January 31, 2012
In January 2011, a solar photovoltaic system with battery backup was installed in the house of Victor Yakovenko in College Park. In this colloquium, he shares his experience after the first year of operation. So far, the system has produced more than 80% of electric energy consumed by the house, provided power during 4 electric grid outages, withstood hurricane wind, hail, show, an earthquake, etc. Victor will also share his experience in improving energy efficiency of the house, which resulted in reduction of electric energy and natural gas consumption by about 50%. This colloquium would be most useful to those who contemplate implementing similar measures in their homes. To put things in perspective, it is highly recommended to check annual consumption in MWh on your electric bill and have this number ready at the colloquium.
Here is a link to the real-time data from Victor's system http://enlighten.enphaseenergy.com/public/systems/5CBb15174
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Colloquia are held Tuesdays in Room 1410 at 4:00 pm (preceded by light refreshments at 3:30). If you have additional questions, please call 301-405-5946.