Saluting Sunshine in the garden of young Ms Eden...

Eden Full’s SunSaluter — Summary
Eden Full, a 19-year-old Princeton University mechanical engineering student has developed a non-toxic, cheap, recyclable device made out of metal and bamboo that allows solar panels to follow or track the Sun without the use of an electric motor. This does two things: 1) it boosts the output of the solar panels by about 40% (huge) and 2) it does so using a much cheaper and simpler method than traditional trackers commonly used in commercial projects (her technology costs $10, a lot less than the typical $600 solar tracker).

The SunSaluter: Maximizing Solar Energy Collection for $10
Submitted By efull, Feb 13, 2011 |
Team Name : Roseicollis Technologies
University : Princeton University
Country : United States

Roseicollis Technologies aims to deploy unique appropriate technologies that can disrupt both developed and emerging markets. Our focus is currently on implementing The SunSaluter, a cheap solar panel rotator, to push solar technology to the forefront of the alternative energy effort in the developed world and electrify the developing world.

The SunSaluter is a $10 solar panel rotating tracker that optimizes output by up to 40% through tilting the panel perpendicular to the sun. It is a simple mechanism using bamboo (or metal when used industrially), recyclable metal strips and the physical imbalance of the panel itself. Because of its basic assembly, The SunSaluter requires less maintenance than a traditional tracking system and does not use electricity as a motorized one would. In August 2010, two prototypes were deployed in Mpala, Kenya. Monthly reports indicate that The SunSaluters are improving the lives of one thousand Kenyans.

Large-scale solar panel manufacturers as well as emerging markets are the key beneficiaries of our tracking technology. Despite their economic status, the bottom of the pyramid spends $500 billion per year on energy to meet their cooking, lighting, communications, and general needs. Killing 1.6 million people per year, current energy sources in the third world are unreliable and hazardous to people's health. In established solar panel markets all over the world, there is a definite need for clean, cheap and efficient energy, possible with tracking. The SunSaluter is the only solution at present to fulfill this niche in the market.

There is a high economic barrier to the purchase and maintenance of high output solar panel systems, limiting photovoltaic efficiency. A solution for this would be to use a tracking rotation system, optimizing the output of each panel by 40% so fewer panels are necessary. Typical rotators require motors, which are impractical due to high costs ($600) and elevated maintenance difficulties. Roseicollis Technologies has developed a novel tracking technology that overcomes these barriers. The SunSaluter is much cheaper, easier to use and simpler to maintain, and therefore is more suitable for solar power projects in both developing and emerging markets.

We will scale ...

http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/ideaView?id=08780000000DdxAAAS