Solar Photovoltaic

In the summer of 2008, SFU has taken the initiative to put up 54 solar photovoltaic panels on the south face of the Facilities Management Building to convert sunlight to electricity. It is a demonstration project and the purpose is to collect data to determine the efficiency of the solar photovoltaic array.

The panels can generate up to 10 kilowatts of power, and about 10,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually. On average, a typical household in the Lower Mainland consumes 8,900 kilowatt hours of electricity.

The project allows SFU to offset 250 kg of greenhouse gas annually.

Interested in finding out how much electricity the panels are generating?
Click here for live data.

Solar Hot Water

In the summer of 2008, SFU has put up 2 sets of solar collectors on the roof of the Facilities Management Building.

The solar hot water system utilizes the energy from the sunlight to heat the water. It is designed to work with the domestic hot water heater in the building. In the system, a heating fluid (Glycol) is pumped into the solar collectors where it is heated. The heated fluid is then pumped into a heat exchanger where the heat is transferred to the water.

The solar hot water system not only provides domestic hot water to the building, but it also helps SFU reduce natural gas consumption and greenhouse gas emissions. The system allows SFU to reduce about 40 GJ of natural gas and offset about 2,000 kg of greenhouse gas annually.