Evaluation (Relating to brief, specs and constraints)

Evaluation (Relating to brief, specs and constraints)

At the beginning of the DTM course, Dr Tony House had made up a brief containing specifications and constraints that we had to follow. The brief stated that the solar garden light had to be resistant to the harsh outdoor conditions especially since the light was going to be placed next to the beach. The light would have to endure harsh winds, rain and the corrosive salt spray. The light had to be camouflage amongst the poacita grass and it shouldn’t cost any more than $30.

My light’s measurements are 160mm high and 150mm in diameter so it can be easily camouflaged amongst the poacita. My light is made of aluminium and is in the shape of a cylinder. My light shouldn’t get blown over in the wind if it was to be planted in the ground firmly. If the light was to blow over, it wouldn’t matter that much as the light is durable and strong. However, Dr Tony House would have to waste time making it stand back up again. A good thing with aluminium is that it is cheap and it is easy to work with since it is malleable and soft. Another benefit with aluminium is that it won’t corrode and it will always stay nice and shiny unlike steel. My light has been sealed so rain and moisture can’t enter the inside of the box damaging the delicate electronic components of the circuit. An additional feature that I have found out recently is that my light is mostly resilient to a lightning storm as the aluminium acts as a conductive outer shell and the power surge is earthed through the ground so the circuit is not damaged. This prevents Dr Tony House having to buy another light when the current light gets struck by lightning.

My garden light has a very bright lightbulb inside so it will put out adequate lighting unlike LED’s. The only problem with the light I used is that Dr tony house will have to waste time changing the light every now and then as the light does not have much of a long life expectancy. This would not have been a problem if the CCFL had survived. The top part of my light is made mostly out of vacuum form plastic and acrylic. This is good because it has extremely high transparency to minimise waste light. These two plastics that I used are resistant to wind, rain, salt spray and being knocked around. I have also sealed up my light so it won’t leak resulting in a build up of condensation and damaging the internal electronic components.

My light has got a few problems with the circuit when the batteries go flat. Considering my circuit contains a relay, the light starts repeatedly flashing no and off for about 5 minutes. After that, the relay turns on and off extremely fast resulting in a rather loud humming sound. After a minute or so, the light will start making clunking noises slowly working down to a clicking noise. This is a very good indication that the batteries need to be charged up. A solid state relay would fix most of these problems.

Overall, my light has met most of the specs and it cost less than $30. The specs that it did not meet were things like not having a dimmer knob and on/off switch. My light has met all of the main specifications that Dr Tony House has stated in order for it to last.