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NORTH BELLMORE'S SOLAR ENERGY MATH & SCIENCE UNIT
- Clean Energy in Action!
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(Solar Panels) |
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(Solar Panels) |
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(Solar Panels) |
As part of the District's energy performance contract, a 10 kilowatt solar photovoltaic panel array was installed on the Saw Mill Road School in the spring of 2010. This system will convert sunlight to electricity that will be used by the school, reducing our electric bill. The installation is not large enough to provide significant cost savings but will act as an additional instructional unit for integration into the math and science curriculum. The system has been fitted with a data monitoring system that will provide operational information for use in classrooms. The program is specifically designed to educate students about energy, and, in particular, the role solar electric power – photovoltaics, or PV can play in providing clean energy for our homes, schools, and workplaces.
Live data monitoring and computer displays, designed to be fun and educational, offer an excellent way to bring the solar array to life in a fun and engaging way for students. The data readings from the photovoltaics are displayed on a SunViewer.net™ web page for students, and anyone else who is interested, to analyze and interpret. The web site data is updated every 15 minutes and can be graphed on the site or downloaded to spreadsheets for further study. The project also utilizes SunViewer™ real-time software, an application installed on classroom computers, to provide data from our system. The software is like a museum display with roughly 50 pages of data text and graphics. In the classroom, students can use this software to view the systems kilowatt power output, sun's irradiance, module temperature, system efficiency, avoided emissions and more. This enables students to understand how this energy converts to real world consumption. i.e., the number of appliances that can be powered at any one time and prompting them to see how their solar array is having a positive impact on the environment.
The initiative will enlighten students to the greater need for energy independence and awareness of energy conservation. Similar to the District’s weather station, this will provide many opportunities for integration in math and science and other interdisciplinary units.
This NYSERDA website shows the North Bellmore Saw Mill Road solar array as an additional site on the NYS School Power Naturally data portal. Here, you can compare the various sites in NYS or look at the aggregate totals of the fifty original sites listed.
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