The Curry Student Center became a stop on the American Solar Energy Society’s National Solar Tour Oct. 1. The series of open houses throughout the Northeast are meant to demonstrate the viability of solar power as an alternative to energy sources detrimental to the environment.
“We’ve always had a lot of homes, but were really trying to recruit more commercial buildings to show their feasibility,” said Stephanie Mezynski, coordinator of the solar tour. “We are really trying to get a broad range of kinds of buildings.”
The solar panels have been sitting high above the murmur of students, the rumble of the T and the squealing tires on Huntington Avenue, and have become an environmental landmark since they were installed by the Electric Power Research Institute in 1994.
The roof is a futuristic plane of deep blue shining rectangles. Their stark and placid appearance is misleading; there is a maze of activity at the atomic level. Solar panels consist of photovoltaic cells, made up of semiconductors such as silicon, said Assistant Utilities Manager Joseph Ranahan.
As light strikes the panel, the energy of the light is absorbed into the semiconductor. By placing metal contacts on the top and bottom of the cell, the current is harvested for use.
The current is fed from the roof of the Curry Center to the ground floor through wires to two inverters. The inverters take in the direct current (DC) and change it into alternating current (AC), the type that flows from a wall socket. The AC electricity is directed into the main electric panel and into the student center’s power supply.
“It’s a way of providing clean energy for the student center,” said Imanuela Costiner, president of Students for Environmental Action.
While solar energy only accounts for a portion of the student center’s power, Ranahan estimates the panels save the university between $5,000 and $6,000 per year.
Numbers generated by the Department of Energy and the Environmental Protection Agency also indicate the panels prevent 27,000 pounds of carbon dioxide, 117 pounds of sulfur dioxide, and 46 pounds of nitrogen oxides from being released from generational power plants every year. These substances contribute to global warming, acid rain and smog.
During the tour, two men could be seen working on the panels’ renovation. The project is updating the system’s technology, which, while new when it was installed more than a decade ago, “wasn’t very good,” Ranahan said.
“There were problems with burn-outs, blowing fuses,” he said.
The new inverters come with a 10-year warranty – 10 years Northeastern will be free from investing more money into the project.
Fortunately for Northeastern, the cost of the solar panels has not been too high, Ranahan said.
The panels were funded by Boston Edison, RWE Schott Solar and several other companies as part of the solar energy project. Northeastern handles its own maintenance.
“Staff electricians take care of any electrical issues that it may have and the only other maintenance is to keep the glass clean on the panels. Dirty glass can lower the panels’ efficiency,” said Ranahan.
As he spoke, his crew was shining up the panels.