Introduction
This was our second year going down to Haiti for our engineering project, and what an amazing experience it was!This video details much of our project. http://www.osu.edu/watch/45ovdMJRuzGRo
The school we worked with is owned by Shilet Lucien, who is the Head Police Investigator of Croix-des-Bouquets. All of his extra time seemed to be put into the two schools he runs outside of his police job. It was clear upon meeting him just how invested in the children and the community he is. It was an easy decision to pick his school to work with for this project.
In the summer of 2011, his two schools were chosen each to receive a $50,000 school addition! This was made possible by Digicell- Haiti's biggest cell phone carrier. They have awarded over 200 schools in Haiti with these $50,000 builds so far, and plan to do many more! This helped out our project a lot, giving us a structurally stable and secure location to work in.
We traveled to Haiti with the Haiti Empowerment Project. A main goal of ours is to work with and empower the Haitians to do great things themselves and just use us as a tool. We worked with students from University Caraibe, University Episcapal, and the Haitian State University, sharing the design and knowledge of solar energy among students. This project gave all involved students a hands on experience working with the cutting edge technology of solar panels and photovoltaic system design.
The school we worked with is owned by Shilet Lucien, who is the Head Police Investigator of Croix-des-Bouquets. All of his extra time seemed to be put into the two schools he runs outside of his police job. It was clear upon meeting him just how invested in the children and the community he is. It was an easy decision to pick his school to work with for this project.
In the summer of 2011, his two schools were chosen each to receive a $50,000 school addition! This was made possible by Digicell- Haiti's biggest cell phone carrier. They have awarded over 200 schools in Haiti with these $50,000 builds so far, and plan to do many more! This helped out our project a lot, giving us a structurally stable and secure location to work in.
We traveled to Haiti with the Haiti Empowerment Project. A main goal of ours is to work with and empower the Haitians to do great things themselves and just use us as a tool. We worked with students from University Caraibe, University Episcapal, and the Haitian State University, sharing the design and knowledge of solar energy among students. This project gave all involved students a hands on experience working with the cutting edge technology of solar panels and photovoltaic system design.
Project Scope
We sent eight undergraduate students (four more than last year!) to Haiti to install a solar photovoltaic system in Petit Agnu, a high school outside of Croix-des-Bouquets, Haiti (kwah-day-bookay). We also had seven electrical engineering students along side us the whole week from University Caribe, a private university in Haiti. Lastly, we wouldn't have gotten anywhere without out translators. Not only did they bridge the language gap, but they proved themselves with hammers and drills as well!
This years project included a little more than just installing a solar pv array; we were very focused in following our goals to expand the project the solar project. We began to research with community members about incorporating solar into sustainable business models, and we also brought together four Haitian Universities to discuss how to expand this project into something that could involve as many students and faculty as possible. What an amazing learning experience!
Also be sure to check out the Photos page!
This years project included a little more than just installing a solar pv array; we were very focused in following our goals to expand the project the solar project. We began to research with community members about incorporating solar into sustainable business models, and we also brought together four Haitian Universities to discuss how to expand this project into something that could involve as many students and faculty as possible. What an amazing learning experience!
Also be sure to check out the Photos page!
System Specifications
Our photovoltaic system consisted of:
- 4- Trina TSM PA-05 240W photovoltaic modules
- An S-5 PV mounting system
- 7- Greenlite 42W CFL lights (one for each classroom)
- 2- Trojan T105 6V 225AH Deep Cycle batteries
- 4- Interstate 12V 80AH Deep Cycle batteries
- 2- separate outlets to power a projector, laptop, cellphone, or other small appliances