Urban sets innovation: Design of a solar tree PV system for charging mobile devices in Medellin — Colombia

Abstract

This paper shows the design of a solar tree PV system for charging mobile devices on open urban areas. The solar unit tree was designed according to the environmental conditions of Medellin. Based on the electric consumption calculations of mobile devices, a 3.5 m height-tree was built. It has four leaves made of acrylic with solar panels on the top (SOW sized 54 × 83.2 cm). It illuminates with cold white lights and four smaller leaves with green illumination. The energy storage capacity is 180 Amp. It has 6 USB ports to connect mobile devices and two 110V-200 W electrical outlets to connect those devices to the electricity. Finally, the photovoltaic system's availability to satisfy the energetic requirements was verified. This research found that according to the established design variables, the system has a 3-hour autonomy on saturation and involves an energy saving of 876 Wh in a year of operation.