Schools
Evening Street's solar panels will be fired up next week
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| SNP file photo Solar panels on the roof of Evening Street Elementary School are set to be activated at 10:20 a.m. Tuesday, March 2. |
By PAMELA WILLIS
District leaders and the SolarVision company soon will
activate Worthington schools' newest and largest solar panel
installation at Evening Street Elementary School.
Director of Facility Management Tim Gehring said the solar activation presentation will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the school, 885 Evening St.
"We'll be activating 65 watts of solar energy at Evening Street and people will be able to see a view of the rooftop installation and watch live data monitoring on a broadcast learning tool," he said.
From 9 to 9:30 a.m. will be continuous tours, with the presentation officially beginning at 10 a.m., featuring representatives from Green Energy Ohio, the Ohio Department of Development, SolarVision and American Electric Power.
Worthington schools signed a contract with SolarVision that guarantees the district will pay 15 percent less for energy than it normally would spend, Gehring said.
Under the contract, the district buys energy directly from SolarVision.
Plans are under way for an even larger installation at Worthingway Middle School, where 300 panels could be installed, making it the largest middle school in Ohio to add solar energy, according to the SolarVision Web site, solarvisionllc.net.
The panels make electricity with a photovoltaic system, using semiconductors to convert sunlight into power, said SolarVision officials.
SolarVision donated a flat-screen television monitor for the Evening Street lobby so live data can be broadcast from the solar panels.
Gehring said the actual activation will take place at 10:20 a.m. March 2, but data broadcast from the panels will be used in future lessons.
"It is our intent that the data be used in lesson plans in some capacity in the schools," he said.
If the Evening Street project goes well, the district could finalize plans for Worthingway and other buildings, Gehring said.
SolarVision owners Greg Kuss and Thomas Van Kleef introduced their service to Worthington schools board members last February with the help of former board member and longtime district resident Abe Ottolenghi.
Gehring said the contract with SolarVision basically leases the school's roof to SolarVision and it in turn provides energy to the district at a reduced cost. SolarVision will maintain ownership of the panels, so maintenance would not be the district's responsibility.
The district already has solar panels installed at Bluffsview and Wilson Hill elementary schools and at Worthingway Middle School, but they are 2-kilowatt photovoltaic systems, used only for solar educational purposes.
Director of Facility Management Tim Gehring said the solar activation presentation will begin at 9 a.m. Tuesday, March 2, at the school, 885 Evening St.
"We'll be activating 65 watts of solar energy at Evening Street and people will be able to see a view of the rooftop installation and watch live data monitoring on a broadcast learning tool," he said.
From 9 to 9:30 a.m. will be continuous tours, with the presentation officially beginning at 10 a.m., featuring representatives from Green Energy Ohio, the Ohio Department of Development, SolarVision and American Electric Power.
Worthington schools signed a contract with SolarVision that guarantees the district will pay 15 percent less for energy than it normally would spend, Gehring said.
Under the contract, the district buys energy directly from SolarVision.
Plans are under way for an even larger installation at Worthingway Middle School, where 300 panels could be installed, making it the largest middle school in Ohio to add solar energy, according to the SolarVision Web site, solarvisionllc.net.
The panels make electricity with a photovoltaic system, using semiconductors to convert sunlight into power, said SolarVision officials.
SolarVision donated a flat-screen television monitor for the Evening Street lobby so live data can be broadcast from the solar panels.
Gehring said the actual activation will take place at 10:20 a.m. March 2, but data broadcast from the panels will be used in future lessons.
"It is our intent that the data be used in lesson plans in some capacity in the schools," he said.
If the Evening Street project goes well, the district could finalize plans for Worthingway and other buildings, Gehring said.
SolarVision owners Greg Kuss and Thomas Van Kleef introduced their service to Worthington schools board members last February with the help of former board member and longtime district resident Abe Ottolenghi.
Gehring said the contract with SolarVision basically leases the school's roof to SolarVision and it in turn provides energy to the district at a reduced cost. SolarVision will maintain ownership of the panels, so maintenance would not be the district's responsibility.
The district already has solar panels installed at Bluffsview and Wilson Hill elementary schools and at Worthingway Middle School, but they are 2-kilowatt photovoltaic systems, used only for solar educational purposes.
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