DESIGN PROJECT 2: Cell Phone Tower in Chad, Africa By: Joel Shulman Chad Rosenzweig Devin Sheldon Christian Haefner Engineering Design 100 Section 016 Team 7

CHAD Population: roughly 8,598,000 people Size: 495,755 square miles Desert climate in the north, temperate climate in the south Capital city: N’Djamena Population Density South – 150 people per square mile North – less than 1 person per square mile

Abstract  For our project, we needed to develop a design for an alternate energy source that could generate power for a telecom cell phone tower and a diesel generator system, and sodium metal halide battery while maintaining a reusable energy source that is environmentally friendly. We decided that using solar power was the most optimal alternative energy source to complete this objective.

Introduction  In the past couple of years, cell phone usage has grown exponentially in almost all parts of the world. However, some undeveloped countries don’t have the means to power necessary cell towers. The General Electric Corporation asks engineering students to develop effective solutions to these problems, keeping in mind the effects on the environments.

Customer Needs  constant flow of 1.2 Kilowatts of power supplied to the cell phone tower  Sustainable alternate energy source  Environmentally friendly system and set up  Cost and energy efficient design

Design Matrix No

Design Task Problem Design a phone tower and hut that uses sustainable energy sources (e.g., solar panels, a small wind turbine, geothermal, etc.), a diesel generator system, and sodium metal halide (NaMx) battery to optimize green power used to run the station. The system should optimize available power in areas with either no/unreliable energy. The design should be feasible and use minimal resources and be reusable across developing regions. Mission Statement The cell phone tower will run completely off of renewable energy and will have a backup diesel generator to power it if the renewable energy stored in the battery is depleted. The hut will shelter all of the equipment from any possible weather abuse.

Design Task (cont.)  Customer Needs Assessment: Our team is doing Project 2 on the country of Chad in Africa. This region of Africa has desert-like climate and terrain, with some fertile land. Chad’s economy is highly based on agriculture, oil, and foreign assistance. All in all, using solar power to power the cell phone tower in Chad will greatly benefit this already growing economic African country.  Design Specifications: Our team’s design will take advantage of the climate in Chad being mostly sunny. The solar panels will be able to properly power the country’s cell towers. This will increase the productivity of the country to boost its already growing economy.

Possible Energy Sources in Chad

Alternate Energy Sources? Water Power This proved to be less then optimal for multiple reasons. In Chad there is no a surplus of running water. There is, however, Lake Chad, which unfortunately has been gradually shrinking overtime due to drought. Another issue is that this lake is located on the western side of the country which limits where this cell phone tower can be built. Wind Power Due to research for wind statistics in Chad, it would prove to be ineffective to build Wind Turbines as an optimal energy source. There is just not a sufficient enough amount of wind to generate the minimal amount of power that is need to run the cell tower. Solar Power This proved to be the most optimal type of alternate energy to provide the power needed to run the cell tower. The length of the day and amount of sun per year prove to provide the solar panels with more then enough sunlight. Another important aspect is due to how power is generated, there is no limitations of where these solar panels can be built.

Our Solar Panel  3 kilowatt-hour solar panel (2) (9.3ft by 9.3ft)  GE Durathon Battery - 20kw

Cost Analysis: List of Components  Cell Tower  Hut  Controlling equipment  Cooling and Heating equipment  3 kw Solar Panel  Backup Biodiesel Generator  Inverter  GE Battery

Costs  Initial  Construction of Cell tower, hut, and inverter- $150,000  Maintenance- $ 12,000/yr  1000/month Diesel fuel- $160,000  $3.61/gal X 3gal/day X 365 days X 40 years  Salvage Value- $3,000  Resale of used metals, low payback  Generator- $2,000  3kw generator

Cash Flow Diagram $175,000 $3.000 $ 160, yrs0 yrs A1= $ 100,000/yr A2= $ 12,000/yr

Revenue PW=A(P/A,I,N)+S(P/F,I,N)+P A=$100,000 S=$3000 P=$175,000 NPV= -175, ,000(1+.15)^(40)-1/(.15(1+.15)^40) +3,000(0.004) =-175, , = $489,190

Questions?

Sources Used   ml ml 