STATHS to get renewable‑energy lab by September

Procurement is under way for a renewable-energy laboratory at St Andrew Technical High School (STATHS), with construction scheduled for the summer holidays and commissioning expected in September.

The facility will introduce students to solar technology, battery systems and wind energy, giving them practical exposure to renewable-energy solutions.

“Using that lab, they will learn how to install solar technology systems, how to monitor them, how to fix them and even look at other systems too, because it could be wind-based or other types of renewable energy solutions,” said Minister of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, Senator Dr Dana Morris Dixon.

She was speaking during an alumni engagement visit to STATHS last Tuesday, held to mark the institution’s 65th anniversary under the theme “Inspiring Change: Reshape, Realign, Refocus”.

Innovation was also on display from students. Grade 11 students Nathaniel Hurge and Cameron Pinnock presented STATHS Autopeck, an automated chicken-feeding system developed with two other classmates.

“Teachers are not able to monitor or find monitoring the chick-feeding process overnight a hassle. So, we came up with a design, an automated chicken feeder to tackle this problem,” Hurge said.

He explained that the device uses two reduction motors for power and three 3D-printed spiral screws – arranged clockwise, anticlockwise and centrally – to control the downward movement of feed.

“This device also comes with a timer module which you can set for how long you want it to feed and the time intervals in which the machine runs for,” he said.

The 16-year-old added that a weighted sensor prevents overfeeding. If excessive feed remains in the basins because the chicks are not eating as expected, the machine shuts off automatically once the weight threshold is reached.

“This device is not the first of its kind. This is just our specific design, and for future innovations we plan to programme an app to this device so that you can monitor it from anywhere,” Hurge said.

Pinnock noted that the project integrated several industrial disciplines, including electrical engineering, building construction, plumbing and visual arts. Built over two weeks, the system incorporates reduction motors, a DC outlet, a five-gallon bottle, pipes and a switch.

“It was a task but we got through… . Our next plan is to add a solar system to this so that it doesn’t have to use electrical energy all the time,” he said.