http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page=article&id=002400415bc28a54010f97070b37006f4a&mode=newsWhen killer tornadoes destroyed the mobile home of Joe DeMar earlier this month, the Lake County man just managed to escape with his life. But in the hours after the storm, he faced another crisis: no electricity to power his nebulizer, an electric device that pumps oxygen and misted medication into his damaged lungs.
Before state or federal help arrived, Joe got a visit from Bill Young with UCF’s Florida Solar Energy Center asking if his solar-power generator could help him out.
The Photovoltaic, or PV, disaster trailer has a large, flat solar panel that charges several batteries during the day and is capable of delivering more than 2,500 watts of power over a 24-hour period. Over the past several years, the trailer has provided power for storm victims hit hard by severe weather and tornadoes from South Florida to Louisiana.
It provided enough power for DeMar’s nebulizer, a lamp and a radio. “It’s the perfect answer for special needs victims like Joe,” Young said. “If we had a gasoline or diesel generator here, the exhaust emissions from it would fill the air around his campsite and therefore impact his health. This solar system produces no emissions and it makes no noise so he can use it any time of the night without disturbing neighbors.”
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