Fabrication and Testing of an Solar Auto Service Station

P.Balashanmugam, G.Balasubramanian

Solar energy is rapidly gaining notoriety as an important means of expanding renewable energy resources. As such, it is vital that those in engineering fields understand the technologies associated with this area. My project will include the design and construction of a solar operated “SOLAR WATER SERVICING UNIT. This solar operated “Solar water servicing unit” is used to clean the light vehicles, especially two wheelers and delivers through a nozzle under high velocity. The air is compressed by a hand operated gate valve. The main components are water tank, nozzle, connecting tubes, one way valves and pneumatic air compressor. The solar panel is used to charge the battery and this charge is used to drive the D.C compressor to store the compressed air to the air tank.Solar tracking allows more energy to be produced because the solar array is able to remain aligned to the sun. This system builds upon topics learned in this course. A working system will ultimately be demonstrated to validate the design. Problems and possible improvements will also be presented.The pneumatic air is supplied to the portable service unit water tank by the compressor unit. The high pressure air is then delivered to the water tank through a hose. The water tank (25 liter) has a working capacity of 12 liter. The water tank is provided with a pressure gauge, safety valve, water inlet, and water outlet and air inlet. The pressure water in the tank is delivered through a nozzle at a high velocity. Solar panel has been used increasingly in recent years to convert solar energy to electrical energy. The solar panel can be used either as a stand-alone system or as a large solar system that is connected to the electricity grids. We are trying to consume more energy from the sun using solar panel. In order to maximize the conversion from solar to electrical energy, the solar panels have to be positioned perpendicular to the sun. Thus the tracking of the sun’s location and positioning of the solar panel are important. The goal of this project is to design an automatic tracking system, which can locate the position of the sun.