Continue developing solar project

HW:

I had a couple of ideas in mind, here’s some:

• Audio sunshine: a shirt has sporadic small solar panels and buzzers attached.
• Cool you down: a solar powered mini fan that cools you down in hot summer days.
• A sunshine clock: 10-15 mins per day for a healthy life style. (Chosen for now)

I’ve tested solar panel under the sun with a brushless DC fan, I can feel the breeze but not close from cooling me down:

Fan powered by solar panel.

Fan powered by solar panel.

According to the American Cancer Society, skin cancer is the most common type of cancer in the United States, and exposure to UV radiation is a major risk factor for the disease. So how long should one be exposed under the sun per day?

Our bodies produce vitamin D when exposed to sunlight—about 10-15 minutes in the sun a day is adequate if you're fair skinned. And since Vitamin D helps your body maintain calcium and prevents brittle, thin, or misshapen bones, soaking in sun may be just what the doctor ordered.

Thus, I set a 10-minute countdown and visualize the passing time with an abstract (sketchy because Uno has lamentable rooms of buffer) plant growing taller as each minute goes by.

Why e-paper? Because this 4.2in display consumes minimum electrics (almost none when at sleep) and remains high-contrast even under dazzling sunlight at noon.

Arduino set up:

• The screen refreshes every 10 sec to prevent glitches.
• Beside the ‘Plant’ is the actual counting in secs.