Vanessa Lauren will be responsible for updating the boat’s electrical system for the Solar Splash 2020 Competition.

A number of issues occurred during the 2019 competition that affected the boat’s performance and thus the team’s success. Battery performance, however, was the main culprit. The boat was being powered by UPS deep cycle batteries which are not ideal when powering boats. Additionally, the Maximum Power Point Tracker (MPPT) malfunctioned, resulting in the team being unable to track power consumption of the batteries. In hopes to avoid these issues during the 2020 competition, the team will be using Odyssey PC625 batteries measuring in at 12V, 17Ah, and 220 CCA. Rather than one MPPT, the team will be using two, in hopes to avoid another burnout. A new schematic for both sprint and endurance configurations will be created, in hopes to simplify the design and create a more efficient system. Simple changes will also be done, such as designing new panel layouts, adding quick disconnects, and a new panel cover.