Development and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic trekking pole
School Name
Spring Valley High School
Grade Level
10th Grade
Presentation Topic
Engineering
Presentation Type
Non-Mentored
Oral Presentation Award
1st Place
Written Paper Award
1st Place
Abstract
In today’s society, the demand for renewable energy is higher than ever. Various innovations utilizing solar, wind, and water power have been proposed to harness the energy provided by these natural sources. In the study, a design for a photovoltaic trekking pole was proposed, and its viability was tested. It was hypothesized that enough energy needed to power an iPhone 5 for 20 minutes of talk time (0.227 Wh) would be harvested under clear and mostly sunny conditions. This hypothesis was tested by first constructing the design and maximizing the power output through maximum power point tracking. The pole was then placed outside for each trial, which lasted from 9 am to 4 pm. The harvested energy was subsequently recorded by draining the battery. The means, from lowest to highest, were those of overcast, mostly cloudy, mostly sunny, and sunny conditions, respectively. Clear and mostly sunny conditions yielded more than the required 0.227 Wh, thus supporting the hypothesis. The data were statistically analyzed at alpha equal to 0.05 with a repeat measure ANOVA, which concluded that a significant difference existed between the means; F(3,51)=2.786, p<0.05. The consequent Scheffé test determined that significant differences existed between all pairwise comparisons of weather conditions. This, along with analysis of the mean connect line, effectively concluded that weather condition was found to have a linear and most direct impact on the amount of energy harvested.
Recommended Citation
Chen, Jenning N., "Development and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic trekking pole" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 167.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/167
Start Date
4-11-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
4-11-2015 10:15 AM
Development and performance evaluation of a photovoltaic trekking pole
In today’s society, the demand for renewable energy is higher than ever. Various innovations utilizing solar, wind, and water power have been proposed to harness the energy provided by these natural sources. In the study, a design for a photovoltaic trekking pole was proposed, and its viability was tested. It was hypothesized that enough energy needed to power an iPhone 5 for 20 minutes of talk time (0.227 Wh) would be harvested under clear and mostly sunny conditions. This hypothesis was tested by first constructing the design and maximizing the power output through maximum power point tracking. The pole was then placed outside for each trial, which lasted from 9 am to 4 pm. The harvested energy was subsequently recorded by draining the battery. The means, from lowest to highest, were those of overcast, mostly cloudy, mostly sunny, and sunny conditions, respectively. Clear and mostly sunny conditions yielded more than the required 0.227 Wh, thus supporting the hypothesis. The data were statistically analyzed at alpha equal to 0.05 with a repeat measure ANOVA, which concluded that a significant difference existed between the means; F(3,51)=2.786, p<0.05. The consequent Scheffé test determined that significant differences existed between all pairwise comparisons of weather conditions. This, along with analysis of the mean connect line, effectively concluded that weather condition was found to have a linear and most direct impact on the amount of energy harvested.
