175 Watt Solar Panel

South Meck High unveils new 'eco lab'

When school systems are more strapped for cash than ever, sometimes it takes a public-private partnership to bring new, unique learning opportunities to the classroom. South Mecklenburg High will testify to that. Over the weekend, students, teachers, parents and community volunteers gathered at the school's courtyard to install Charlotte-Mecklenburg Schools' first Eco-Learning Lab - thought to be the first of its kind in the nation - where students will study firsthand some of the latest advances in the green industry. The lab will include elevated green roofs, a greenhouse, a water-catchment system and an array of solar panels, all connected to a digital monitoring system anyone can access online at all times. The idea was the brain-child of Tim Munson, the director of business development and environmental solutions for Tecta America Carolinas, a branch of the national commercial roofing company. Some of Munson's recent projects have been installing green roofs on top of Discovery Place and the Federal Reserve building uptown, as well as adding solar panels to the U.S. Whitewater Center. Munson first became interested in taking his expertise to the schools after he met one of CMS's regional property managers, Todd Sherrill, and discussed ways to turn their buildings more green. The wheels really started turning about a year and a half ago, when South Mecklenburg chemistry and Advanced Placement environmental studies teacher Diana Shell connected one of her students with Munson, whom she'd met at an environmental workshop. Shell's student, Yaw Amansoh, (now a freshman at UNC Asheville), wanted to research renewable energy for his senior exit project. As he mentored Amansoh, Munson's idea for the eco-learning lab was born. There are seven solar panels in a structure facing the sky, and nearby there is a group of four free-standing green roofs (similar to raised flower beds). An elevated greenhouse with a sliding glass door sits on one of the green roofs, and the water-catchment system is situated in between the roofs. Rather than have students simply study how much energy a set of uniform solar panels produce - a cool experiment unto itself, says Shell - South Mecklenburg students will be able to compare seven different solar modules, ranging from 175 to 230 watts, each comprised of different materials. Arguably the most 21st-century aspect of the project is the wireless data monitoring system. By visiting www.ecolearninglab.com , students and community members will be able to monitor the lab in real time, 24 hours a day. They'll be able to track how much power is produced by each individual solar panel, see which modules are woken up by the sun first and find out which are most impacted by the outdoor temperature. They'll be able to monitor carbon dioxide and oxygen levels in the greenhouse as plants undergo photosynthesis. The elevated green roofs, each with a different kind of vegetation, will have moisture sensors and two of the areas will have leaf-wetness sensors. They'll also be able to monitor water retention and water purity via the system. The first phase of the eco-learning lab cost nearly $30,000 and was paid for by nearly a dozen local organizations - all orchestrated by Munson. They're currently seeking funding to add a commercial-grade weather station to the lab, where students can get 24-hour HD measures of wind speed, direction, barometric pressure, solar radiance, humidity and rainfall. "It's amazing how interested the students are, how interactive they want it to be," said Munson. "That's really the key behind a whole lot of this. Getting the process started ...and (letting) students see how fun it can be." Junior Hayden Pernia, 16, is in Shell's AP environmental class and volunteered with set-up over the weekend. He hopes students will realize what a unique opportunity this is and decide to get involved. Junior Christina Proctor, 16, agreed: "I'm so excited to actually be able to use this," she said. "I want more students to be as interested as we are." The project reaches more than just South Mecklenburg students. Hundreds of students in elementary, middle and high schools across CMS, particularly those in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) classes, will work with the lab. It's also open to the community, Munson said. Munson hopes South Mecklenburg's lab can be used as a prototype for school systems across the nation, as well as an example of a successful public-private partnership. "We've got people out in the community who want to do something, and we've got teachers at schools who want to involve the community," said Shell. "The hard thing is getting us together." South Mecklenburg Principal Dr. Maureen Furr, who has master's degrees in outdoor teacher education and outdoor studies, said seeing the dream of an eco-learning lab be realized is a testament to the school-community partnership. "This is the sort of thing that gives them (students) a career direction," said Furr. "I give all the credit in the world to them for pulling something off that most people would consider a pipe dream."

Source: Charlotte Observer

Coolweather | Blog | Sunforce 50044 60-Watt Solar Charging Kit

by MrCoolWeather

Update 9-18-2008 – Still going strong. I am very pleased with the summer power output of these panels. I wash them with a hose 1x/mo to keep the output current up. Measured before washing and after washing the panel efficiency is clearly a factor of how much dirt is on them. No problems long term on a roof though!

Update 2-20-2008 – goes with graph “photograph” #3 above – pink line is power and blue line is amps from the panel x 10 to share the graph. The X axis is panel voltage. Data was acquired using an Agilent dummy load with programmable voltage in 1V steps from 1V to 22V (open circuit voltage on the panel) on a partially cloudy day in winter sun. Expectations are for 2-3 times performace in summer sun provided the panels don’t get too hot. These are on my house roof laying flat on a 3/12 pitch facing due south which is suboptimal but easy for me to do. Be sure to read the photo notes. Sorry about the colors excel defaulted to!

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