Ethan Cadaoas

You Have the Power Project: Proof of Efficacy Document

My device is a lemon battery that is hooked up to power a Google Home Mini system. It

uses lemon batteries to turn chemical energy from lemons, to usable electrical energy to power

the Google Home system. The Google Home system is a virtual home assistant that uses

electrical energy to assist its users with digital feedback. Some of the energy outputs that it is

capable of are sound energy for auditory feedback, light energy for limited visual feedback, and

electromagnetic energy for Wifi and bluetooth connections. The Google Home system runs on a

5V, 1.8A power adapter that plugs into the wall. The lemon batteries are designed to deliver the

same power, but without an outlet adapter.

The lemon battery starts with a copper and zinc strip, inserted into the lemon. The copper

has a tendency to collect electrons while the zinc has a tendency to get rid of electrons. Because

the two materials are connected by the lemon, electrons flow from the zinc to copper, thus

resulting in an electric current. This electric current is harnessed to power the Google Home

system. The batteries are connected all in series which is connected to a Micro-USB dongle, to

connect to the Google Home system.

Because the system runs on a 5V, 1.8A adapter, figuring out how to provide that power

became the main focus. Each lemon battery roughly has an average voltage of 0.875V, meaning

to get to the required 5V, I would need around 5 to 6 lemons, depending on the voltage of the

individual battery. However, getting the correct current posed a difficult challenge. Due to

previous labs and experimentation, I found out that the current output of the lemon batteries are

not to the levels needed to power the system. This is most likely due to the higher resistance of

the materials used during the lab. So, in order to solve this, I decided to change up the wire

gauge. Changing the wire gauge changes the amount current allowed through the wire. Finding a
wire that allows just enough current for the system. By using Ohm’s law, I figured out that I

would need a wire that needed 2.78 ohms. With this, I calculated the wire gauge needed, and

figured out that I could use a 37 gauge, solid copper wire, with a length of 1.7 meters. This

allowed me to run a 1.8A current through the system.