Two benches, one platform

One of them stands on concrete. The other stands on something alive.

Almost everything is shared: the reclaimed array, the store, the two SIMs, the mesh radio, the moulded body made from hemp and pine. What changes is the ground underneath. In a town the bench sits on a sealed surface and serves a crowd, so it is built around throughput and street sensing. On a trail or an island road it sits on open ground with nobody coming to check on it, so it is built around reserve, soil sensing and a marker light that has to work in poor visibility. We would rather publish two honest designs than sell one bench and pretend it suits everywhere.

Deployment scope Grid relief model Trail and beacon detail

Variants of the same certified platform, not two products

Verified

£5

What we pay for a reclaimed module that a new one costs £78

Estimated

Soil measurements, on the Wayfarer only, because there is no soil under a paviour

Assumed

Urban array

Estimated

810 Wp

Two reclaimed modules, 2,560 Wh store

Wayfarer array

Estimated

1,215 Wp

Three modules, 5,120 Wh store, 45 per cent winter reserve

Shared subsystems

Verified

Array, store, comms, body

Two SIMs and one mesh radio in both

Groundworks

Verified

None, either variant

Anchor plate on slab, ballast or screw piles on ground

Choose the ground, not the badge

The surface underneath decides everything that differs.

Sealed surface

Canopei Urban

Charging at social density, a public Wi-Fi lane, the mesh street layer and seat-level light. It is used hardest between mid-morning and late evening, and it is never more than a few metres from a crowd.

Array: 810 Wp
Usable store: 2,560 Wh
Winter reserve: 20 per cent
Fixing: Sealed surface

Where it goes

High streets and town squaresTransport interchanges and bus stationsCampuses, hospitals and civic estatesHoliday parks and visitor attractionsSmart-city districts as they are built

What it adds

Public hotspot lane sized for ten concurrent devices
Occupancy and footfall counting for high-street vitality reporting
Higher socket count, because it serves queues rather than individuals

What it deliberately leaves out

Soil sensing. There is no soil under a paviour, so fitting a moisture probe would be theatre.
Deep winter reserve. A city bench is visited daily and can be topped up if a fault occurs.

Surface mounted to slab or paviour with a resin-anchored plate, anti-theft fixings, no excavation and no trench.

Estimated

Open ground

Canopei Wayfarer

An energy beacon first and furniture second. It keeps a phone, a head torch, a GPS unit, a satellite messenger or a walkie-talkie alive, holds a marker light through the dark hours and carries a message out on the mesh where no operator reaches.

Array: 1,215 Wp
Usable store: 5,120 Wh
Winter reserve: 45 per cent
Fixing: Open ground

Where it goes

Long-distance trails, ridgelines and summitsNational parks, forestry and estate tracksIsland roads and coastal pathsRemote villages with no reliable power or signalField camps and disaster-response staging points

What it adds

Soil head: moisture, temperature, electrical conductivity, pH and a frost-depth proxy
Marker light visible in poor visibility, held above public charging in the load priority
Double storage and a 45 per cent winter reserve, because nobody is coming to check on it
Heavier anchoring and a fully sealed enclosure rated for exposure

What it deliberately leaves out

Mains anything. There is no supply to fall back on, so the design cannot assume one.
High socket count. It serves people passing one or two at a time, not a queue.

Ballast tray or reversible screw piles. Nothing is poured, so the bench can be lifted and the ground left as it was found.

Estimated

Soil head, Wayfarer only

A fixed point on open ground, reporting every fifteen minutes, for as long as the sun keeps coming up.

Soil monitoring normally means a research probe someone drives out to service, or nothing at all. A Wayfarer is already there, already powered and already on the mesh, so the marginal cost of the measurement is a probe and a few milliwatts. It sits alongside the rainfall and sound sensing every bench carries, and it is attested the same way, so a park authority or an insurer can check a reading has not been edited after the fact.

Soil moisture

Reports: Volumetric water content, per cent, at 100 mm and 300 mm
Stated accuracy: Plus or minus 3 per cent after site calibration
Draw: 4 mW
Why it earns its place: Wildfire risk on heath and forestry, irrigation decisions on estate land, and the earliest ground signal before surface water arrives.

Soil temperature

Reports: Degrees C at two depths
Stated accuracy: Plus or minus 0.3 C
Draw: 1 mW
Why it earns its place: Growing-season start, frost persistence and path-surface freeze risk on a route people walk in winter.

Electrical conductivity

Reports: dS per m
Stated accuracy: Plus or minus 5 per cent
Draw: 3 mW
Why it earns its place: Salinity and run-off contamination, which matters on coastal paths and beside gritted roads.

Reports: pH units
Stated accuracy: Plus or minus 0.2 pH
Draw: 2 mW
Why it earns its place: Peatland and habitat condition monitoring, where a fixed point reporting quarter-hourly is rarer than it sounds.

Frost depth proxy

Reports: Depth of the freezing front, mm, inferred from the temperature pair
Stated accuracy: Indicative only
Draw: 0 mW
Why it earns its place: Free, because it is arithmetic on two readings already being taken, and it tells a ranger whether the ground will hold a vehicle.

Measurement	Reports	Stated accuracy	Draw	Why it earns its place
Soil moisture	Volumetric water content, per cent, at 100 mm and 300 mm	Plus or minus 3 per cent after site calibration	4 mW	Wildfire risk on heath and forestry, irrigation decisions on estate land, and the earliest ground signal before surface water arrives.
Soil temperature	Degrees C at two depths	Plus or minus 0.3 C	1 mW	Growing-season start, frost persistence and path-surface freeze risk on a route people walk in winter.
Electrical conductivity	dS per m	Plus or minus 5 per cent	3 mW	Salinity and run-off contamination, which matters on coastal paths and beside gritted roads.
pH	pH units	Plus or minus 0.2 pH	2 mW	Peatland and habitat condition monitoring, where a fixed point reporting quarter-hourly is rarer than it sounds.
Frost depth proxy	Depth of the freezing front, mm, inferred from the temperature pair	Indicative only	0 mW	Free, because it is arithmetic on two readings already being taken, and it tells a ranger whether the ground will hold a vehicle.

Assumed

What one bench costs to make

Fibre becomes pellets where it grows. The bench becomes a bench in Manchester.

Baling wet crop residue and shipping it is the expensive way to do this. Pelletising at origin, where the residue is already sitting in a field and the drying is free, turns it into dense dry cargo, and the grower is paid for something that was previously a disposal cost. Moulding and assembly stay here, which is what makes the Manchester jobs and social value claim real rather than a label. Move the sliders: the model is not hiding anywhere.

Assumptions

Pellet origin

Hemp. In discussion. Landed at £166 per tonne.

Freight sensitivity

1.00x

Annual volume

600 units

Selling price

£4,200

Factory cost

Estimated

£1,419

Canopei Urban, at 600 a year

Gross margin

Estimated

£2,781

66 per cent of price

Labour in Manchester

Estimated

£24

Assembly only, before moulding labour

Avoided by reclaiming panels

Estimated

£146

What the same array would add at new-module prices

Pellets, landed

Cost: £10
Share: 1 per cent
Basis: 62 kg of compound at £166 per tonne landed

Injection moulding, Manchester

Cost: £77
Share: 5 per cent
Basis: £1.24 per kg at 600 units a year

Reclaimed panels

Cost: £12
Share: 1 per cent
Basis: 2 modules at £5 each, adjusted for an 86 per cent test pass rate

Storage

Cost: £486
Share: 34 per cent
Basis: 2560 Wh usable at £0.19 per Wh

Frame and fixings

Cost: £186
Share: 13 per cent
Basis: Steel frame, anchoring, anti-theft fixings

Power electronics

Cost: £268
Share: 19 per cent
Basis: Charge controller, sockets, wiring, sealed enclosure

Connectivity module

Cost: £142
Share: 10 per cent
Basis: Two SIMs and the LoRa mesh radio

Sensor heads

Cost: £214
Share: 15 per cent
Basis: Street sensing head

Assembly labour

Cost: £24
Share: 2 per cent
Basis: 74 minutes at £19.4 per hour, fully loaded

Cost line	Cost	Share	Basis
Pellets, landed	£10	1 per cent	62 kg of compound at £166 per tonne landed
Injection moulding, Manchester	£77	5 per cent	£1.24 per kg at 600 units a year
Reclaimed panels	£12	1 per cent	2 modules at £5 each, adjusted for an 86 per cent test pass rate
Storage	£486	34 per cent	2560 Wh usable at £0.19 per Wh
Frame and fixings	£186	13 per cent	Steel frame, anchoring, anti-theft fixings
Power electronics	£268	19 per cent	Charge controller, sockets, wiring, sealed enclosure
Connectivity module	£142	10 per cent	Two SIMs and the LoRa mesh radio
Sensor heads	£214	15 per cent	Street sensing head
Assembly labour	£24	2 per cent	74 minutes at £19.4 per hour, fully loaded

Estimated

Landed pellet cost by origin

East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania

Feedstock: Hemp
Residue: we are paid £8
Process: £96
Freight: £78
Landed per tonne: £166
Status: In discussion

Southern Africa, Zambia and Malawi

Feedstock: Hemp
Residue: we are paid £6
Process: £104
Freight: £86
Landed per tonne: £184
Status: In discussion

West Africa, Ghana

Feedstock: Hemp or pine
Residue: we are paid £5
Process: £112
Freight: £71
Landed per tonne: £178
Status: Modelled

UK, Greater Manchester and the North West

Feedstock: Hemp or pine
Residue: we are paid £12
Process: £188
Freight: £14
Landed per tonne: £190
Status: Modelled

Origin	Feedstock	Residue	Process	Freight	Landed per tonne	Status
East Africa, Kenya and Tanzania	Hemp	we are paid £8	£96	£78	£166	In discussion
Southern Africa, Zambia and Malawi	Hemp	we are paid £6	£104	£86	£184	In discussion
West Africa, Ghana	Hemp or pine	we are paid £5	£112	£71	£178	Modelled
UK, Greater Manchester and the North West	Hemp or pine	we are paid £12	£188	£14	£190	Modelled

Hemp or pine, or both

Two feedstocks means a bad harvest changes the recipe, not the production schedule.

The compound is qualified across a blend range rather than at a single ratio, so hemp shiv and pine residue are interchangeable inside stated limits. Pine peaks in the felling and Christmas tree recovery months. Hemp peaks after harvest, and because we buy from both hemispheres the hemp window is wider than a UK-only supply would allow. The mechanical envelope the bench is certified against does not move with the mix.

Jan

35 hemp / 65 pine

Winter felling and sawmill residue at its peak

Feb

30 hemp / 70 pine

Pine leads while stored hemp is drawn down

Mar

35 hemp / 65 pine

Christmas tree recovery ends, pine stock still high

Apr

40 hemp / 60 pine

Blend evens out

May

45 hemp / 55 pine

Southern hemisphere hemp lands

Jun

50 hemp / 50 pine

Even blend, both streams available

Jul

60 hemp / 40 pine

African hemp processing at full rate

Aug

70 hemp / 30 pine

Hemp leads through the harvest window

Sep

75 hemp / 25 pine

UK hemp harvest adds to the imported stream

Oct

65 hemp / 35 pine

Hemp still strong, pine returning

Nov

50 hemp / 50 pine

Even blend as felling season opens

Dec

40 hemp / 60 pine

Pine leads again

Assumed

Where these two benches go next

The variant decides what a bench can do. Where you put them, and how many, decides what a place gets. That is the deployment model, and the honest version of the energy argument sits beside it.

Deployment scope What it takes off the grid Circular materials Manchester line