Alternative Energy Wind Generator Nuevas Esperanzas, Honduras 8 March 2012 – 16 March 2012 Engineering Service-Learning College of Engineering The Ohio State University 17 March 2014 Students: Lianna Brown Nathan Lamba Mary Lenk Connor Locke Emily Reed Trip Resident Directors: Dr. Edgar Casale (Fundamental of Engineering Professor) Carlos Montoya Rodriguez (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
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Alternative Energy Wind Generator Energy Wind Generator Nuevas Esperanzas, Honduras 8 March 2012 – 16 March 2012 Engineering Service-Learning College of Engineering
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Transcript
Alternative Energy Wind Generator
Nuevas Esperanzas, Honduras
8 March 2012 – 16 March 2012
Engineering Service-Learning
College of Engineering
The Ohio State University
17 March 2014
Students:
Lianna Brown
Nathan Lamba
Mary Lenk
Connor Locke
Emily Reed
Trip Resident Directors:
Dr. Edgar Casale (Fundamental of Engineering Professor)
Carlos Montoya Rodriguez (Graduate Teaching Assistant)
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Table of Contents
Table of Contents .......................................................................................................................................... 2
Research Performed .................................................................................................................................. 4
Electrical System ...................................................................................................................................... 4
Mechanical System ................................................................................................................................... 8
Sustainability and Maintainability ............................................................................................................ 9
Mechanical/Structural System ................................................................................................................ 16
Electrical System .................................................................................................................................... 18
Breaker Switch 8.99 Blue Spades 4.27 Drill Bit Kit 6.99
Breaker Box 19.97 Copper Spades 12.45 Drill Bit 4.21
Photocell 7.89 Splicing Tape 3.98 Wrench 6.99
Black Box 19.99 Electrical Tape 9.33 Tarp 19.97
Test Mounting Pole 13.14 Aluminum Splice 9.98
8 Gauge Wire 27.6 Battery Terminal 5.58
14 Gauge Wire 83 Sticky Mounts 10.97
Zip Ties 2.48
AA Batteries 1
Screws 3.62
TOTAL $709.76 $85.78 $91.60
TOTAL 887.14$
Major Components Additional Parts Tools
Wind Turbine Budget
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• Blue Spades
• Copper Spades
• Splicing Tape
• Electrical Tape
• Aluminum Splice
• Battery Terminal
• Sticky Mounts
• Zip Ties
• AA Batteries
• Screws
• Tool Kit
• Screwdrivers
• Wire Stripper
• Drill Bit Kit
• Drill Bit
• Wrench
• Tarp
Items Obtained and Tools Used in Honduras
• 3 Padlocks/Keys
• Red/Black Cables
• Silicon Sealant
• Angle Bracket
• Mounting Pole
• Deep Cycle Battery
• Welding
• Power drill
In-Country Implementation
Mechanical/Structural System
Wind Turbine Assembly and Mounting
Once on sight at Montana de Luz, the team searched for a mounting pole. Originally the team tried to find
a pole that MdL already had, but these poles did not have the correct diameter for the turbine. Therefore, a
14 foot pole was purchased for mounting the turbine. In order to mount the turbine, the team decided to
first assemble the turbine itself on top of the water tower, next bring the pole up on to the height of the
water tower, then attach the turbine to the pole on top of the water tower, and finally mount the turbine
and pole to the frame of the tower.
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To strengthen the pole, a two inch by two inch angled bracket measuring 12 feet was welded to the 1.75
inch diameter pole measuring 14 feet, thereby leaving 2 feet of breathing room for the turbine to be
mounted on top. The pole also had a square notch cut from the bottom of the pole to allow for the 8 gauge
wiring to feed through as depicted below. Lastly the pole was painted red to show Ohio State University
spirit and can be seen below in Figure 11.
Figure 11: Mounting pole with holes and wires.
The Coleman 450 Watt turbine was carried up the ladder in multiple pieces. The pieces were laid on a
large tarp on the top of the water tower and assembled using the fastenings and tools supplied in the
turbine kit. Next, two members of the team, who were situated on the ground, lifted the pole up to two
members of the team, who were on top of the water tower. The team found that the U-bolts that had been
purchased for attaching the pole to the frame of the water tower were not long enough to secure the pole.
To solve this problem, the frame of the water tower was cut at 45 degree angle so the angled bracket,
which was welded to the pole, would fit snuggly against the frame. The 8 gauge wire, which was attached
to the turbine, was fed through the length of the pole and out the other side. The base of the pole was
placed against the back corner of the base of the water tower frame and held diagonally so that the turbine
could be mounted atop it. The adhesive strip supplied in the kit was then attached to the top of the pole
and the turbine was fitted over it and tightened using two screws and bolts that came with the kit. The
pole, with the turbine now attached on top, was lifted to the vertical position against the corner of the
frame with the angled bracket resting flush against the frame of the water tower. The 4 U-bolts secured
the pole to the gate of the water tower at evenly spaced intervals along the frame, as pictured in Figure 12
on the top of the next page.
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Figure 12: Turbine pole mounted.
After leaving Honduras the staff was asked to weld an additional L-bracket connecting the other side of
the pole to the frame in place of the U-bolts.
Electrical System
Device Box—Drilling
All of the electrical components of the wind turbine, such as the charge controller, inverter, battery,
photocell, and manual switch, were wired together and placed into a black device box, measuring 24
inches by 12 inches by 11.5 inches. This box is located on top of the water tower next to the pole of the
wind turbine. By drilling four holes in the bottom of the box, two C-clamps could be threaded through
these holes and then fastened to the underside of the mesh of the water tower to secure the box into place.
Three more sets of holes were drilled into the box for the 8 gauge and 14 gauge wire entrance and exit.
The 14 foot pole had an opening cut out at the bottom where the 8 gauge wire came out and then entered
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the black device box to connect to the charge controller. This hole was drilled along the side of the device
box facing the wind turbine, and was placed about 2.5 inches from the bottom of the device box, and two
inches from the left side of the box.
The next hole that was made was used so that the photocell could be fastened to the box. The hole was
position on the side of the box that was closest to the MdL complex and on the left side of wind turbine
and was drilled in the center about 3 inches from the top of the box.
Several more holes were drilled on the bottom of the box to provide ventilation for the inverter. These
holes were located in the center of the bottom of the box in a rectangular region that measured 2 inches by
4 inches. These holes were drilled in 0.25 inch by 0.25 inch square pattern that repeated itself.
Several unwanted holes were drilled in the box in hopes of mounting the charge controller to the side of
the device box; however, it was found that the charge controller could not be mounted and had to lay flat
to work properly. These holes and the wiring holes were sealed with silicon sealant after drilling was
complete. This seal prevents water and unwanted varmints from entering the box. The ventilation holes
were not sealed because they were on the bottom of the box and provided air flow for the inverter.
Device Box
Eight gauge wire was connected to the generator of the turbine. The 8 gauge wire was led through the
pole and out a small hole in the pole at the bottom. The 8 gauge wire was then led through a hole in the
black device box. The 8 gauge wire was then connected to the charge controller. The manual brake was
attached to the same side of the charge controller. In case of an emergency, the manual brake can be
utilized to prevent damage to the turbine or any of the components. The other side of the charge controller
is connected to the battery and the inverter. The current flows through the charge controller and into the
battery. An amp meter is attached in series between the charge controller and the positive terminal of the
battery to check the current levels. Because the positive terminal of the battery is now attached to the
turbine, the battery can charge when current is sent through the system. The negative terminal of the
battery is attached to the charge controller so the battery can discharge when the lights need electricity.
The current then flows into the grounded inverter, where it is transferred from 12 volts DC to 120 volts
AC. Because there is now 120 volts, less current is needed to maintain a constant current based on the
equation P = I*V, where P equals power in Watts, I equals current in Amps, and V equals voltage in
volts. Because there is less current, a 14 gauge wire was used to connect the inverter to the newly
installed breaker box. The photocell is connected in series with the inverter and the breaker box. When
the photocell detects that the sun has gone down, it sends a signal so the lights turn on automatically. This
prevents someone having to turn the lights on every night. The completed device box with all components
mentioned above can be seen on the top of the next page in Figure 13 and outlined in Table 3.
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Figure 13: Labeled Components of the device box.
Table 2: Description of each component of the device box.
Letter Concept Item
A Manual Switch
B Charge Controller
C Inverter
D Amp Meter
E Battery
F Solar Cell
Wiring
The 14 gauge wire from the inverter exited through another small hole in the box. Approximately 200 feet
of wire was then used to connect to the new breaker box. To secure the wire to the water tower and the
sides of the building, zip ties and adhesive squares were applied. An example of the wiring process can be
seen at the top of the next page in Figure 14.
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Figure 14: This shows the 14 gauge wire on the side of the building, and it is secured using the sticky
attachments and zip ties.
The 14 gauge wire terminated at the newly installed breaker box, located inside the dining hall. The wire
was led through a previously existing small hole at the top of the wall of the dining hall and down the
inside wall of the building into the breaker box.
Breaker Box
The breaker box was designed so that both the electricity provided by the turbine and the electricity
provided by the grid could be used when needed. A double pole, double throw switch was installed into
the new breaker box. A hole was drilled into the breaker box so that the electrical components of the
switch were inside the box and the physical switch was mounted on the outside the box. The switch
included 6 terminals—2 for turbine, 2 for grid, and 2 for neutral. The two terminals for each system
included a hot and neutral terminal. A picture of the switch can be seen below in Figure 15.
Figure 15: Double pole double pole switch
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The hot wire from the turbine first went through the new breaker and into the appropriate terminal. To use
the electricity from the grid, the new breaker box had to be connected to the old breaker box. The team
discovered that the breaker box 2, which was supposed to contain the breaker for the three outdoor lights
was incorrect and did not have the breaker installed in it. The breaker box 1 that did have the correct
breaker was located approximately 30 feet further down the building wall. The team did not have enough
14 gauge wire to connect to this breaker box 1 so a new breaker had to be installed in the breaker box 2
originally thought to contain the breaker. Hot and neutral wires from the new breaker box were connected
to the old breaker box 2 in order to have the possibility of using grid electricity. The hot and neutral wires
from the lights were attached to the two neutral terminals on the switch. A new light switch was installed
on the outside of the building to turn the lights on and off. A picture of the new breaker box and the
previous breaker box can be seen below in Figures 16 and 17.
Figure 16: Previous breaker box with correct breaker.
Figure 17: The Breaker box that had the new switch installed and connected to the new breaker box.
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Post-Trip Summary
Post-Trip Modifications and Recommendations
Modifications that were made after the trip included replacing the inverter that was originally purchased.
The original 800 Watt Whistler inverter did not provide an Auto On/Off Low Voltage Management
feature. All inverters have the feature, called Low Voltage Alarm and Under Voltage Protection, to
protect the battery once the voltage from the battery depletes to 10.5 +/- 0.5 V. When the batter is below
10.0 V the alarm sounds, and then the inverter shuts down when the voltage is at 10.0 +/- 0.5 V. The
problem with the original 800 Watt Whistler inverter was once it shut down, it would not automatically
start up on its own when the voltage of the battery returned to 10.5 V. To solve this problem, a new
inverter was purchased. Many inverters were researched to find one that had the Auto On/Off Low
Voltage Management. The inverter that was found with this capability was the Cobra CPI-1000 Power
Inverter. This inverter was purchased and sent to Montana de Luz with explicit instructions on how to
disconnect the old inverter and wire in the new one.
Status of Project at End of Semester
The project was left in Honduras as not working or generating any power due to the inactive inverter. The
settings of the turbine are configured so that the wind turbine is spinning and charging the battery, but the
inverter is turned off and the breaker box is switched so that the lights are being powered by the grid. The
date that the new inverter is installed and the lights are being powered by the wind turbine grid is
estimated to be April 18th 2014 at the latest.
Schedule—In Country
The following is a breakdown of the day to day activities for the project while in-country.
• Mar. 8th - 16th
o Day 1:
� Assessed location
� Prepared materials
� Began connection of electronics inside the device box
o Day 2:
� Installed 14 gauge wire
� Drilled holes in the device box
� Bought/adjusted the pole's design
o Day 3
� Bought battery
� Breaker box mounted/some connections made
� Wind turbine assembled
o Day 4
� Installed pole and turbine
� Completed breaker box connections
� Completed device box connections
o Day 5
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� Sealed t he device box
� Installed data collector
� Tested the lights
� Slept on top of the water tower to make sure the turbine performed correctly
Materials and Costs
The final cost of the entire project was $1,141.00 after the in-country materials were purchased, and replacements of materials were done. A outline of the cost expenses outputted in this project is outlined below in Figure 18.
Figure 18: Budget of the turbine project post-trip.
Acknowledgements
• Dr. Edgar Casale and Carlos Montoya
• Erika Shell Castro, staff, and children
• Jorge
• Dr. Miriam Cater
• Joe West
• Dr. Merrill
Wind Generator 489 U-Clamps 12.82 Tool Kit 28.97
Deep Cycle Battery 150 C-Clamps 4.96 Screwdrivers 9.48