GRAVITY LIGHT solved problem statement
PREMISE Electricity is an integral utility in modern society. From a simple bulb to giant industrial machines, everything runs on electricity. However, according to a survey conduced in 2009, 18% of world s population is still living in dark of which 83% population is rural population. Conventional sources of producing electricity such as coal and nuclear fuel are coming to an exhaustion and with current rate of population growth, it is estimated that the number of people without electricity will rise to 1.2 billion by the year 2030. Researchers are trying to set up alternative sources of energy in rural areas such as solar power plants and wind power plant. Once established thoroughly, these resources are able to eradicate power crisis, but till date these have not proved to be cost effective. Therefore, it is needed to establish a source of energy in rural areas, which is cheap and can be easily set up in each house. One such method is gravity light which converts the potential energy of a physical mass into electrical energy. The amount of energy produced by this method is suf cient to meet the needs of rural household.
PROBLEM STATEMENT Conduct a survey of a nearby rural area. Find out the existing population and estimate the average requirement of electricity per day in the given area. Design a gravity light model with an illustration showing its operation. Propose a cost effective business model based on your gravity light design which can meet the electricity needs of the surveyed area. What are your ideas to apply this method on a global level? Justify your method as compared to conventional methods on the basis of following factors Cost, Availability and Customer Satisfaction.
ANALYSIS Energy is the conserved property of a physical system, which can be calculated from its state. It has many forms such as kinetic energy, potential energy, electrical energy, heat energy etc. One form of energy can be converted into other forms by changing the state of the physical system. This property of can be used to convert potential energy of a system into electrical energy. If a mass is hanging at balance at a height, the force of gravity acts upon it downwards. A potential energy is stored in this mass until it is allowed to fall freely. In case of free fall, the potential energy converts into kinetic energy and nally this mass acquires a new state upon impact, losing all the kinetic energy. To obtain the electricity from the potential energy of the hanging mass, we need to reduce the kinetic energy losses. These losses can be reduced by regulating the downward motion of the mass by speed control methods. If we attach a dynamo with the given physical system, it will generate the electricity as the mass is going down. The longer it takes to reach to the ground, the more will be electricity production.
EXISTING RESEARCH DECIWATT (http://deciwatt.org/) is a London based product development initiative which incorporated the idea of generating light and low level of energy from gravity. Their design takes only 3 seconds to lift the weight that powers Gravity Light, creating 25 minutes of light on its descent. Bene ts : -Â Can be used over and over again, anytime -Â No need for sunshine or batteries - No running costs - Long lasting Two London-based designers, Martin Riddiford and Jim Reeves have developed Gravity Light that operates on the stuff that surrounds you earth, rocks or sand with the helping hand of gravity. It is simply charged by a bag that is lled with around 9kg of material and hung from a cord below the light. As the bag descends, a series of gears inside the device translates this weight into energy, providing 30 minutes of light. The light strength can be adjusted, from strong task lighting to a longer-lasting low-level glow, and two terminals on the front allow it to be used as a generator so it can recharge other devices including radios and batteries. Video of Gravity Light: http: //www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dd9NIlhvlI
SOLUTION MODEL Our model of gravity light is based on a gear train with high mechanical advantage. A dynamo is attached with the gear train. When the weight attached to the gear train goes down, dynamo rotates with it and generates the required electricity. GEAR TRAIN : Gear train is an arrangement of gears in which their teeth engage with each other. Gears are designed in a way so that the ratio of number of teeth of two gears is equal to the ratio of their radii which is also equal to the speed ratio of the gears. This enhancement in output force is called the mechanical advantage of the gear train. Videos of gear basics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B4j2VPHVm6o http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h1vfR9YvjMA http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-q5FmanzCw4 The arrangement shown here is a gear arrangement with gear ratio 1:81. Which means the speed of the starting gear is 81 times the speed of the end gear. Hence, the time taken by the weight to go down will be 81 times the time required to lift the weight, producing more electrical power. DYNAMO : A dynamo is an electrical generator consisting of a magnet and a coil of Copper wire. According to Faraday s Law of electromagnetic induction, if a metallic coil is rotated with high speed in a constant magnetic eld, it induces electricity. In our model, the starting gear is rotating with very high speed. The dynamo arrangement is attached to this gear. When weight is going down, coil rotates, generating required electrical energy. Video of dynamo basics: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOZGZ__3vi8
BUSINESS MODEL PRODUCT FEASIBILITY: Our design of gravity light consists of a simple gear box attached with a dynamo. This whole set-up is portable and it can be easily installed anywhere as per the requirement. Any household material such as sandbag, bricks, heavy stones etc. can be used as weight. The product is highly sustainable and there is no need to change parts frequently. Once installed, it can be used for a long period of time. There are no potential hazards associated with the product, hence it can be operated by anyone. MARKET FEASIBILITY: Our potential market is rural areas, where electricity have not yet reached. As per the United Nations, in 2010, 49.5% of world s population was living in rural areas and most of these people are living in dark. A survey was conducted in a rural area consisting of total 100 houses. On an average, three light bulbs are needed to light up a house, which means three product installations. Our product provides very high ef ciency and it can light up to a bulb of 40 watts per round. Time interval between each round can be as high as 1 hour depending on the height of the weight from the ground. According to the survey, 75% residents of the surveyed area are willing to buy the product once its available in the market. In the future, we are planning to reach out to other rural areas as well as urban areas with innovative designs, where residents can use it for decorative purpose. COST ANALYSIS: As per initial estimation, the production cost per unit will be around Rs. 100. For 100 houses, we need to manufacture at least 300 units which amounts up to Rs. 3,00,00. The cost of initial business set-up and promotional costs amount up to around Rs. 2,00,00. People are willing to buy it for Rs. 300 per unit, hence, total earning from the surveyed area will be Rs. 9,00,00, leaving a margin of Rs. 4,00,00. With increasing demand, the manufacturing cost can be reduced up to Rs. 70 per unit, increasing the pro t further.
ETHICS STATEMENT SIGNED UNDERTAKING : I, hereby con rm that facts, gures, research material and technical content implemented in this document are originally created/produced by me and my team members. Any data used from any external source has been acknowledged with due credit. In case of copyright infringement, judging committee has the full right to disqualify this submission. -----------------------------------(Full name of the team leader)
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS : http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page http://deciwatt.org/ http://www.un.org/ http://www.youtube.com/