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