About Our Team |
The Baja team is part of Global TIES and our goal is to improve the quality of life and empower the children at the orphanage of Casa de mi Familia with a finalized solution of a solar thermal collector system. The system provides the orphanage with minimum of 40 gallons of heated water a day at no cost. In order to do so, we specialized our focus into two teams: System Design Team and Testing Team.
Together, we have determined an optimal design for the orphanage, ordered and tested components, and have successfully implemented the Solar Thermal Water Heater in Casa de Mi Familia. In the future, we hope to continue implementing more sustainable systems that cater to the needs of the children of Mexico. |
Our ClientOur client is the underprivileged youth in Baja, Mexico. Our team has been working on the improvement in the quality of life in orphanages across Tijuana over the past 4 years, seeking to design sustainable cost efficient products in hopes to reduce financial pressure of the orphanages, and most importantly, to impact the youth through education and empowerment. We have been working with Steven Ellis and Kathleen Dwyer, the president of the La Mision Children’s Fund (LMCF) since the fall of 2012. LMCF is a nonprofit, volunteer organization that helps provide essential aid and necessities to the youth of Baja, Mexico living in areas of poverty.
With Kathleen’s and Steven’s help, we identified an orphanage that could greatly benefit from a solar water heater, Casa de Mi Familia orphanage in Baja, Mexico. At the orphanage, there are 24 children aged up to 20 years old managed by Ted and Karen Springer. Ted and Karen are a husband and wife team who work hard week to week to keep these children healthy and happy. In addition, Alejandro and Marcela are there to take care of the children on a day to day basis. They play a crucial role in the implementation of the system, since they will be empowered with the knowledge of the system and the tools to work the system themselves. For the past 20 years, the orphanage has received minimal funding, and the number of children continues to increase. Operating on $40,000 annually has prevented them from being able to afford hot water and fulfill basic needs. Adding a solar water heater would mean great reductions in operational costs of gas, which means they will be able to use hot water without worries. |
Our Design
Located on the roof are the solar thermal collector and the PV panel. The solar thermal collector takes in cool water coming from the tank in the laundry room, where it will heat it up utilizing solar energy. The hot water is then returned back to the laundry room in pipes along the wall. The collector is orientated to face south to capture the most optimal amount of energy needed to heat up the cold water. The PV panel generates the required energy needed to power the pump by converting solar energy into direct current electricity.
Located in the laundry room are the pump and the expansion tank. The pump is a device that uses mechanical action to move water throughout the system. Check valves will be implemented to prevent backwards flow in the system that will counteract the pump. The expansion tank is a small tank used to protect the water heating system from excessive pressure, that would result in the pipes bursting.
Located in the laundry room are the pump and the expansion tank. The pump is a device that uses mechanical action to move water throughout the system. Check valves will be implemented to prevent backwards flow in the system that will counteract the pump. The expansion tank is a small tank used to protect the water heating system from excessive pressure, that would result in the pipes bursting.
The thermal collector system works like a greenhouse to heat fluid running through it. An insulated, heat resistant CPVC pipe connects the water flowing from the thermal collector to the tank. Through this mechanism, a residential water storage tank can be heated without the use of gas. The system requires a pump, water filter, check valve (to prevent backflow), an expansion tank (to prevent the expanding water from breaking the pipes), and mounting for the pipes.
The solar collector’s efficiency is heavily dependent on its distance from the water tank because heat is lost through the pipe to the atmosphere. The hot water flowing into the primary tank is pushed into the secondary tank because of a temperature gradient in the system. Cold water is pumped into the bottom of the first tank which forces the hot water out of the primary tank and into the backup tank. Through this mechanism, the warm water spreads throughout the two tank system and is always ready to use. |
The team selected the best system for the orphanage’s design specifications and financial efficiency based on the following calculations of area needed to power the system, which affected price and efficiency. These are based on laws of specific heat, assumptions of change in temperature, intensity of the sun, and solar power collector efficiency, respectively. From these calculations we conclude that there must be 3 times the area of photovoltaic cell required as a solar thermal collector. Though photovoltaic technology is currently well known and better received by the public, it is still more expensive and inefficient than the conventional solar thermal collector. Based on the area of roof and space available for installation of a solar collector at the orphanage, and the cost of both systems, we supported the decision to power our system with a solar thermal collector. Calculation of Power Needed to Raise