Bowral Library goes solar
Council’s Bowral Library is set to save big on electricity costs with the commissioning this week of a 119 panel solar power system.
The electricity generated by the roof-mounted solar system will be used to power the majority of the day time energy needs of the library with some electricity expected to be fed back into the power grid when the facility is closed.
Council’s Environment and Health Systems Coordinator in charge of the project, Therese Smart, said the choice of renewable energy system was carefully considered prior to the installation.
“Not only did we have to take into account the available roof space for the solar panels and the energy needs of the library, but we also had to consider the local heritage aesthetics,” she said.
“Because the library is situated in Bowral’s heritage precinct, we had to ensure the panels lay flat so as not to impact on any neighbours.
“But on completion, we were more than happy with the final result and our modelling suggests the installation will provide considerable savings,” Ms Smart said.
It is anticipated that the 29.75 kilowatt solar panel system will save the library around $8000 per year in electricity costs and reduce carbon emissions by 38 tonnes per annum.
The installation of the solar panels follows Council’s lighting upgrade of the facility in 2013. In February of last year, 63 older style fluorescent tubes and globes were replaced with energy efficient products. This project alone is saving Bowral Library approximately $1900 a year in electricity costs.
Mittagong Library underwent a similar retrofit in 2012 which has seen its electricity costs drop by approximately $450 per year.
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