Goff Organic Garden
Solar Energy
Learning Lab

Goff Middle School has a solar electric system installed on the south end of one school building. Students learn about renewable energy by monitoring how this solar electric system performs.

Sixteen photovoltaic (PV) panels are mounted at the top edge of a south-facing wall that faces the organic garden. These PV panels capture sunshine and convert this light into electricity. Even on overcast days, some electricity is produced by these panels.

Inside the school, students monitor how much eletricity is produced from sunshine in a learning laboratory, and calculate how much fossil fuel is conserved by this renewable energy source.

In addition, two 50-watt solar PV panels on the top of the barn produce electricity that is stored in a battery. The inverter and all the equipment needed to transform DC electricity into usable AC is inside the battery pack. The solar panels produce power for our radio, electronic scales, rechargable tools, and other equipment needed for the garden and farmers' market. This system also is a working model of a technology to tap a renewable energy resource.

This renewable energy awareness project was created by a $20,000 grant from the New York State Energy Research and Development Agency (NYSERDA).

The goal of this solar project is to make students aware of the potential of PV technology to reduce their consumption of fossil fuels and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

A weather station is attached to the school building to monitor daily weather conditions, including wind speed and the intensity of sunlight. This data is continuously recording in the learning laboratory to allow students to evaluate the performance of the solar electric system.

Students can look at typical household appliances and determine how much electrivity is used by that appliance. They can also see how much energy is being produced by the PV system at that same time.

For instance, they can see how many light bulbs can be used at that time based on the electricity being produced and used. They can see how many air conditioners can be run at that time, based on the amount of energy being generated from sunshine by the PV panels.

The meterological measurements outside give temperature, temperature of the solar panels, wind speed, and solar intensity. These factors determine how effective the solar panels are at producing electricity.

Students can check to see how much electric energy has been generated by the panels both on that particular day and since the system was installed.

The website also gives a reading of how much greenhouse gas emissions have been avoided by producing solar electricity.

One webpage displays data summarizing how much carbon dioxide, sulphur oxide and nitrogen oxide have been prevented from entering our atmosphere as a result of the photovoltaic renewable energy system.