System that provides shade for agricultural environments
AssigneeStrategic Solar Energy, LLC
InventorThomas Headley
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Abstract
Systems that provide shade for agricultural environments are disclosed, including a shade system. The shade system provides a predicted amount of shade and sunshine to an area covered by the shade system. The shade system includes a plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures, wherein each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has a long side and a short side, the shade structures grouped together, oriented and aligned such that each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has long sides generally oriented north to south and each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has short sides generally oriented east to west.
Claims20
A shade system that provides a predicted amount of shade and sunshine to an area covered by the shade system, comprising:
- a plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures, wherein each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has a long side and a short side, the shade structures grouped together, oriented and aligned such that each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has long sides generally oriented north to south and each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has short sides generally oriented east to west.
A method of providing a known amount of shade and sunshine to land or water, the method comprising:
- determining a desired height and a desired width of a plurality of shade canopies;
- determining a desired length of the plurality of shade canopies, such that a length is greater than a width of the plurality of shade canopies;
- determining a desired separation between each shade canopy;
- constructing more than one structure over the land or water, each structure holding one or more of the plurality of shade canopies of desired dimensions and each structure separated from its neighbor by the desired separation;
- and
- constructing the more than one structure so that long sides of the plurality of shade canopies are oriented north to south and the short side of the plurality of shade canopies are oriented east to west, wherein one or more of the plurality of shade canopies include one or more solar panels.
A microgrid energy system comprising:
- at least one of solar panels, an energy storage system, a generator and a control system, wherein a solar energy portion of the microgrid energy system comprises a group of elevated structures covering land or water where plants or animals are raised, each supporting one or more solar energy shade canopies, the longer side of each solar shade canopy being oriented from north to south and the shorter side of each solar shade canopy being oriented from east to west, wherein each solar shade canopy has a height dimension, a width dimension and a distance of separation dimension from the solar shade canopy's neighboring canopy to the east or west, and those dimensions are predetermined to work together to provide a desired location and desired ratio of sunshine and shade to an area covered by the microgrid energy system.
A shade system that provides a predicted amount of shade and sunshine to an area covered by the shade system, comprising:
- a plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures, wherein each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures is a “solar table”, including a first solar table, wherein each shade structure has a long side and a short side, wherein the shade structures are grouped together but do not touch, oriented and aligned such that each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has long sides generally oriented north to south and each shade structure of the plurality of elevated rectilinear shade structures has short sides generally oriented east to west.
Dependencies are inferred from the claim text.