INTERESTING FACT:Did you know that a solar panel will produce more electricity per hour on a cold, crisp, sunny winter day than it will on a hot, sunny summer day? PV solar panels like to be kept cool and will produce more with full sun and cold temps!
The PV Solar Array at Mercyhurst College was completed in November of 2007 by North Coast Energy Systems and students and staff at the college. The project was primarily funded by the Solar Scholars Program.
System Type: Grid-connected
Solar Panel MFR: Evergreen
Solar Array Size: 3.2kW
Solar Panel Size: 180 Watts each
Average Daily Sun Hours: 4.1
Monitoring System: Fat Spaniel Monitoring
Estimated Output:
2192 kilowatt-hours (kWh) per year.
System Start Date: 11/1/07
PV solar balance-of-system-components (BOS)
This solar array is a grid-direct system, which means that the solar ties in directly with the existing utility service. It is a 3.2kW array made up of 18 Evergreen 180W panels. The system was ground mounted so that it would have the best exposure to sun, and also to provide hands-on access to the students at the Mercyhurst College. The array has telescoping legs, which allow the students to change the angle of the array at different times during the year to get the most sun exposure. The array is expected to produce about 180 - 220kWh per month, with highest production during the summer.
Fat Spaniel Monitoring
Since one of the primary functions of the renewable energy system at Mercyhurst is to provide education, North Coast Energy Systems installed a Fat Spaniel Monitoring system. Fat Spaniel is a company that provides web-based monitoring for renewable energy systems. Systems that are monitored by Fat Spaniel can (if desired by the customer) be viewed from any computer that has access to the internet. To see other live sites which have been installed by North Coast Energy Systems, go to www.fatspaniel.com/fat-spaniel-in-action/live-sites/ and enter 'North Coast Energy Systems' in the installer search-box.
For more information, please contact:
Joe or Lisa DiFrancisco 814-459-9378 or Cell: 814-490-9430
