News of the IEEE/PELS SOLAR SPLASH® 2015
Volume 22 – Number 2 – March 2015
An IEEE/PELS Event
Jump to any topic:
- Have You Thought of Entering a Team in Solar Splash? Interested in a Free Trip to Solar Splash 2015?
- Team Deadline Dates Approaching Quickly!
- Reminder #1 – Major Revisions Were Made Last Year to the Required Technical Report Format
- Reminder #2 – Major Rule Change Occurred Last Year Which Could Cause Team “Energy Management” Changes!
- Dayton Hotel Information for the 2015 Splash Teams
- Solar Splash Schedule of Major Events and Activities
Splash Headquarters Address and Contact Point is:
Dr. Jeffrey Morehouse
309 Newridge Road
Lexington, SC, USA 29072
tel: 803-920-9231
email: hq@solarsplash.com
Have You Thought of Entering a Team in Solar Splash? Interested in a Free Trip to Solar Splash 2015?
There is no better way to decide if Solar Splash is right for your academic program than to experience the competition first-hand. The event organizers are offering a limited number of travel reimbursements of up to $1000 per school for faculty and/or students that would like to travel to Dayton, Ohio, for the June 10-14 competition. This offer is available only for schools that have never competed in Solar Splash or that have not competed in the last five years. These reimbursements will be limited in number and will be issued on a first-come-first-served basis, so if you want to be our guest at the competition, contact headquarters as soon as possible at: hq@solarsplash.com.
Team Deadline Dates Approaching Quickly!
Final Date to Register a Team – April 27th is the last day to get the Entry Form into Splash Headquarters for the 2015 Splash. To register your team, you need to go to the website (www.solarsplash.com) to find the Entry Form for the competition. ***April 27th is also the time the Entry Fee is supposed to be paid; so if your registered team has not sent in the Entry Fee, please do so by the 27th.
Technical Report due by 5pm EDT, Monday, May 4th – The Technical Report is to be electronically submitted to Splash Headquarters no later than 5pm EDT, Monday, May 4th. ***A “.pdf” version of your Technical Report should be emailed to hq@solarsplash.com.
Remember that the top five Technical Reports are presented for your inspection on the Splash website (www.solarsplash.com). These are extremely good “how to” examples of what it takes to write a highly scored technical report.
The format and rules for writing the Technical Report are accessed via the Solar Splash website (www.solarsplash.com) menu by clicking ‘Technical Report Information’ and then clicking ‘Solar Splash Technical Report Guidelines’. [Note: These Report Guidelines will be slightly revised and re-posted on the website within a few days. The format will not change, but we are trying to make the Guidelines clearer and reduce some of the redundancy!]
Reminder #1 – Major Revisions Were Made Last Year to the Required Technical Report Format
Three major revisions were implemented last year in the format for your Technical Report. These revisions include:
- Putting more grading weight on the Executive Summary
- The main body of the report, limited to 20 pages, will now be organized by “subsystem reporting”, emphasizing your new designs being implemented this current year
- A fourth required Appendix D is to be added which provides your team roster and limited information on each team member.
The complete details of the Technical Report’s required format can be accessed via the Solar Splash website (www.solarsplash.com) menu by clicking ‘Technical Report Information’ and then clicking ‘Solar Splash Technical Report Guidelines’.
Reminder #2 – Major Rule Change Occurred Last Year Which Could Cause Team “Energy Management” Changes!
A major Rule change was made in 2014. This Rule change is being called the “only two sets of batteries” rule (Rule 7.4.1), which means that only two sets (instead of the previous four sets) of lead-acid batteries will be allowed. The weight limit for each of the two sets will be the previous heavier (Sprint) value of 100 pounds/45.5 kilograms per set. As before, only one set of batteries will be allowed in any run during any event.
Dayton Hotel Information for the 2015 Splash Teams
As always, you can find your own lodging via the internet, checking prices and locations using Expedia, Travelocity, etc. These reservations usually allow very liberal cancellation and change policies. Currently, Solar Splash is investigating getting ‘special deals’ with some hotels, and these will be reported on the website as they are arranged.
See the Splash website to see the location of Eastwood Park and Lake, the site of Solar Splash 2015. This will allow you to see where a particular hotel you may find is located relative to the Splash site.
Solar Splash Schedule of Major Events and Activities
An updated listing of the Splash major activities and events in terms of times and days can be found as Rule 10 in the Rule Book. All teams are expected to be aware of the stated times, places, and specific events and activities.