Use Of Solar Panels In Schools
Sunpower is a valued solar partner for school districts helping more than 340 districts across 20 states save on their electricity bills.
Use of solar panels in schools. There are now 5 489 k 12 solar schools in the united states that use solar energy with a combined capacity of 910 megawatts nearly double the total solar capacity installed at schools in 2014. The primary reason that schools are becoming more interested in the use of solar power to meet their energy needs is a desire to save money. The biggest reason for the surge is the. Over the last 5 years the number of schools with solar increased by 81 and now 5 3 million students attend a school with solar.
The overall capacity of solar that has been installed on schools is up 139 since 2014. The amount of electricity these schools produce annually at 1 4 million megawatt hours is enough to power over 190 000 homes. The amount of money an individual school can save with a switch to solar energy will vary depending on factors such as location current energy demands and the type of the solar power system installed. Beyond offering industry leading solar power we re helping schools thrive in an era of tight budgets and bringing solar innovation and knowledge into the classroom.
We have drawn up the following list of benefits of using solar panels for schools and universities. The report finds that 7 332 schools nationwide use solar power making up 5 5 of all k 12 public and private schools in the united states. Schools can place solar panels on top of shade structures in their parking lots allowing the school to gather lots of solar energy while also shading cars from the heat of the sun. Special structures can be built for this purpose as well.
The nearly 5 500 schools using solar power today have a total of 910 megawatts of solar capacity enough to power 190 000 homes according to the study. The primary benefit of solar panels is definitely cost efficiency. According to the report roughly 5 5 of all elementary and secondary schools in the country use solar power. These can be placed on top of existing canopies that are strong enough to support the weight of the panels.