electrical power
The heart of a solar home is its ability to produce electricity from sunshine. Zero-net-energy homes are buildings that over the course of a year require no outside energy to operate. Buildings account for 48 percent of total U.S. energy consumption and 76 percent of U.S. electricity consumption. Residential buildings account for 20 percent of the total U.S. energy consumption. If all houses in this country were zero-net-energy, we could reduce total consumption to 1987 levels. If all buildings were net-zero-energy, we could reduce total consumption to 1964 levels1.
Our house’s photovoltaic (PV) array consists of sixty-nine 110-watt General Electric panels mounted on the Light Canopy. Our team believes it is important to use a large array to showcase the possibilities of a home that not only sustains its own energy consumption, but also creates enough additional electricity to support automobile transportation and to produce an electricity surplus. The Light Canopy allows us to do this. Using the full potential surface area highlights the flexibility of the Light Canopy; our approach is not only a sound competitive strategy, but also the optimal implementation of a modular system given the desired usage of the home.
A similarly large battery bank stores enough energy to satisfy all projected electrical loads throughout the event. To demonstrate the scalar flexibility of solar energy production, the Cornell University team has adhered to our theme of modularity in this design. There are three separate battery banks, so the electrical storage is scalable according to the number of batteries used. Likewise, four smaller inverters were chosen instead of one large inverter so that each could be added or removed as needed.
This entire electrical system was designed with change in mind: technologies shift rapidly, as do homeowners’ needs and personal tastes. Comparing these temporary conditions to the long lifespan of a sustainable home reveals the true benefit of our series of modular electrical power systems.
1(Source:www.architecture2030.org/current_situation/building_sector.html)
Key Components
- General Electric panels 110W Solar Panels – Total Retail Cost $26,350 (donated)
- Concorde Battery Corporation PVX-9150T Lead-Acid Batteries – Total retail cost $26,926 (partially donated)
- Direct Power & Water Corp. aluminum mounting equipment for solar panels – Total Retail Cost $3,600(donated)
- Direct Power & Water Corp. Power-Fab® aluminum boxes to hold batteries – Total Retail Cost $3,115 (partially donated)
- OutBack Power Systems FLEXware® balance of system components (inverters, disconnects, and charge controllers) – Total retail cost $13,425 (partially donated)
