2024
Baja Solar
A sustainability-focused initiative to design and optimize a solar-powered water heating system for a Baja California orphanage, enhancing energy efficiency and improving access to essential resources.
Empowering Sustainability: Addressing Energy and Water Needs
Baja Solar partnered with the La Misión Children’s Fund and the La Hacienda orphanage in Baja California to tackle unreliable access to hot water, a critical daily issue for cooking and cleaning. The project’s mission was clear: develop and optimize a solar-powered water heating system to improve the orphanage’s energy efficiency while reducing costs.
Key Contribution: Used design thinking principles to define a mission-driven product vision that balanced user needs, sustainability, and technical feasibility.
Engineering an Innovative Solution: Optimizing the Control System
I collaborated on redesigning the solar water heating control system, which integrates thermocouples, pressure sensors, and an ESP32 microcontroller to monitor and regulate water temperature. Leveraging systems design principles, we developed new modifications to enhance pump efficiency, minimize energy waste, and ensure reliability under varying conditions, given the orphanage’s location in Tijuana. The team also built models of the electrical system at UCSD to rigorously test and validate the code before deployment.
Key Skill: Applied iterative testing and algorithm optimization to improve system reliability and performance.
Overcoming Challenges: Iterative Problem-Solving for Field Conditions
Faced with site visit constraints, I led efforts to remotely assess the system’s condition using previous data, user input, and technical documentation. The team identified key issues, such as outdated plumbing and inefficient pump performance, and proposed durable solutions like replacing pipes with UV-resistant materials and optimizing flow rates. This troubleshooting ensured the project’s continuity despite operational challenges.
Key Impact: Demonstrated adaptability and creative problem-solving to overcome logistical barriers and deliver actionable solutions.
Scaling Sustainability: Designing for Longevity and Impact
To ensure the solar water heater’s long-term functionality, I contributed to designing a roadmap that included copper pipe integration, UV-protective coatings, and enhanced system monitoring features. This forward-thinking approach emphasized durability, cost-efficiency, and ease of maintenance, ensuring the system could support the orphanage for over a decade with minimal intervention.
Key Contribution: Designed a scalable and sustainable solution aligned with the project’s mission of reducing reliance on non-renewable energy sources.