Introduction
A team was
assembled to redesign the Low Carbon Footprint Electric Lawn
Mower (LCFELM)
designed and implemented in 2007-08. The system in
2007-2008 used lead acid batteries and an inefficient DC
motor. Consequently, the mower was very heavy.
Furthermore, the Photo Voltaic (PV) charging system was not
implemented. The new project team will
investigate different motor and battery technologies with
the goal of dramatically decreasing the weight of the mower
while maintaining functionality. In addition the PV system
will be optimized and, if possible, use “off the shelf”
electronics to implement the charging system.
Finally, the team will develop software for the mower
subsystem and charging subsystem to implement the required
functionality.
Jeff Garza
Jason Gualandi
Dustin Hohenbery