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One of the biggest advantages of automatic weather stations equipped with cellular modems is the low maintenance required to keep them running. Making regular visits to TAHMO stations in remote areas represents a significant cost to the project, so any efforts to increase the stations’ autonomy save both time and money.

TAHMO weather stations use very little power – 5 AA-size batteries typically provide enough power for 6 to 9 months of operation – but batteries must eventually be replaced by a member of the trained field staff. As you might imagine, solar power is a terrific option throughout many parts of sunny Sub-Saharan Africa, and many scientific-grade weather stations use medium-sized solar panels and NiCad batteries to provide their power, but solar panel theft can be a problem in areas not connected to the power grid.

This year, Jon Viducich built low-profile solar chargers for TAHMO stations currently deployed in several East and West African countries. The chargers are based on a very small, high-efficiency panel measuring just 42 mm x 35 mm (1.65 in x 1.38 in), and include electrical components which prevent overcharging and limit power losses during the night. Each charger uses either one or two panels, depending on the number of times per day the station will report its data, and the electrical components are encapsulated in a transparent silicone material and protected by a UV-resistant polycarbonate box. The final product is quite small, reducing its visibility, and installation takes just a few minutes.

TAHMO has worked closely with Decagon on the design of a new weather station prototype, set to debut in 2015, which will include an integrated, low-profile solar panel. In the meantime, though, these small solar panels provide the power we need to keep the stations running, even in the harshest of environments.

TAHMO Team members doing some observation tests on the proposed site

TAHMO OAU is a subgroup of the TAHMO Nigeria group which met earlier this year in August at FUTA, Akure. The Obafemi Awolowo University (OAU), Nigeria’s most prestigious campus sits on a vast 11,861 hectares of land, most of which remains untapped and undeveloped. Armed with a very positive experience from the August workshop, the TAHMO OAU subgroup has sought to make its impact on the OAU campus which they believe is extremely important in achieving the TAHMO dream of 20,000 weather stations across sub-Saharan Africa.

This was first done with a presentation at the innovation dinner held at Kriscourt Hotel as part of the events marking TEDXIFE 2014. The presentation was well received and required steps are being taken to solidify the openings that emerged.

Currently, a super low-cost but efficient weather station is being set up and will be replicated based on the TAHMO pattern per sq. km throughout the campus area. The group has also developed a relationship with the OAU-met atmospheric group (headed by Prof. O.O. Jegede of Atmospheric Physics). He has gladly offered the group support such as testing and calibrating sensors with the standardized ones of the OAU-Met weather & research station (http://meteorology.oauife.edu.ng/).

The group seeks to use innovative ways to solve the most challenging of weather data problems and is currently partnering with the Life and Fitness cycling club for bicycle access in order to ease access to various locations, ZIWAS (Which is into Waste Management and Maximization), etc.

TAHMO’s new sister schools program helps connect African schools with North American/European schools and will allow students and teachers to monitor and compare their local weather and climates. The first American sister schools station was recently installed in Boise, Idaho, and will be paired with its sister school station in Koyoo, Kenya.

The published story is available here:

Boise students set up a weather station at school, to help kids in Africa

by Rick Lantz
KTVB.COM
Posted on April 24, 2014, at 6:25 PM

BOISE — We often have students visit the KTVB studio and ask our meteorologists how they track the weather. It is one of the most fun and interesting parts of the job. We understand that students at East Junior High School in Boise are taking learning about weather to another level.
Not only are the students actively participating by building their own weather station, but this program will also help with hunger.
It is part of a dream that was envisioned at the beginning of the school year and is finally coming true.
“I am pretty excited,” said student Bing Ho.
“I like math and science so this is very interesting to me,” said student Danielle Moro.
“Actually seeing how the weather was at different times, that’s pretty cool,” said student Megan Byres.
We are talking about a professional weather station capable of recording real-time weather. The students are putting the station together on the school’s roof and connected this station to a computer to record all of the information.
Pam Aishlin is a geologist volunteering on the project, with help from the Geoscience program at Boise State University. She’s teaming up on the international project with a group called TAHMO, a non-profit organization that is putting in weather stations across Africa.
“To help with climate modeling for the region, as well as to help local farmers. The area very much needs more weather data,” said Aishlin.
Better weather observations for areas of Africa means better farming to feed the African people. She chose East Junior High and is teaming the school up with a sister school in Africa known as Coyu.
“The sister schools, going forward, will do fundraising to support,” said Aishlin. “for example, East will do fundraising to support Coyu. right now Coyu has its weather station, but they need a fence around the weather station, so East will fundraise to get that provided for their sister school.”
This is only the beginning.
“East Junior High is the first experimental school in the U.S./European side of the equation,” said Aishlin. “They aim to put in thousands of weather stations across Africa, many of them being at schools because it also provides the educational component for the children.”
Boise’s River Glen Junior High School will be the next school. They’ll set up a weather station and also be a sister school to Africa. So far, how are the children doing in this volunteer effort?
“They are excited. For students to show up two days a week after school, on their own time, volunteering their time, to learn how to build a station, how to program it, they’re very excited,” said Aishlin. “They’re even more excited about the African sister-school component. They’re excited about having connections globally.”
School Principal David Geene agrees.
“I think the key component is it brings East Junior High and this local community on the weather track to the rest of the world and it connects them to that weather pattern worldwide,” said Greene.
East Junior High deserves a big pat on the back for being the first to build an educational weather station to provide local weather and to team up with a school in Africa for such a worthy cause. It is a very good dream.

Photo credit: Adam Worthington/KTVB