Portable Solar Module For Eco-schools

The Natural Planet Foundation has a program called Eco-schools, with the objective of converting rural schools into sustainable Eco-schools. One of the axes of this program is the efficient use and saving of energy, it is where the use of solar panels to provide electrical energy is necessary.

These panels must also be easy to handle, mobile so that it can be stored at times when it is not needed and thus there is no need to have constant surveillance on it. This is why a prototype of mobile panels is the ideal solution to satisfy the energy needs of this community.

The access and reliability of the energy connection in rural areas of Colombia is not very good, as a result there are frequent blackouts that affect the quality of education received in rural schools since it limits the type of tools and the number of days to which students have access.

This makes it difficult to transfer vital information on sustainability, environmental awareness and preservation of resources, necessary for students to be actors that generate a positive impact in their rural environments, where the ecosystems with the greatest conservation value are found.

That is why the Portable Solar Module would improve the educational quality of these schools, thereby achieving an articulation of the program's sustainability axes, transforming these students into actors aware of their role in the conservation of ecosystems.

The Portable Solar Module is a device designed to connect 4 mono solar panels of 100W, it would have an inverter, a charge regulator and a battery for the constant use of energy. This design is intended to be used by teachers and students, both in the operation of the school, as well as in training and knowledge transfer on the operation of this green technology.

This design also meets the particular needs of this type of school, such as the need for the module to be stored for safety reasons and for its operation to be simple so that it can be used by school personnel.

Students, teachers and other members of the academic community in the rural environment of the Eco-schools, where continuous access to electricity service will allow them to improve the educational quality of the institutions, strengthening the pedagogical and environmental education dimension of the Eco-schools. , which will have an impact on the improvement of the relationship of future generations with the ecosystems in which they live.

Alignment occurs when we take into account that to achieve the conservation of ecosystems it is necessary to have an awareness of the importance of these, and of the services they provide to the communities that live within them. It is there where the need for a basic and early education on these issues becomes necessary.

In addition, the community's approach to green technology will allow them to understand the principles of these technologies, the challenges they present and the ways in which they can adapt green technologies to their needs and thus avoid predation and conserve the pristine ecosystems that still exist in these rural areas.

The Natural Planet Foundation focuses on the preservation of the environment through the execution of environmental works and projects. As part of our objective is the implementation of clean technologies, for this reason we carry out the necessary designs for the implementation of these in the Ecoescuelas project.

The use of solar energy is widely known around the world, the innovation behind this design consists of the ease of storage and operation. This is a necessary adaptation for its application in rural schools where there is no security or 24-hour staff, in addition this model must be able to be operated by the school staff, so its ease of use is important.

The program has already implemented the use of solar panels in educational settings, managing to improve the educational quality of 29 students since 2019.

There are plans to implement this technology in 5 schools in the Sabana de Bogotá region.

In 5 years of having positive results, it is to be expected that it will expand to different rural regions of the country, which have the same needs and desires to implement this type of technology.

Observing the energy consumption meters and analyzing the consumption, comparing it with the consumption of the previous years. Monitoring of the state of the electrical network and the number of hours of independence provided by the system. Reporting number of hours of power failure and how the solar system comes to meet the need and ensure that classes can continue.

We currently have four students in charge of the foundation's lines of action, and a board of directors with a general director. We have various partners with whom we have worked on different projects.

Natural Planet Foundation has experience and track record in executing projects related to the conservation of ecosystems, conducting training and environmental awareness days.

This diverse experience in environmental issues leaves us very well positioned for the execution of this project, in addition we already have the base of the Eco-schools program, and we are known in several educational institutions where we can take this project.

The Eco-schools strategy seeks that the communities appropriate their territories, that they adopt and adapt green technologies and knowledge about conservation and sustainability. This knowledge becomes part of the academic curriculum and these students are expected to apply it in their work and family environments in the future.

Given that it is a transfer of knowledge and technologies, it is to be expected that leadership will emerge in these educational communities, leading them to appropriate their ecosystems and achieve proper management of these.