Solar tree

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve
this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be
challenged and removed. (February 2012)


Solar tree in Gleisdorf, Austria
The Solar Tree is a combination of artistic and technological effort which exists as a form of solar
artwork. Within the past several years, artistically inclined inventors have strived to envision new
methods to gain utility from solar cell technology. This relatively new concept was conceived in an
attempt to merge new technology, relating to the absorption and use of solar power, and artistic
aesthetic. The inspiration for their organic design has both visually pleasing and pragmatic purposes.
Though the instrumental value of the Solar Tree may differ depending on its interpretation, the
general form of an organic, tree-like figure utilizing solar panels remains consistent.
Contents
[hide]
1 Conception
o 1.1 How it works
2 The Solar Tree Foundation
3 Further interpretations
4 References
5 External links
Conception[edit]
Ross Lovegrove, a Welsh industrial designer renowned for his organic inspired designs, originally
conceived of the concept. It was first manufactured by Artemide, a design based Italian
manufacturer based in Milan. In an effort to follow a more environmentally conscious route, the
company sought to incorporate solar power in their architectural designs.
[1]

Artemide defines the Solar Tree as The successful marriage of the most advanced technology and
the aesthetic requirements of the urban environment by way of renewable energy.
[2]

Ross Lovegroves original design consisted of a sinuous tree constructed of steel pipes, measuring
5.5 meters, supporting a light bubble in which 38 solar cells are connected to a hidden 12V battery
system which lights an assortment of 1W LEDs at the tip. The solar cells for the project were
commissioned by Sharp Solar, who Artemide considers the leading manufacturer of solar cells. The
peak power of each solar panel can reach 38 watts.


Ross Lovegrove Solar Tree on display.
How it works[edit]
The Solar Tree panels charge batteries during the day. At dusk the Solar Tree automatically
switches on its LEDs. The internal control can also regulate the amount of light produced depending
on how much charge is left in the batteries.
[3]
Artemide claims the Solar Tree will produce light for
three consecutive overcast days.
[4]
The designer Ross Lovegrove claims, "Solar Tree represents the
DNA of our time and it also shows it is possible to create beautiful things using the most advanced
technology."
[5]
In 2007 Lovegrove was awarded the Vogue Traveller Ecology Prize for his work with
the Solar Tree.
The Solar Tree Foundation[edit]
Rein Triefeldt is a solar environmentalist artist that has also begun to construct Solar Trees. He is
one of the founders and the current president of the Solar Tree Foundation which began in 2008.
[6]

The Solar Tree Foundation designs programs for elementary school students to show them the
creative process for constructing a Solar Tree in order to educate a broad audience on the
environmental and technological material. Its also designed with the intention of instilling an
appreciation for artistic aesthetics interpreted through sculptures as a medium of expression. This is
performed by online lectures and webcams in which the students can engage with the architects and
see the construction process in real time.
[7]
Triefeldt believes that his Solar Trees will help preserve
natural trees in the long run.
The latest Solar Tree constructed by the Solar Tree Foundation was erected for North Hillsborough
Elementary School in Hillsborough California. At peak efficiency, the 10,000 lb Solar Tree is claimed
to produce 20,000 watts of energy per day.
[8]

Further interpretations[edit]
The Strawberry Tree, invented by the Serbian company Strawberry Energy, is a variation of the
Solar Tree in that it is specifically designed to recharge mobile devices. The company won the
Sustainable Energy Week 2011 competition for its revolutionary contribution.
[9]

There is a distinction to be made between the organically inspired Solar Tree and the Solar Trees
that have been adopted to create energy efficient parking lots.
[10]
Companies such as General
Electric
[11]
have installed solar panels in car parking lots to collect solar energy and protect vehicles
from sun damage. These car sheltering solar devices differ from artistic Solar Trees in that they have
no organic aesthetic. In contrast to the field of solar artwork, they would more appropriately be
dubbed elevated solar panels.
Solar Tree Output
This page introduces the technical concepts surrounding the tree, expected output and behaviour of the
tree and the performance of the irrigation system it powers and its relationship with the tree. We have
been very slow in getting this page live. The tree was completed in September 2012 and it is now the 1st
April 2013! This has been due to the difficulty in data collection... please see the Data Collection section
below for these details!

The Solar Tree Story
The solar tree first formed as an idea when Demand Energy Equality heard of recent research at the
Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in America scrutinising the work of a precocious 13 year old,
Adrian. He explored the relationship between the Fibonacci sequence which dictates the angles at which
tree branches grow and the collection of energy by solar PV. He proposed that by mimicking the way in
which trees grow it might be possible to increase the energy captured per unit of surface area over the
course of a year by an array of solar panels.

The MIT research shows using 3D (tree-shaped) solar in high latitudes, and within urban environments,
gives the greatest advantages over the same surface area of flat panels. Jeffrey Grossman, the Carl
Richard Soderberg Career Development Associate Professor of Power Engineering at MIT and leader of
the research team, reports in a paper published in the journal Energy and Environmental Science that the
greatest improvements came in locations far from the equator, in winter months and on cloudier days.
Perfect for the UK then, we thought.

Data Collection
The Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) charge controller measures and records the tree's current,
voltage and power outputs, and the battery bank voltage and temperature. A Raspberry Pi (open source
micro computer) pushes this data onto the web, specifically to a service called Cosm. You can see the
data live here. This data network has been setup by Matt Venn; his code and tools, in order to download
this data for yourself, are available here. We update the data we hold regularly so if you want an easy
way of getting hold of data, click here.

This was a tricky system to setup as there is no Internet connection at Edible Futures (where the tree
lives). Therefore the tree is connected to the internet via a 3G dongle but the dongle's IP address
changes all the time (mobile internet providers do this for reasons that are far too boring for here!) This is
like your postal address changing constantly but the local postal sorting office tracking where you are. So,
for normal internet traffic this isn't a problem as the data (or the letter in the postal analogy) is routed via
the post office both when sending and receiving post/data.

However, when using Cosm we update the data every 5 minutes and need Cosm to know the postal
address of the solar tree at all times in order to extract the data. Unfortunately we cant use the equivalent
of the local postal sorting office for this service! So each time the solar tree connects to the internet it first
connects to a server (or private postal sorting office) owned by Matt Venn. This then effectively creates a
virtual fishing line to the solar tree so that as the solar tree's postal address bounces around our private
sorting office keeps track of it. When the tree is ready to post data to Cosm again it sends the post along
that virtual fishing line...got all that?

Getting the Raspberry Pi, dongle, MPPT, open source software and Cosm to work together, was as the 6
months it took suggests, difficult. Full credit for this goes toMatt Venn, thanks Matt!
Data Collection Visualisation
Below is a diagram showing how the data from the tree ends up on Cosm. This is slightly outdated, but
gives you another way of understanding how it works.

Irrigation System
The solar tree has been designed to power an irrigation system at Edible Futures. The irrigation system
consists of a 12V pump, 4 solenoids and a 'brain'. The 'brain' follows the program shown below, turning
on the soaker hose, drippers and misters at 8.30 in the morning, 12 noon, 2pm and 4pm. The tree sends
power to the 'brain' and irrigation system, while the water is harvested from the poly tunnel roofs at Edible
Futures.

Power Generated and Energy Stored
The two graphs below show the power generated by the tree and the battery storage of that energy. We
want to be able to give you a comparison of the power generated against another real time solar system
here in Bristol, so that you are able to see how the tree differs from a normal setup.

Unfortunately the normal system we have has been temporarily dismantled as we moved home (!) and
we are in the process of setting this up again. For now the main point to take away is that the tree is
achieving the task of powering the irrigation system and the generation profile is very different from a
traditional setup, as the tree produces a much more even distribution of power through the day.

We are however a little disappointed that the peak power generated is lower than we had expected, as
condensation is forming on the inside of some of the solar panel 'leaves'. This is because some of the
panels were not sealed correctly during construction in September - we were working against the clock
and everyone was keen to see their panels go up! Once the comparison solar array is rebuilt we will
have a direct way of comparing how the tree should be performing (in real time) to how it is really
performing. At this point we can re-seal and service the panels to eradicate condensation. We promise
that at this point we will publish the scientific comparison of tree Vs normal array data.

Please visit the data portal on Cosm to play with the data that is streaming off the tree. You can alter the
time period you look and see different metrics such as current and voltage of the tree, battery
temperature and more! Below are four graphs :


1. Power output of the tree for the last 7 days.
2. Power Output of the tree for the last 3 hours.
3. Battery voltage over the last 7 days.
4. Battery voltage over the last 3 hours.

Notice on these graphs that :

The dotted lines represent the tree data stream going to sleep at night.
The voltage of the battery drops as the temperature drops at night.
At 8.30, 12, 2 and 4pm the battery voltage dips as the irrigation system turns on.
Virtual Solar Tree
The image below is a visual representation of the energy yield of the tree
through the day. It updates with the Cosm data throughout the day. Created
byMatt Venn, this provides another way of representing and giving meaning to
the data. Currently the virtual tree is not updating as we have (as described
above) only just got the data working reliably... this will soon be up a running
properly!