The Sun Heats Up the PAC

by: Casey Robertson

Because of Furman’s status in the sustainability circles, Furman recently received a grant for $340,000 from the South Carolina Energy Office to install 304 photovoltaic solar panels on the Lay Physical Activities Center (PAC). 

Solar Panels

There are two ways of getting your energy from the sun: solar photovoltaic and solar thermal.

Solar photovoltaic

Solar photovoltaic takes the sunlight and directly turns it into energy. They can produce electricity and therefore can be used for running computers, TVs, phones, or anything else that uses electricity.

Solar-thermal

Solar-thermal energy, on the other hand, is produced by taking the heat from the sunlight and heating water in pipes. Solar thermal panels are only good for heating water or a house. Furman’s Physical Activity Center (PAC) has used solar-thermal panels to heat the pools and the water in the locker rooms in the building over the past four years.

Furman’s new project

According to Brittany DeKnight, these new solar panels “will produce about 95 kilowatts of energy, which will quadruple the amount of solar photovoltaic energy” that Furman currently has. These new solar panels are also projected to save the University $9,300 per year in the cost of electricity bills based on today’s electricity rates. Furman is working with external partners to install the panels onto the roof of the PAC.

The Shi Center is very excited about the new solar panels because the installation will be the second largest in the state in an institutional setting. Undoubtedly, this can only help Furman to continue to lead the state of South Carolina in renewable energy. Brittany advised that the solar panels should be installed by January.  However, she warned that the timing is just an estimate since there are many things that could go wrong to delay the installation. While these new solar panels do not put Furman’s carbon footprint at zero, it is definitely a step in the right direction, and Furman is slowly but surely leading the way to a more energy independent society.

To hear more about Brittany DeKnight’s view of the solar panels or about the new photovoltaic solar panels going on the roof of the PAC, listen to this podcast on our wiki.