2015

NT2471 : The Solar Wall - updated

taken 10 years ago, near to Morningside, Edinburgh, Scotland

The Solar Wall - updated
The Solar Wall - updated
The windows have been renewed on the left hand side of the tower, but the solar panels are still present - compare NT2471 : Solar wall of October 2007. I took the opportunity to 'read the meters' - for details see the Shared Description.
Solar wall at Napier University

Part of the Merchiston Campus of Napier University. A note at the base of the bank of solar panels [the right hand part - the left hand is simply 1960s windows] reads 'These solar panels power up to 80 computers in Napier's Jack Kilby Computing Centre. A joint partnership between School of Engineering and Energy Saving Trust. Spring 2005'.
On 3 March 2009 a monitor in the entrance hall of the building recorded that 34.16 MWh of electricity had been generated, presumably since installation, and 20.49 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved.
By 26 August 2011 these figures had increased to 47.46 MWh of electricity generated and 28.48 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved. Over the intervening 2.5 years this seems to be less, pro rata, than might be expected from the earlier figures - I wonder if they have ever been cleaned?
On 14 January 2015 I read the meters again - 66.75 MWh of electricity had now been produced, with a saving of 40.05 tonnes of CO2 emissions. Over the two periods [March 2009-August 2011 and August 2011-January 2015] the average amount generated was 13.9 and 15.5 kWh per day, respectively. With a low sun at mid-morning on a snow-showery January day, the output was varying between 3.3-6.3 kW.
By 19 January 2017 the figures were 78.22 MWh generated and 46.93 tonnes of CO2 emissions saved. Over the period since I first read the meters in March 2009 [just under 7 years ago] the performance has been quite consistent, with an average output of 5.6 MWh/year and a CO2 emissions saving of 3.35 tonnes/year. The output at the time of reading, early afternoon on a dull January day, was only 88.9 watts, which seemed very low.


Creative Commons Licence [Some Rights Reserved]   © Copyright M J Richardson and licensed for reuse under this Creative Commons Licence.
Geographical Context: Energy infrastructure Lowlands Suburb, Urban fringe Educational sites Place: Edinburgh Primary Subject: Solar Panel other tags: Morningside Solar Panels Then and Now Napier University Edinburgh Click a tag, to view other nearby images.
This photo is linked from: Other Photos: · Morningside from the Braids ·
1:50,000 Modern Day Landranger(TM) Map © Crown Copyright
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Grid Square
NT2471, 472 images   (more nearby 🔍)
Photographer
M J Richardson   (more nearby)
Date Taken
Wednesday, 14 January, 2015   (more nearby)
Submitted
Wednesday, 14 January, 2015
Subject Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 2433 7181 [10m precision]
WGS84: 55:56.0023N 3:12.7666W
Camera Location
OSGB36: geotagged! NT 2432 7176
View Direction
NORTH (about 0 degrees)
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Image classification(about): Geograph
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