Mezzacello Age of Steel Part 4
The Hornbeam Allee with the solar generation and recharging pergolas in place. The Narnia Pavilion is at the back with the chandelier.
This is part four of a multi-part detailing of Mezzacello Urban Farm's transition from wood to steel in its infratsructure. This is the hornbeam allee after we finished installing the steel pergolas and lights. What you don’t see is the flexible solar panels or the infrastructure like batteries, wires, or USB Charging ststions that are housed in the bases and the poles of each pergola, You also don’t see the grass yet!
The Hidden Garden
This is the North South Axis Zone Map of Mezzacello. We are looking at the dark green zone, The Hornbeam Allee.
The Hornbeam Allee lies at the heart of Mezzacello Urban Farm. It is a stand of 32 4m (16’) tall Hornbeam trees planted in a row with a 3.5 m (12’) allee between them. The back is closed by four more trees and the Narnia Fountain and there are two arched entrances to the east and west.
Traditionally, this is the coolest, shadiest and most private spot in our gardens. It is also where I teach summer camp programs and workshops. We decided to add lights to it last year, and this year we added a steel pavilion and a concrete pad at the Narnia Fountain and three arched steel pergolas in the allee.
We attached the lights to the pergolas to make hanging the lights easier. But we have other plans for those pergolas. It involves power and rain.
Rain or Shine!
At Mezzacello, we love rain — it’s free water! But kids are like cats or people from Los Angeles. They both freak out when it rains. One summer camp in 2021, I had twelve kids at camp. It rained just before lunch, and after lunch, I had two kids. All the rest called their parents to “save” them from the rain.
One of the features of the Hornbeam Allee Pergolas is the fact that waterproof vinyl roman shades can be pulled across them in the event of rain. I have also designed flaps made of 20mil plastic that will firmly connect to the arches and extend between the pergolas. These tarps will capture and concentrate water that is flowing from the pergolas and feature a one way valve and hose that will allow me to capture and store some of the water that falls on the pergolas.
Recapturing rainwater, but not all rainwater, is more sustainable. This is free water that can be used to water animals or create products here at Mezzacello. But the other 100s of organisms in these ecosystems also need this water, so we don’t want to capture it all.
Let The Sun Shine In!
The other benefit of the pergolas has to do with energy production and distribution. The arched tops of the pergola structures are perfect for laying flexible solar panels atop to capture sunlight as it passes above the Hornbeam hedge. The pergolas will lift the panels high enough that they will evade the shade of the Hornbeams for - in theory - multiple hours.
It remains to be seen if the glorious London Plane Sycamore tree here at Mezzacello Urban Farm will squash my dreams. But I know for certain that the last pergola will receive full sunlight all through the morning and afternoon in spring and summer solar elevantion angle is complementary, so we can just concentrate the lightweight and effective 130W panels there. But the real magic lies in the posts of the pergolas!
Tapping Into That Potential
A diagram that shows the pergola with the solar panels, wiring, USB chargers and inverter and battery base.
The posts of the three pergolas will contain wiring that will tie the solar panels to a charge controller housed in the posts. The batteries are encased and waterproofed in the base cans and tied into the charge controllers. Finally there is a snap-in 1.5A and 3A USB charging port that will allow visitors to charge their mobile devices or laptops.
The solar panels, batteries and charge controllers will also power the lights on the pergola. Each lighting strand runs on 1.5A and 9V. The LED lights were specifically chosen for their waterproof aspects and very efficient running power requirements. They are low wattage but they put out a lot of light,
This lighting system will allow Mezzacello Urban Farm to extend our programming well into the evening. We can also rent the space for events and offer safety and warm glow in the formal gardens of Mezzacello. And it will cost you nothing but a sunny day - or even a windy day.
