Solar Shade: Preparation for the Collage of Sustainability

In preparation for the Collage of Sustainability (the largest event to take place at the HUG campus), our team has had to make some changes to the atrium. With 150 visitors expected to participate, the atrium was designated the only place large enough hold all of them.

The atrium was initially designed to be a greenhouse, and with the south facing wall made up entirely of heat absorbing windows, it would become too hot for participants to bear. So, a solution was needed before the event began.


We decided that hanging a large piece of black cloth across the south facing windows was the solution we needed. (Some people call this contraption a "curtain.") However, it was decided, that this curtain needed to be done in style.


So, Wayne designed a little motor that would run up and down the metal posts set aside at each end of the cloth. This little motor would roll up the cloth and let more light in. If it gets too hot, the little motor runs down the metal posts and takes the black cloth down with it, creating more shade and blocking out the sunlight.

Here, you can see the little guy working.

Looking out from the inside, you can tell the difference the cloth makes.

Solar Food

Jim's been modifying a design on a solar powered food dehydrator.

The black metal at the base of the machine is set to a 45 degree angle. It collects the sun's energy and turns it into heat, while the polycarbonate window traps the heat in the machine.

Air vents in the base of the unit allow the heated air to rise...

and dehydrate the food on the racks.

Adjust the temperature with these screen vents

Temperatures can reach up to 180 degrees so it is important but easy to monitor the progress with thermometers at the base of the racks and at the top of the unit. With this knowledge, the racks can be jockeyed according to how the food is progressing.

So, with proper placement in the sun, this unit can turn five pounds of freshly picked apples into dehydrated apples in just 9 hours...without the use of electricity!

Jim plans on adding wheels and handpoles to allow for better mobility. There will be more updates on this fascinating project to come.

Solar defrosted sewer vent.

When it gets real cold in the dead of winter, it is not uncommon to for rooftop vents to frost over, causing gurgley pipes and sewer smells. We are trying out a trick we just learned...

First cut the top of the vent pipe at a 45 degree angle, with the open part facing south.

Then paint it black.

The frost will have a hard time trying to bridge that longer gap...

...and the sun (that tends to be bright on the coldest days) will heat up the pipe and melt any frost away.