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PCEI’s former Community Outreach Specialist Jim Ekins teamed up with the
UI Upward Bound Engineering Class, lead by Aaron Kraft, to design and
construct a solar-powered rainwater pumping system. This Upward Bound
class, comprised of 10 high school students from economically
disadvantaged households in which neither parent attended college,
spent a month studying regional energy and water issues. They in turn
assisted with the solar pumping system's implementation. Rainwater
collected from the roof of PCEI’s Danielson Perrine House is captured
in a 1,600-gallon cistern. The pump project uses a 64-watt solar panel
to run a 12-volt pump, connected to a smaller tank located close to our
Pantry Garden for watering the garden. The garden, in turn, produces
fruits and veggies for Backyard Harvest, which
annually donates thousands of pounds of fresh produce to 9 local food
banks. PCEI is honored to have this project on our Rodeo Drive Campus.
Kudos to all the students working in temperatures in the 90’s to finish
the project!
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We use a 64-watt photovoltaic panel to charge a deep cycle battery. This
in turn runs a 12-volt, 7-amp pump with a capacity of pumping 4.0
gallons a minute. |
Pumphouse
This project dovetails with PCEI Watershed Technician AmeriCorps
member's community action project (CAP), the installation of the lower
1,600-gallon cistern and an associated workshop on rainwater capture
and would be the first step in a much greater planned rainwater
catchment and use system for PCEI.
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Thank you!
Thanks to the following businesses who helped make this project
possible:
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