costs

assumptions

• Materials only = parts, fabric, piezo, frames, sensors — no assembly hours, no freight, no UL/CE, no install.
• One-off = retail / sample parts, no tooling amortization.
• Small batch = qty 10 / 50 / 100, shared jigs, mostly hand assembly.
• Assembly = $75/hr studio or $35/hr tech (not in materials tables).
• Shipping = US domestic ground; international air ~1.5–3× (not in materials tables).
• Excludes rent, insurance, UL/CE, install wages, permits, marketing, warranty.

materials only — planning mid (one-off)

Parts cost only. Jump to solar detail · resonance pump detail.

Materials only means: BOM line items. Add assembly, freight, safety certification, and install before any buyer quote. Where to buy them already: sourcing map ↓ · /locus/sourcing.json.

solar materials — one unit (one-off retail)

Low / mid / high. Mid is the planning number. Materials only.

Full solar stack materials (mid): ~$450–650 if the panel is shared, or ~$700–900 if every unit has its own PV. Add instruments ~$250 if you do not already own them.

mid BOM detail (one-off)

P0 — Match frequency ~$180

• 20–30 W mono module — $25–45
• Small MPPT with usable sense — $25–60
• Power resistor bank + heatsink — $15–35
• MCU logger + current sense + wiring — $20–40
• Enclosure, connectors, fuse — $15–30
• Optional 12 V battery — $20–50

P1 — Fibre green window ~$160

• PMMA fibre 10 m class — $20–80
• Collector head + collimator — $15–50
• Frosted diffuser + stand — $10–25
• Mounts, adhesives — $10–20
• Lux meter if bought only for this — $20–80

P2 — Envelope module ~$120

• Trays + acrylic barrier + sealed box — $25–50
• Two T/RH sensors + MCU — $15–35
• Shade moss + substrate + wicking — $15–40
• or green algae starter + shallow culture vessel (biomass battery) — $10–35
• Reservoir / micro-irrigation (moss) or air/CO₂ note (algae) — $10–25
• Optional OD / densitometer path for algae SoC — $15–80
• Gaskets, glands, desiccant — $5–15

P3 — Roof mock ~$450

• Frame + outdoor connectors + fuse — $60–120
• PV (can share design with P0) — $30–60
• Fibre drop + collector integration — $40–100
• Moss tray + dry bay — $80–150
• Logger harness + dual climate — $40–70
• Finish, strain relief, weather seal — $30–60

resonance pump (RP0) — materials only

Parts for membrane + frame + piezo + rectifier/store + logger. No assembly, freight, public-safety cert, or install. Mid is the planning number. Model at /field/resonance-pump · product /locus/products#rp0.

Lab bench pad — mid BOM ~$420 (materials only)

• Precision membrane / trampoline fabric + edge tape — $40–120
• Springs / elastomeric suspenders (tuned set) — $25–80
• Aluminum or steel mini-frame + ground feet — $40–100
• Piezo patches or discs × 8–24 (PZT / PVDF class) — $60–200
• Mount pads, epoxy, high-strain cable — $15–40
• Bridge rectifier + TVS + bulk cap / small supercap — $15–45
• Optional 12 V buffer cell — $20–50
• MCU logger + current/voltage sense — $25–55
• Strain or force sense (1–2 ch) — $20–60
• Hardware, glands, finish — $15–40

Plaza pad — mid BOM ~$2,800 (materials only)

• Commercial-grade mat panel(s) 4–9 m² — $400–1,200
• Hot-dip or powder frame + anchors (materials) — $350–900
• Piezo array × 40–120 elements — $400–1,400
• Weather junction boxes + cabling — $80–250
• Power electronics (rectify, MPPT-class scavenger optional) — $120–350
• Logger + multi-channel sense — $80–200
• Safety surface tape / edge guards (materials) — $40–150
• Fasteners, sealants, grounding hardware — $50–120

Court / large — mid BOM ~$9,500 (materials only)

• Modular mat system 25–50 m² — $2,000–6,000
• Structural steel / aluminum subframe — $1,500–4,000
• Piezo / stacked harvester density (scale with area) — $1,500–5,000
• Distributed electronics + trunk cabling — $600–1,800
• Site power cabinet materials (enclosures, DIN, breakers) — $300–800
• Instrumentation suite (load, strain, energy) — $250–700
• Edge safety / wear layers — $200–600

Dominates cost: piezo density and structural frame. Raise η or pad count → materials climb; detuned low-strain mats waste piezo spend. Ground anchors are materials + install — install labor is not in these numbers.

assembly labor

First unit slower. Hours = build + wire + smoke test, not a full measurement campaign.

Full stack first article: 20–35 h → roughly $700–1,200 tech or $1,500–2,600 studio.

shipping

• Parts inbound: $15–40 domestic typical.
• One unit out (US ground): P0/P1/P2 — $12–35; P3 framed — $40–90; RP0 lab pad — $25–60; RP0 plaza — freight/LTL $120–400.
• International air: ~1.5–3× domestic; duties extra.
• Pallet 20–50 P3-class: $150–450 domestic LTL ballpark.

production — materials / unit at volume

Materials only — no assembly.

NRE / soft tooling: $800–3,000; injection-molded family $5k–15k+.

rolled-up scenarios

A · First complete stack (prove the physics)

Materials + instruments + studio first article + parts shipping.
≈ $1,200 – 2,800 all-in to a measured bench stack.

B · One demo P3 building unit

P3 materials mid + 12–16 h studio + ship box.
≈ $1,400 – 2,200 one-off showpiece (not certified).

C · Small run of 50 P3-class units

Materials ~$260 + assembly ~$250 + pack/ship ~$40 + NRE amort ~$40–60.
≈ $550 – 700 / unit ex-works; fifty units ~$28k – 35k COGS-ish.

D · RP0 lab pad — materials only

Bench membrane + piezo chain mid BOM.
≈ $180 – 900 materials only (mid ~$420).

E · RP0 plaza pad — materials only

Public-scale pad materials mid BOM (no pour, no labor, no cert).
≈ $1,200 – 5,500 materials only (mid ~$2,800).

F · Path to install-class bids

Materials-only mid is the parts floor. Install, racking, permit, interconnection, and safety certification stack on top — commodity residential PV often lands near $2–5 / W installed all-in. Use C/E as BOM planning, then add site scope for grow fleets and resonance harvester public installs.

sourcing — already available

Every major BOM class is stock merchandise today. No exclusive supply deal required for a first prototype. Channels below already sell the part class — verify datasheet, stock, and lead time before purchase. Not endorsements; not price locks. Machine map: /locus/sourcing.json.

channels

BOM → where to buy now

first-order cart (example)

One path to a measured P0 + RP0 lab pad without custom supply contracts:

• Digi-Key or Mouser — logger MCU, current sense, T/RH, piezo discs, rectifiers, fuse, connectors.
• Renogy (or peer) — 20–30 W mono + small MPPT with readable input metrics.
• McMaster-Carr — enclosure, heatsink, springs, acrylic sheet, glands, fasteners.
• Industrial Fiber Optics / Thorlabs — PMMA fibre length + simple collimation path.
• Moss Acres or Mountain Moss + UTEX / Carolina — live layer organisms.
• Trampoline mat supplier — replacement mat + spring set for RP0 bench frame.
• Apogee or UNI-T class — irradiance / lux co-log.

What is not “already sourced”: a certified public playground product, UL-listed integrated P3 SKU, or exclusive piezo mat IP. Those need engineering, cert, and contracts. The materials for prototypes are on open catalogs now.

sensitivity

• Spectrometer for honest P1: +$200–800, or borrow.
• True pyranometer vs lux proxy: +$100–400.
• Aluminum vs plywood frame: P3 materials ±30%.
• Piezo density (RP0): doubles pad count ≈ +40–70% materials; only pays if mat is at match frequency.
• Membrane grade: commodity trampoline fabric vs engineered elastomer ±50% on mat line.
• Labor rate dominates first articles; materials dominate at volume.