovember to "ebruary and some #ind during the hot season. In choosing a source of energy! availability of materials must be taken into account. Many energy sources use materials that are costly for people in third-#orld countries to maintain. Many are also very difficult to upkeep and repair after they are installed. 'ur prototype of the indbelt #as constructed using metal coil! DE= pipe! #ood! aluminum brackets! sheet metal! carriage bolts! nuts! scre#s! magnets! and a tight membrane. All of these materials can be bought by the village for maintenance purposes. (aba is a village that suffers from poverty and crime. )his is #hy the source of electricity implemented #ould need to be small and easy to store. )he school does not have proper security because its aging security guard is not physically able to stop thieves. In (aba! it is rude and disrespectful to fire an elder! so the school #ill not get a ne# security guard. In fact! the school has already considered installing solar panels on the roof of the school! but decided not to because they might get stolen. )herefore! the indbelt that #e #ould implement #ould have to be easy to carry. )he smaller the indbelt is! the less po#er it produces. 6o#ever having an easily stored indbelt that generates less electricity #ould be better than a more po#erful indbelt that could possibly get stolen.

A bridge rectifier unit! sho#n above! converts A= po#er 2coming from the left3 to 1= 2the B and C output on the right3 using diodes 2represented by triangles3. :9;

=onstructing a indbelt is not a comple- or time-consuming pro/ect. )he first step in constructing the prototype #as assembling the t#o belt mounts #ith blocks of #ood that should be cut to be 9F-9F->F and use the aluminum brackets to attach the DE= piping to the #ood blocks on either end. )he #ooden blocks should be about ?&F apart to anchor the belt mounts. 0e-t! the belt #as loaded onto each belt mount #ith tape #hile turning the DE= pipe to ensure there #as enough tension. )hen! the cantilever #as assembled using 9F-5.>F-%F #ooden blocks! aluminum brackets! a piece of sheet metal! scre#s! and t#o magnets. )hen! the cantilever #as anchored so that the strip of metal lay across the belt and the magnets #ere 9F from the belt and the cantilever #as taped to the belt. "inally! the coil #as assembled using cooper #ire! aluminum brackets! and a carriage bolt. 1uring e-perimentation! #e determined that thinner #ire 25& gauge3 induces a stronger current than the thicker #ire 29A gauge3. )he final product #as a indbelt appro-imately A.@> feet in length. 6o#ever! length can be increased or decreased to test the efficacy of the indbelt. igure 2

+ince the ma/ority of the electricity is generated during the day and the lightbulbs are used at night! energy storage is necessary. )he t#o main sources of storage that are available to the people of (aba are car batteries and dry cell batteries. =ar batteries are less e-pensive! but have to be replaced more fre*uently than dry cell batteries. .ven though dry cell batteries are more e-pensive than car batteries! they last longer and can store more energy. )herefore! using dry cell batteries #ould be a more feasible energy storage method. #. Engineering Analysis In the original indbelt design! Mylar-coated taffeta tape #as used as the membrane to oscillate bet#een the magnets and generate po#er. In our design! #e changed this membrane to packing tape because Mylar-coated taffeta tape is not readily available to the residents of (aba. Dacking tape is easier for the villagers to find! even though they may have to travel to another to#n for it. )he indbelts that #ill be implemented in (aba #ill be slightly different than the original idea and our prototype. 'ur prototype is the size of the medium indbelt! but #ith the po#er similar to that of the micro and #as built to po#er an <.1 light bulb for demonstration. )he medium sized indbelt #ould need to be implemented! rather than the micro indbelt! to meet the energy needs of the school. After testing our prototype #e discovered that it produces very lo# voltage4 it generally produces less than one hundredth of a volt. )his is not even close to enough voltage to po#er a small <.1. +everal alterations may be made to try to improve this system. )he mylarcoated taffeta tape could be used 2as it is supposed to be3 in place of our tape. Generally speaking! the entire device #ould need to be much larger. 6opefully! this

ind blo#s across the membrane! making it oscillate. )he oscillating indbelt makes the magnets vibrate and induces the #ire to create a current. :9;

#ould produce a higher voltage. Hnfortunately! this #ill add to the cost because the use of more material makes the indbelt more e-pensive to create. igure 3

of harnessing energy from #ind blo#ing across a membrane #as inspired by the collapse of ashington,s )acoma 0arro#s Bridge. Although the prototypes are simple! some have still produced %& milli#atts of energy #ith only 1& mph #inds! Imaking his device 1& to 5& times as efficient as the best microturbinesF :1;. igure #

)op vie# of the prototype. 'n the bottomleft are the red and green coils. )he oscillating cantilever beam is located bet#een the t#o coils. igure !

Above is a picture of the indbelt being used to light several <.1s. '1( ). *onclusion Based on our analysis of (aba,s climate and people! it #ould be most feasible to implement the indbelt to generate electricity to light the school. ith the average income being #ell belo# the poverty line an ine-pensive form of energy #ould have to be implemented. It also needs to be easy to maintain and repair. )he indbelt meets all of these re*uirements. )o possibly cut do#n the number of indbelts that #ould need to be used! #e could #ork #ith the community to allo# the indbelts to be kept outside at all times. )his #ould re*uire an increase in security for the school! #hich poses a problem4 #e #ould have to respectfully convince the e-isting security guard that he could use some e-tra help. e could also consider funneling the #ind to increase #attage output. Droviding lighting for the school can greatly improve the lives of the inhabitants of (aba4 they can hold classes at night or start school earlier in the day.

+ide vie# of the prototype. DE= pipe is mounted bet#een t#o metal brackets. $. %elated &orks 'ur prototype #as based off of +ha#n "rayne,s invention! the indbelt! #hich #as developed to po#er lights for destitute people in 6aiti in place of 7erosene lamps! #hich are potential fire hazards. "rayne,s invention has a simple design and is ine-pensive to make. 6is idea

Acknowledge+ents e #ould like to thank Adam +chatteman! Eishvesh +athe! Dratik Datel! and Melissa <ash! members of the Jutgers Hniversity chapter of .ngineers #ithout Borders! as #ell as anda 1uran! our J)A advisor. e #ould also like to thank the 0K GovernorLs +chool of .ngineering and )echnology 21onald M. Bro#n! 1irector! and Blase Hr! Drogram =oordinator3! the Jutgers Hniversity +chool of .ngineering 21r. (ogesh Kaluria! 'utgoing Interim 1ean! and 1r. )homas "arris! 1ean3! and the 0K GovernorLs +chool Board of 'verseers. e #ould finally like to thank the 9&&M program sponsors8 Jutgers Hniversity! the Jutgers Hniversity +chool of .ngineering! the Motorola "oundation! Morgan +tanley! D+.G! +ilver <ine Building Droducts! and the families of 9&&1-9&&? program alumni %eferences 1. ard! <ogan. N indbelt! =heap Generator Alternative! +et to Do#er )hird orld!, from http://www.popularmechanics.com/t echnology/industry/4224763.html! 9&&M. Jetrieved8 @O1@O&M 9. N6umdinger ind .nergy, from http8OO###.humdinger#ind.com Jetrieved8 @O1@O&M 5. 7ung! Andrea NIntervie# on (aba! Burkina "aso,