Our MATLAB team has been working away at creating a model that allows us to find the payback period for a fully solar model. We have also been researching how fuel cells work so that we can properly model the fuel cell component of the system. Fuel cells are complicated and only one of our teammates has taken the fuel cell class. So this is a large task. We have determined how much money we can save by not utilizing the grid, based off of how much renewable energy we integrate.

Our solar array team has been busy working out various designs and material options. After speaking with a structures professor, we learned some ways to make our solar structure better. Though there was great advice concerning our strut system we designed, we have been recently considering purchasing commercially available systems as well due to cost concerns. We also considered a hybrid of a commercial and self-built system where we use commercial parts mixed with extruded aluminum cut into specific lengths to fit our needs. We need to meet with Professor Brouwer to analyze our options. Further cost analysis is needed.

The fuel cell itself is still undergoing repairs; the air system is currently being dissected to isolate the problem. Once we solve these air system issues, we will be able to run the fuel cell in short order. We are also preparing to purchase a water pump for our cooling system, which is the only ancillary component we still need to finalize.