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[[File:pvspecs.png|thumbnail|300px|right|'''Figure 3''': Photovoltaic System Layout on Music Building Roof<ref name="Photovoltaic Project">Radecsky, Kristen, et al. “Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project.” Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Spring 2008. Humboldt State University. http://www.humboldt.edu/~heif/proposals/RESU_pv_old_music_spring_08.pdf</ref>]]
[[File:pvspecs.png|thumbnail|300px|right|'''Figure 3''': Photovoltaic System Layout on Music Building Roof<ref name="Photovoltaic Project">Radecsky, Kristen, et al. “Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project.” Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Spring 2008. Humboldt State University. http://www.humboldt.edu/~heif/proposals/RESU_pv_old_music_spring_08.pdf</ref>]]
===Construction & Installation===
===Construction & Installation===
After the project proposal was accepted in April 2008, construction occurred over the summer of 2009 and was completed in August. The installation phase of the project was overseen by Plant Operations at HSU.  Plant Operations hired a contractor, Scurfield Solar, who acted as a teacher for the hired student interns who also helped with installation.<ref name="Photovoltaic Project">Radecsky, Kristen, et al. “Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project.” Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Spring 2008. Humboldt State University. http://www.humboldt.edu/~heif/proposals/RESU_pv_old_music_spring_08.pdf</ref><br /><br />After the contractors and interns were selected, the materials were ordered, moved on-site, constructed and wired according to the aerial view of the system's layout illustrated in '''Figure 3'''.  As of August 15, 2009, the system has been up and running; the installation phase is complete and now the interpretation phase is ready to begin.<ref name="HSU Campus Sustainability Coordinator">Comet, Tall Chief. Humboldt State University Campus Sustainability Coordinator. Personal Interview. 21 October 2009. </ref>
After the project proposal was accepted in April 2008, construction occurred over the summer of 2009 and was completed in August. The installation phase of the project was overseen by Plant Operations at HSU.  Plant Operations hired a contractor, Scurfield Solar, who acted as a teacher for the hired student interns who also helped with installation.<ref name="Photovoltaic Project">Radecsky, Kristen, et al. “Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project.” Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Spring 2008. Humboldt State University. http://www.humboldt.edu/~heif/proposals/RESU_pv_old_music_spring_08.pdf</ref><br /><br />After the contractors and interns were selected, the materials were ordered, moved on-site, constructed and wired according to the aerial view of the system's layout illustrated in Figure 3.  As of August 15, 2009, the system has been up and running; the installation phase is complete and now the interpretation phase is ready to begin.<ref name="HSU Campus Sustainability Coordinator">Comet, Tall Chief. Humboldt State University Campus Sustainability Coordinator. Personal Interview. 21 October 2009. </ref>


===Obstacles===
===Obstacles===

Revision as of 21:23, 10 December 2009

Template:115inprogress

Figure 1: Installation of PV system on roof of old music building[1]

The photovoltaic system on top of the Music Building at Humboldt State University harnesses a renewable source of energy to generate electricity on campus, while providing students with a hands-on opportunity in PV installation (as seen in Figure 1) and increasing awareness of these systems.

Project Purpose

The Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project was one of the first projects of HEIF,[2] the Humboldt State University Energy Independence Fund. HEIF members Kristen Radecsky, Peter Johnstone, James Robinson, and Nathan Chase proposed the project with the primary purpose of the PV system being the generation of enough electricity to power the music building through a renewable energy source. The PV project offers fiscal benefits for HSU by providing an expected 365,000 kW*hr over its lifetime, which otherwise would have to be purchased from Pacific Gas & Electric. The generation of electricity in this fashion reduces overall emissions resulting from campus energy demand. The production of electricity through solar panels reduces demand on fossil-fueled energy producers, HEIF calculates that 214 tonnes of CO2 emissions will be prevented.[3]


The secondary purpose of the music building's PV system is education through installation and interpretation. The project provides educational experience to students through hands-on training and practice in the installation and operation of photovoltaic technology. The project's interpretation phase, which has yet to be completed, involves the creation and display of a mural on the backs of the music building's solar panels that will enhance the educational impact of the project by bringing attention to the panels and invoke student interpretation of photovoltaic systems. The project is meant to be educational not only to the students directly involved, but to all students by conveying and advocating the concept of sustainable energy.[3]

Funding & Costs

The entire project was funded by HEIF, the Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Funds are collected through HSU Associated Students' Instructional Related Activities Fee which contributes $10 per student per semester to HEIF. The HEIF committee was confident that the project successfully embodied HEIF's five goals, and that its fiscal, educational, and environmental benefits would outweigh the costs. Dr. Arne Jacobson, Associate Professor in HSU's ERE department, supported the HEIF project as an adviser during grant administration by RESU (Renewable Energy Student Union) and the proposal was approved in April 2007.[2]

In the music building PV system project proposal, there were three different sized systems proposed: a 3.5 KW, a 5.3 KW, and a 10.5 KW system. The largest system was chosen (10.5 KW), and accounting for all of the components of the system, installation and equipment, wages for labor, interpretive art materials and installation, and taxing and shipping costs, the requested initial cost of the project was $95,943. This figure does not account for the additional $28,754 in projected future costs for continuing maintenance and equipment replacement on the system. The energy cost per unit from the initial cost is $.34 per kW*hr,[2] presented in Table 1 with a summary of costs and potential energy production. The system's estimated energy generation over twenty-five years (25 year warranty on panels)valued at $62,000. The data table below presents the system's general costs and projected benefits. As of 12/11/2009 there is no available data regarding either building energy demand or actual electrical generation.

Table 1: Summary of Costs and Potential Energy Production
Solar Panel Expense Expected Electrical Output Over Lifetime Total Cost Per Unit
Capital Investment--$95,943.00 Warranty on Panels--25 years Total Lifetime Costs--$124,697.00
Projected Future Costs--$28,754.00 Estimated Average Daily Output--40kW*hr Total Lifetime Output--365,000kW*hr
Total--$124,697.00 Total Output Under Warranty--365,000kW*hr Cost Per Kilowatt Hour--$.34kW*hr

Location

Location is paramount when planning the installation of a PV System, the efficiency of solar panels vary significantly among different settings and solar panels out of sight do not promote attention. The music building showed to be the most logical choice and was the only building suggested in the final proposal for the following reasons:

  • The music building's roof is completely flat, allowing safe installation for contractors and student interns.
  • A "Solar Pathfinder" was used to calculate the solar window of the music building, and it showed the building offered maximum sun exposure and little shading from other buildings or trees.
  • Music Building A has great visibility being centrally located on the HSU campus. All students are able to see the efforts of construction, beautification, and maintenance, connecting more students to the project and strengthening HEIF's public outreach efforts by raising awareness.


The only hesitation in deciding to build the PV system on top of the music building was because the music building was constructed to be a "temporary" building. However, the building has been standing for over 45 years, there have been no plans for demolition and will not be for at least a decade. So the music building was chosen for the site of the project and stands there today. If something does happen to the "temporary" building in the future, all components of the system are designed to be relocated to a different site on campus.[3]

Components

The 10.5 KW photovoltaic system is composed of 72 solar panels, an inverter, a breaker box, and an output monitoring system. Figure 2, below, depicts these components schematically.[2]

Figure 2: The Solar Panels DC current is converted to AC current in the Inverter, then sent into the grid; the inverter also sends data to the Sunny Web Box for monitoring[2]

Solar Panels

The 72 Evergreen Solar A-Series Photovoltaic Panels are aligned in six rows of twelve. The panels are mounted on Unirac tilted racks on the music building's roof. These panels generate electricity in the form of Direct Current. This current is transported via cable to the inverter.

Inverter

The Sunny Boy inverter converts the direct current produced by the panels into Alternating Current. The process of converting DC power to AC is required in order to use to electricity within the music building's electrical system.

Breaker Box

The AC current travels to a breaker box where it ties into the music buildings electrical system. Tying the photovoltaic system into the buildings electrical system enables produced electricity to be utilized by the building, as well as creating a pathway to the grid. If the generated electricity is greater than the old music building's electrical demand, the excess electricity is provided to the campus-wide grid and is utilized elsewhere within the university.

Web Box

The system is hooked up to a SMA Sunny Portal Web Box which displays the amount of energy being generated by the system at a certain time. In the future, the Web Box will be programmed to an external router which puts the past and present data from the PV system on the internet www.SunnyPortal.com.


All components are able to be relocated if the system needs to be moved to a different building in the future.[2]

Implementation

Figure 3: Photovoltaic System Layout on Music Building Roof[2]

Construction & Installation

After the project proposal was accepted in April 2008, construction occurred over the summer of 2009 and was completed in August. The installation phase of the project was overseen by Plant Operations at HSU. Plant Operations hired a contractor, Scurfield Solar, who acted as a teacher for the hired student interns who also helped with installation.[2]

After the contractors and interns were selected, the materials were ordered, moved on-site, constructed and wired according to the aerial view of the system's layout illustrated in Figure 3. As of August 15, 2009, the system has been up and running; the installation phase is complete and now the interpretation phase is ready to begin.[3]

Obstacles

Installation did encounter a few obstacles, but the project was able to be completed successfully. There were apprehensions about paper contracts with student interns and allocation of responsibility, but the situation was resolved so that the contractors and student interns were able to work together effectively, and the students were able to get real hands-on instruction and experience through the project[3].

The project is located on a building where people learn music, but it is not practical to have loud construction going on when musical instruction is taking place. Construction time had to be scheduled according to instruction time.

Minor roof modifications were required to support the panels as well as the electrical wiring. There were also complications with wiring the PV panels to the building. The old electrical panel for the music building needed an updated breaker because the circuit breaker within the building must be the manufactured by the same company as those who produce the panels. The contractors were required to install a new, updated circuit breaker. [3]

References

  1. Humboldt State Now. "Student Project Adds Green Energy to Campus." Humboldt State University: Marketing & Communications. 21 August 2009. http://now.humboldt.edu/news/student-project-adds-green-energy-to-campus/
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 2.6 2.7 Radecsky, Kristen, et al. “Old Music Building Photovoltaic Project.” Humboldt Energy Independence Fund. Spring 2008. Humboldt State University. http://www.humboldt.edu/~heif/proposals/RESU_pv_old_music_spring_08.pdf
  3. 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 3.5 Comet, Tall Chief. Humboldt State University Campus Sustainability Coordinator. Personal Interview. 21 October 2009.

Beth's Comments

  • L1 - can you get an image into the first window? Check out C-12 for other ideas.
  • I would start with the purpose of your page, rather than tell people what a PV system is.
  • Please review the HEIF goals and rewrite the bullets. You have misrepresented the first goal by using the word "missions"
  • The student authors of the proposal were two graduate students and two undergraduate students that are/were all affiliated with the ERE department
  • Your writing generally reads easily
  • Be sure to read through all the codes.
  • Be sure to review C2 and C5
  • In your purpose and history paragraph you start with one purpose of the system, but later in the same paragraph list a different purpose of the system.. which is it (reduce env. impact.... or generate enough electricity for the music building).
  • Check for spelling errors... Especially in table captions. Be sure to number tables and refer to them in your text.
  • Your section "Funding" really discusses "costs"
  • Your topic sentence under location could list WHY it was the most logical location, then the rest of your paragraph could support that topic sentence.
  • The paragraph under "Location" should be edited to carefully consider transition between ideas within the paragraph. You might decide to break up the paragraph.
  • Components - This section could start with a setence that lists the main components and refers to the figure. Then, you can go into details about the components. I like the figure bigger, but perhaps you can ask Lonny what he prefers.
  • Do you have an estimate of the music building's demand? I bet the value exists.... You could ask the HEIF folks. It would be interesting to have this value and compare to the anticipated generation.
  • Avoid / in headings
  • Edit the sentence starting with "There was some apprehension..." to avoid words listed in W1. Also avoid "roadblocks". This paragraph needs to be broken up into smaller paragraphs.
  • Are you require to have internal and external links listed separately?
  • check your citation style (C9). I also think there is an Appropedia reference tool you are not using, that you could be using.
  • It looks like Dan is doing most of the editing?

Overall, your page is a strong draft. Be sure to address the concerns above. Let me know if you have questions.

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