Baja Del Sol
Solar Thermal Water Heater System
Prospective Students
All students are welcome, but we are especially looking for computer science, electrical engineering, chemical engineering and mechanical engineering majors. We would also love to have Spanish speakers at the intermediate and fluent level.
Mission Statement
Baja del Sol focuses on assisting underserved communities in Tijuana, Mexico, in all aspects ranging from clean water to education and beyond. We have been most involved in providing sustainable solutions for delivering and storing hot water in different orphanages in Tijuana. The goals of our group shift with the needs of the communities
Problem Statement
The children and faculty of La Hacienda Orphanage in Tijuana need a filtration system that gives easy access to clean drinking water because purchasing bottled water is an expensive and non-sustainable solution
Partner
As our partner organization, La Mision Children’s Fund (LMCF) has connected the Baja Team with four orphanages in Tijuana, Mexico. LMCF strives principally to provide fundamental necessities for at-risk children and youth, including food, education and medical care.
With the support from LMCF, we have implemented solar thermal collector systems at Hacienda de la Inmaculada. Currently we are working on follow-up projects with Hacienda and initiating new projects with Casa Hogar Sion.
Goals
Previous Goals
Previous goals included making one more site visit to La Hacienda to finish installing the control box and troubleshoot any connectivity issues. The team was also looking into better equipping the lab with more materials, tools, and schematics of the sites for future teams.
The team’s main goal were to conduct site surveys at one existing and one new orphanage site as well as repair one of the solar water heating systems at the La Hacienda de Immaculada Orphanage site. The team focused on designing a controllable pumping circuit and establishing a self-sustainable maintenance plan.
Current Goals
Design a well-documented, working prototype for a sustainable water filtration system that could be implemented at La Hacienda.
Teams
Filtration/Chemistry Subteam
- Determine materials to use in the system
- Determine cost of materials
Design Subteam
- Casing, packaging of materials in the system (electronics)
- Consider the cost of materials
Logistics Subteam
- Will be implemented late SP21 quarter after initial design and prototyping are done
- Documentation
- Creating manual
Current Team
- Myat Mon
- Kayson Neduvakkattu
- Torin Perreyclear
- Desmond Trieu
- Yucheng Zhang
Previous Team Members
- Erin Barry
- Stephanie Ogrey
- Peggy Tran
- Jonathan Song
- Angelica Tan
- Vala Masjedizadeh
Project Advisors
- Ray Guardiano
- Curtis Williams
Tutor
- Tina Reuter