Made in the shade: Natick's PowerShade produces, saves energy

By Jane Benson, NSRDEC Public AffairsMarch 31, 2015

Made in the shade: Natick's PowerShade produces, saves energy
(Photo Credit: U.S. Army) VIEW ORIGINAL

NATICK, Mass. (March 27, 2015) -- When it comes to energy conservation and energy production, Army researchers like Natick's Steve Tucker are working to ensure Soldiers have it made in the shade.

Tucker is a senior engineer at the U.S. Army Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center, or NSRDEC, on the Collective Protection Systems Team and is the lead project officer for the "PowerShade." Natick's work is part of the Army's commitment to conserving fuel and water and reducing waste.

In addition to providing shade and protection from the sun, the PowerShade is a durable solar shade structure that contains photovoltaic modules that generate solar power. The medium variant of the Gen I PowerShade generates 1.8 kilowatts of peak electrical energy that can be used to support military base camp operations.

"Saving energy is a Natick-wide effort, part of a larger Army effort," Tucker said. "The Army right now is very concerned with energy use. The PowerShade is part of the trifecta, where we are looking at power, waste and water. The goal is to bring in conservation technologies where less energy is needed to heat or cool shelters, generate power from alternative energy to remove the need for more fuel, and investigate 'waste to energy' technologies, where we take things that normally would be thrown away, and we use them to create power. The Army is also looking at water purification, where local water is purified and used for camp operations."

The PowerShade has several qualities that make it particularly useful to warfighters in remote, austere locations. The energy generated by the PowerShade is clean, quiet, sustainable and renewable. It generates electricity directly from the sun, produces zero emissions, and it requires no fuel and little to no maintenance.

The reduced logistical burden and reduced footprint that the PowerShade provides to warfighters are beneficial not only in terms of consumption but also in terms of safety. Eliminating the need for fuel deliveries reduces danger and vulnerability associated with such deliveries.

"A remote or austere environment is where everything is the most expensive," Tucker said. "It's where you have to transport your fuel the furthest. It's where security is the most risky because you may be deep in enemy territory. It's difficult to get supplies in. Sometimes you can't just drive them in, and you are forced to airdrop them in. Something that is self-sustaining like the PowerShade helps toward the goal of becoming "net zero," where we make as much energy on-site as we use. You can also minimize your footprint and your presence as far as your bringing people in and bringing supplies … Bottom Line? An austere environment, where logistics is the most expensive and challenging, is where alternative energy really shines."

Typically, the PowerShade is placed over a shelter that is used for the billeting of Soldiers. It reduces the power demand from the environmental control unit, or ECU, so less power is needed to cool or heat the shelter. The saved power can then be used to support other camp operations.

"So, by producing the power, you are actually harvesting the sun to enable energy-efficient camp operations, such as lighting or powering of convenience loads like a laptop, or a battery charger," he said. "LED lighting is very energy efficient, and we can support that with the power produced by the PowerShade. We can also take the energy from the sun, and we can recharge a battery for a Soldier's radio with it. Then we can take the power from that same battery later on when we need it, or we can use another application Natick developed and invert to make AC power like you would typically use from a wall socket."

Tucker has traveled extensively to train Soldiers to set up, tear down, and use the PowerShade. He helped oversee the use of the Gen I PowerShade under austere, remote conditions at Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, located in the Horn of Africa. He is also supporting an ongoing research effort by the U.S. Army Construction Research Laboratory, or CERL, and the United States Military Academy at West Point to investigate the use of Super Insulated Panel, or SIP, structures as a more energy-efficient alternative to the wooden buildings known as "B-Huts." Soldiers are familiar with B-Huts from base camps in Southwest Asia.

"The idea behind bringing the PowerShade to West Point is to get that base camp net-zero effect, where they make as much power as they use," Tucker said.

A more powerful version of the original Gen I PowerShade is currently being developed. The Gen II PowerShade will use about the same deployed footprint as the Gen I PowerShade, but will be capable of producing about twice the power of the Gen I unit, further advancing the goal of achieving net-zero energy for base camps.

"The Gen II produces more power at less cost per watt than the Gen I," he said. "The Gen II is a slightly larger unit and has a 10-year rated lifespan versus a three-year (lifespan) for the Gen I."

Currently, the Gen I PowerShade is being used in Guam for a demonstration, and the Gen II unit is set up at Fort Leonard Wood in Missouri as part of the Sustainability Logistics Basing Science and Technology Objective.

Both the Gen I and Gen II PowerShades mean that Soldiers don't have to commit time to refueling or maintaining equipment.

"Anything that allows Soldiers to focus more on warfighting and spend less time on maintenance and other base camp tasks is beneficial to getting their mission done and them home sooner," Tucker said.

-----

The Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center is part of the U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command, which has the mission to develop technology and engineering solutions for America's Soldiers.

RDECOM is a major subordinate command of the U.S. Army Materiel Command. AMC is the Army's premier provider of materiel readiness--technology, acquisition support, materiel development, logistics power projection and sustainment--to the total force, across the spectrum of joint military operations. If a Soldier shoots it, drives it, flies it, wears it, eats it or communicates with it, AMC provides it.

Related Links:

Army Technology Live

Natick Soldier Research, Development and Engineering Center

U.S. Army Materiel Command

Army.mil: Science and Technology News

U.S. Army Research, Development and Engineering Command

LinkedIn

Twitter

Facebook