| Solar Technology Successes
in Schools |
| Welcome students, teachers and administrators!
We’ve put together a sampling of solar schools across
the nation to give you confidence that your school can
generate clean energy from the sun while raising energy
efficiency and environmental awareness in your community. |
| Remember, there are two
ways to use solar energy: |
| 1 |
Solar Thermal
– most commonly used for solar water heating, these
systems use the sun's energy to heat water for use in
the school |
| 2 |
Solar Photovoltaic –
usually referred to as “PV,” these systems
change the sun’s rays into electricity that will
flow right into your existing electrical system |
| |
|
| Schools have a few big
reasons to go solar… |
| 1 |
Solar power displays can be incorporated into the curriculum
in physics, chemistry, biology, social studies and more |
| 2 |
Students witness that it’s responsible to pursue
energy sources that are renewable and domestic for the
sake of the environment and the nation |
| 3 |
Solar hot water systems can lighten some of the hefty
water heating bills that schools bear when they have to
power giant water boilers |
| 4 |
A smaller, less expensive solar electricity display
can serve as a teaching tool while it offsets the cost
of power |
| |
|
| |
|
| K-12 Solar Success Stories |
Credit: US Department of Energy Million Solar
Roofs Initiative |
| R.D.
& Euzelle P. Smith Middle School –
Chapel Hill, NC
|
| • |
256 square feet of solar hot water collectors |
| • |
2,000 Watt (2kW) solar photovoltaic system |
| • |
Solar hot water system preheats the water
that will be used to wash dishes in the cafeteria,
providing one-third of the school’s
total hot water needs |
|
| • |
The photovoltaic system is visibly mounted
above the bus stop, generating electricity
for batteries that light the bus canopy at
night |
| • |
Smith Middle School’s strategy also
included an energy-efficient renovation with
an emphasis on ‘daylighting.’
This renovation paid for itself in 3 years
through savings on energy bills! |
|
|
|
 |
| Ogelthorpe
County High School – Lexington, GA |
| • |
The first project in the Georgia Solar Schools
Program |
| • |
Initiated with strong support from students
and teachers as well as outside environmental
and solar groups |
| • |
1.5 kilowatt pole-mounted Kyocera PV panels
are highly visible on campus |
| • |
The system is linked with software that
constantly tracks its electrical output |
| • |
PV panels and related software are integrated
into the curriculum |
| |
|
| |
Photo credit: Tim Blackwell,
One World Sustainable Energy Corporation |
|
|
| • |
Curriculum development and support provided by the Florida
Solar Energy Center and the Georgia Solar Schools Program |
| • |
·Funding provided by the state’s energy
office, Georgia Environmental Facilities Authority |
|
 |
| Woodward Academy
- Atlanta, GA |
| • |
The second project in the Georgia Solar
Schools Program |
| • |
Initiated with strong support from students
and teachers as well as outside environmental
and solar groups |
| • |
1.8 kilowatt pole-mounted PV panels are
located in what will become a "solar
park" for the school |
| • |
The system is linked with software that
constantly tracks its electrical output |
| • |
PV panels and related software are integrated
into the curriculum |
| • |
Curriculum development and support provided
by the Florida Solar Energy Center and the
Georgia Solar Schools Program |
| |
Photo credit: Tim Blackwell,
One World Sustainable Energy Corporation |
|
|
|
 |
| Terry
Parker High School – Jacksonville, FL
|
| • |
Installed in 1999, this school’s
PV system can generate 4kW |
| • |
A “solar classroom”
is possible because the system can handle
all the loads of one room |
| • |
Funding provided through the
Solar Education Project, an initiative of
the local utility, Jacksonville Electric Authority |
|
|
|
| 
Credit: Bend-La Pine Public
Schools, www.bend.k12.or.us/ |
| Oregon
Solar Schools -- Even in the cloudy
Pacific northwest, schools are having success
with solar |
| • |
Bend-La Pine Middle School is
partnering with the University of Oregon to
incorporate a 5kW photovoltaic system on its
roof. The local utility, Pacific Power, pays
customers to generate solar power. |
| • |
Montessori School of Beaverton,
just outside of Portland, is set to install
a 6kW photovoltaic system on its roof. The
system will be integrated into the curriculum,
and the school will conduct community tours
to demonstrate the viability of solar in Oregon. |
| • |
Mosier Community School will
have a special PV system. Totaling 4.4kW,
the system will be pole-mounted and capable
of tracking the sun through its course in
the sky to boost efficiency. |
|
|
|
| Bayonne, New
Jersey |
| • |
The Bayonne Board of Education received
$11.9 million worth of solar equipment and installation
credits through the state’s Clean Energy Program. |
| • |
Almost 10,000 solar panels will be installed
on nine schools in the city of Bayonne, giving all K-12
students an opportunity for hands-on experience with solar |
| • |
Collectively the panels will be able to
generate a peak power of 1.8 megawatts, or, enough to
power a thousand small homes! |
| • |
With lifetimes of 30 years plus, the panels
will actually extend the lives of the existing roofs |
|
 |
Schools Going Solar Case Study |
|
Solar curriculum materials and links for students and teachers |
|
Click here to see Florida Solar Energy Center’s
SunSmart Schools webpage. www.sunsmart.org/ |
|
Click here www.fsec.ucf.edu/pvt/Projects/pvforschools/
for a database of solar schools in Florida. |
|
Click here www.solarschools.org
to see the Interstate Renewable Energy Council’s
extensive website about solar schools. |
