Capstone Project

Lego Model of Indian Creek Nature Center

Introduction

This project is focused on improving an existing model of the Indian Creek Nature Center, which is a building in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that utilizes geothermal and solar systems for heating and power. The sponsor of this project is Design Engineers (DE), an engineering consulting firm that has previously worked on the energy systems of the Indian Creek Nature Center. DE has an existing desk-sized Lego model of the building for demonstration and marketing purposes, which they would like to modify significantly in order to better model the real-world building.

DE has requested the addition of four high-priority features. First, an array of small photovoltaic cells is fitted on the roof of the model building, which represents the solar panel array on the real building. DE would like these photovoltaic cells to be functional, producing power and storing it in a battery pack, and providing power for lights within the building model. Second, DE would like to add dynamic lighting to the model of the geothermal system underneath the building. These lights should demonstrate the flow of geothermal energy into and out of the building. Third, DE would like to add a display screen on the desk, in order to show a web interface that displays live real-world data about energy production at the Indian Creek Nature Center. Fourth, DE would like to display charts of energy production and consumption of the Lego model on the screen as well.

Major Design Requirements

  1. PV panels on the model will connect to and charge the battery.
  2. Battery system will provide sufficient voltage and current for the lights within the building unit and on the geothermal unit.
  3. Geothermal unit will have dynamic lighting that demonstrates the flow of heat through the real-world geothermal system.
  4. An electronic display will be added to the desk which displays real-time energy production data and graphs from the Indian Creek Nature Center web dashboard.
  5. Energy production of the PV panels on the model will be measured over time, as well as the energy consumption of the lights.
  6. Data on the model’s energy production and consumption will be displayed visually on the electronic display.

Figures

Figure 1: The existing Lego model of the Indian Creek Nature Center

Full Project Proposal