Specifications

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Hydropower was an option but we needed a running stream to harness this energy.
There is a high probability that the user will be in a area that a running source of water
will not be available so there is no reason to use this as a primary source of energy.
In our design we will be using Solar Panels to charge our battery. These panels output
12 volts, which we will use to charge the battery by using sunlight. They will be mounted
on our box in such a way to optimize sunlight. They will have a buffer that connects
between them and the battery. This is important because we don‟t want power to be lost
if the battery is low by returning back to the solar panel. There will be a buffer to keep
the energy flowing in one direction and not back to the other direction.
We found that they are many different types of solar panels. Some of the types of
panels that we ran into are included mono-crystalline, polycrystalline, amorphous, and
finally a non-silicon solar panel named Copper Indium Gallium de-Selenide (CIGS). In
the later sections we will discuss the different types of solar panels and why we one
over the other.
The first type of solar panel we came across was mono-crystalline. These had high
outputs but were very expensive to implement. The output of these types of panels were
a bit higher than the others ranging up to 20% more efficient. The process these panels
are made make them a very expensive option usually ranging in prices from $800.00 for
a panel that produces 130 watt of power. One of the main advantages of this type of
panel is it has very low to no maintenance. Because of this, the panels are usually more
expensive than other types of solar panels. These panels are made from a very pure
crystal ingot, which must be purified by using a process that is expensive as well as
making the product very fragile and would not work well with our project since we need
it to me durable as well as strong since it will be moving around a lot by taking it to
different locations.
The next type of PV Array is polycrystalline which is usually used in home installations
because of their cost and power generation. Unlike the mono-crystalline which comes
from a pure ingot, polycrystalline is created by a less than pure state. Because of this
cost is usually less and is often the preferred medium rather than mono-crystalline. It
does create less energy than the mono-crystalline but are usually preferred among
home users. It usually is on the range of generating 11 to 13 percent efficiency which
usually has a mosaic type finish due to the different method used to create it. As you
can see in the photo below these types of solar panels are very bulky. This is why we
won‟t be using this type of panel in our design.