Final Solution Rationale

GG’s alternate Solution 4 is a container 0.9m tall and 0.6m around.  The separate storage tank will be 0.16m tall and have a diameter of 0.6m.  The conical black polymer top will absorb more sun, heating up the container.  The cone shaped top will be removable, so that water can easily be poured in by the user, and so that the left over debris and salt can be cleaned out.  The water will evaporate collecting on the slanted top and will run down into the cylinder from where gravity will pull the water through a carbon filter into a tank inside the house.  In the inside tank, two UV lights, powered by the photovoltaic cell, will disinfect the water.  The photovoltaic cell will be located on the roof.  A faucet near the base of the unit will allow access to the clean water.  A family of four will typically need, at most, 40L per day.  The storage tank will hold that amount, and the unit will run during the daytime to clean the water.  The unit will not need to run at night, because any water the family needs can be stored in the storage tank.  The diagrams can be seen http://gg-se2desalinationunit.blogspot.com/2011/09/cad-orthographic-drawing.html

We chose this solution because this design accomplished what we needed to do, while being simple, easy to use and construct, energy efficient and uncomplicated.  This unit would be something that companies could make cheaply and easily mass-produce.  The other solutions would have required multiple intricate evaporation chambers, extensive amounts of energy, and would have been difficult to build.  The amount of energy required to power the alternative solutions was massive compared to the low amounts of energy needed to power GG’s fourth solution.  Changing the design greatly reduces, the number of photovoltaic cells needed.  The method of evaporation just was not as energy effective.  This solution also does not need to power a pump, because GG designed this solution so that gravity achieves the same thing.  In this solution, the photovoltaic cells power the UV, natural means provide the rest of the power.  This solution also has a separate storage tank, which allows the clean water to sit inside the house, where the water is easy to access and is not sitting in direct sunlight.