Week 9: Construction and Purchase of Solar Panels Supporting Structure (3/22-3/28)

Plan on logistics of ordering materials was completed. On March 26, Monday, less than a dozen different parts manufactured by Unistrut will be purchased at Lord & Sons, inc., in North San Jose. Lord & Sons, inc., is one of the Unistrut's distributors in the Bay Area. A 26-feet-long U-Haul truck will be rented to allow the handling of the 20-feet-long c-channels. All the parts picked up from Lord & Sons, inc. will be unloaded to Spartan Superway Design Center on the same day. Purchase of gutter, gutter cover, and electrical elements will be purchased on the same day. On March 27, Tuesday, building the structural supporting system of solar panels will be started.

Week 8: Bi-Weekly Meeting #1 with Futran (3/15-3/21)

On March 21, 2018, Wednesday, the first official bi-weekly meeting was held with Gary Shaver who represents Futran in South Africa. Reviews on the designs and computations regard to solar panels, supporting structures, and electrical components was completed during the meeting. The meeting agenda which was submitted few days before March 21 was used as a reference during the meeting. The team has provided details on what the team will be working on during the Spring break. It includes the following: purchase and construction of the main structural support system for solar panels. About one-third of goals need to be accomplished by the end of April.

Week 7: Scope of Work & Presentation in ENGR189(3/8-3/14)

A presentation on Global Economy and Social Impacts was held in ENGR 189 on March 14, 2018, Wednesday. It was held before the senior project session in Superway design center. Scope of work was temporarily completed to describe what specifications will be accomplished. Gutter Helmet, the gutter manufacturing company which holds a patented design and its name, was contacted. The sales department informed that the Gutter Helmet only sells the gutter as a whole installation package instead of selling the parts only. Thus, 3D modeling of gutter was done and possible replacements were researched on Lowe's website. One of the viable options for gutter and gutter cover would be parts made from Amerimax which sells at most of Lowe's locations.

Week 6: Bill of Materials & Gutter Design (3/1-3/7)

Different designs of gutter and gutter cover was researched for this week. For the most days, Bill of Materials for all the necessary components for the solar team was completed with comprehensive research. Electrical components were also included in the Bill of Materials with the consideration of different arrangements of solar panels. The budget plan includes a 6m long module of solar panels supporting structure.

Week 5: Presentation 1 & Design Changes (2/22-2/28)

Presentation 1 was presented on 21st of February, Wednesday. Dr. Furman provided feedbacks on the designs on supporting and gutter structures. Possible methods to accomplish a spherical solar panels placement were advised by Dr. Furman after the presentation. Used solar panels were picked up for free at Cinnamon Solar in Campbell after several phone calls to local solar companies were made. Electrical requirements and the related components were briefly introduced along with manipulations of solar panels arrangements.

Week 4: Presentation 1 Preparation (2/15-2/21)

Electrical components were learned by the fellow project member, Dan Espinosa, who has had experience in the industry for about 20 years. Comprehension of the selecting a correct inverter, charge controller, battery, and extension cables were completed thanks to his help. Different iterations of the arrangement of solar panels were conducted so that an optimal battery could be selected and purchased in a timely manner. Extension cables to connect solar panels the team has obtained were found as well.

In terms of design, gutter and gutter cover were researched to use it as a mean to collect water. Water repellent materials would be attached along with solar panels so the water could flow down to gutter which will be placed at each longitudinal sides of the complete structure. To strengthen the supporting structure, gusset plates would be considered to be attached on each flat side of the structure upon Dr. Furman's advice.
The preparation for presentation 1 was conducted for the week. A comprehensive survey of solar team's work would be included in it.
Also, a presentation on how to create effective presentations was held in ENGR 189 on February 14, 2018, Wednesday. It was held before the senior project session in Superway design center.