Solar Grid Integration to Reduce Purchased Grid Electricity for Lighting Hallways and Stairwells
AdamJohnson
University of Wisconsin ‐ Stout
Capstone Sustainability Project
Adam Johnson
218‐340‐9224
5/7/2012
ted energy and reduce environmental impact. One way to reduce unsustainable power consumption within the residential halls at the University of Wisconsin‐ Stout (UW‐
Stout) is to explore the use of alternative lighting. For my senior capstone project, I propose installing LED lights and rooftop photovoltaic (PV) systems to create a more sustainable energy solution for the residential halls on the UW‐Stout campus. Reducing the amount of power used from coal powered plants is a step in the right direction in reducing the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere. The implementation of solar power is a way to harness otherwise was Solar Grid Integration to Reduce Purchased Grid Electricity for Lighting Hallways and Stairwells Capstone Sustainability Project Adam Johnson BIO 444/ SUST 425 TABLE OF CONTENTS PAGE NUMBER Project Timeline 2 Resources used 3 3 Operational details and Technical Factors 3 Life Cycle Analysis 4 Description of Current Conditions Triple Bottom Line Analysis 5 Project Proposal 5 Summary and Recommendations 8 Bibliography 9 Appendices 10 1 | P a g e Timeline Date’s Feb‐9‐2012: Feb‐13‐2012  Mar‐8‐2012: Mar‐29‐2012  Apr‐12‐2012: Apr‐17‐2012 May‐ 8‐2012 Comments Initially started on group project ideas and narrowed them down into separate categories, interior, interior lighting and exterior. Researched possible solar implementation technology that could be used including solar water heating, powering on demand water heaters with solar and so on but decided to go with PV panels because if people see that there are renewable energy resources and projects on campus they are more likely to get interested. Started to get more focused on what needed to be done. Met with Scott Griesbach back on Apr‐4‐
2012; we went over some of the possible ideas and started leaning toward LED lights in the hallways and stair wells. We had initially agreed on a 12 volt system but after some further research I decided that using low voltage DC current would not meet code in an educational establishment. Instead of doing 12 volt dc I am leaning toward a 48 volt battery bank and run an inverter to tie into the existing 120 volt line. Met with Zenon Smolarek to discuss possible budgets and current projects as well as Gave final Presentation to Sustainability class 2 | P a g e Resources Used In my initial analysis I used online resources to determine the options available for LED lights and PV rooftop systems. Different web forums are good resources for trial and error information. A web site called “Instructables” got me really interested in solar and all of its applications. If you conduct a search on that web site it will bring up a list just like Google does (Instructables). I liked the idea of putting solar power with LED lighting. I had a great deal of information provided to me from Krista James and Martha Daines. Martha helped me with calculations that helped me decide what I needed to do and how to get there. Krista provided information about different university contacts. I meet with Scott Wiesenberg to discuss how feasible this project was. He told me that the school was interested in heading in a more sustainable direction. He informed me that lighting in the hallways was a good way to go because people are not as picky over the color of the lights, like they are in bathrooms (Wiesenberg, 2012). After I had an idea of what I wanted to do with this solar application, I meet with Zenon Smolarek from the Physical Plant. We discussed possible options that I could pursue. We went over the concepts of implementing both solar LED lighting and solar power integration to the grid. I asked him what a feasible price would be for a Solar and LED system; he thought that $90,000 would be acceptable. Zenon has seen other solar projects go for around $125,000 (Smolarek, 2012). All of the people that I talked to were aware of the byproducts of current fluorescent lights such as mercury which is a heavy metal and can cause central nervous system damage if not properly recycled. I think that is one of the major reasons that all parties involved were for the movement toward a more sustainable campus. Description of current conditions: UW‐Stout currently uses a fluorescent T‐8 32 watt light bulb (four feet long) and fixtures in the HKMC hallways and stair wells. Stout purchases 37.3% of the energy needed to power the school. The rest is produced by the onsite power plant. Lighting is one of the three categories that are considered in energy management. A section in the 2011 UW‐Stout Climate Action Plan includes a 2011‐2012 initiative: “Energy Conservation: to Implement an energy conservation campaign to reduce energy consumption and waste on campus” (Wisconsin‐Stout, 2011). The T‐8 bulbs last 25,000 hours and were estimated by Zenon to cost about $10.00 ‐ $15.00 to replace. He considered that the person changing the bulb has to get a ladder, go up and get the bulb, take it down, dispose of it properly, and then replace the bulb and put the ladder away (Smolarek, 2012). Although the LED bulbs are more expensive, they are replaced three times less often. After a while, the lights pay for themselves in replacement costs alone. If you factor the replacement time and cost plus the solar energy from the roof of HKMC minus the money spent on power then you start increasing that payback time exponentially. Operational details and Technical Factors In 2009, UW‐Stout’s total CO2 emissions were 118,700 metric tons (University of Wisconsin‐Stout, 2011). Stationary combustion accounted for 32.3% of total energy used in 2008 (Figure 1). Through the installation of rooftop photovoltaic (PV), the total percentage could be significantly reduced. 3 | P a g e Figure 1. Percentage of total energy used by UW‐Stout in 2008. I walked through the HKMC building and counted the hallway lights, which are all T‐8 florescent lights that use 32 watts/ bulb (Table 1). I observed that only half the lights are on at a time. 
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There are a total of 304, T‐8 bulbs in the hallways. Half the lights are on so 152 bulbs x 32 watts = 4864 watts per hour. Rounding up to 5000 x 24hrs = 120,000 watts per day. If all the hallway lights were left on, that would be 240,000 watts/ day. Table 1. Broken down analysis of lighting consumption in various locations within the Dormitory Life Cycle Analysis: HKMC uses 304 of the T8 fluorescent bulbs (Table 1). According to Zenon Smolarek, the T‐8 bulbs last 25,000 hours (3 years) and cost about $10.00 ‐ $15.00 to replace, which means approximately $3,040‐
4560 is spend on T8 bulbs every 3 years in HKMC (Table 2). 4 | P a g e The current T‐8 florescent lights used in HKMC have a life of 25,000 hours. The amount of CO2 emissions for a run time of 1000 hours is 46 lbs. Therefore, 1150 pounds of CO2 emissions are emitted per T‐8 bulb (25,000 hours x 46 lbs.), which means the lighting used in HKMC is responsible for approximately 349,699 lbs. of CO2 emissions every 3 years. According to Eckelman (2008), the average amount of mercury (Hg) contained in a typical T8 bulb is approximately 4.0 mg/bulb, which means a total of 1216 mg of mercury is being contributed to the waste stream every 3 years from T8 lights in HKMC. The claim is that T‐8 replacements last 3 times longer than traditional T‐8 bulbs (Eleek Inc., 2011). T‐8 replacement bulbs have virtually no hazardous waste; they are made by doping silicon crystals. By doping silicon crystals with Boron or Gallium it turns a resistor (silicon) into a conductor. This is done at the molecular level by making a valence electron available to be used and produce light (NewBay Media , 2012). However, it should be noted that LED lights contain no mercury or by‐products (boron or gallium) that could be added to the waste stream. Each T8 bulb For all 304 of the T8 bulbs used in HKMC Cost $10.00‐15.00 $3,040‐4560 CO2 emissions 1150 lbs. 349,600 lbs. Mercury (Hg) 4.0 mg 1216 mg Table 2. Calculations of cost, CO2 emissions, and Mercury (Hg) contributions by T8 bulbs in HKMC. Triple Bottom Line Analysis: LED and Solar technology have been around for over a decade but are still relatively expensive. The prices of these two systems are enough to scare most people off. What people have to consider is that this is an investment that has an extremely long life, and will start paying for itself. Solar panels usually come with a 25 year warranty. To put it in perspective that is almost 33% of the human life span. Combining the solar and LED lighting system could reduce overall dependency on the grid power and reduce carbon foot print. The LED’s do not contain heavy metals so they are non‐toxic to the environment. Installing solar energy on the rooftop of HKMC also provides an opportunity to educate college students about renewable energy and reduction of carbon emissions. Proposal: Although the initial cost of LEDs is higher, the total amount of watts used and energy cost per hour is lower compared to the T8 bulbs used in HKMC (Figure 2). In addition, the LED replacement lights have a total life of 50,000 hours rated to 70% initial light output and will last three times longer than the T8 bulbs (Figure 3). By using the proposed LED upgrade in the hallways of HKMC, UW‐Stout could cut CO2 emission by 71.7% (Figure 4). 5 | P a g e $90.00
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Figure 4: Amount of CO2 emissions over 1000 hours in coal produced power. Using LED lights without solar input would cut CO2 by 71.7% in the hallway category. 6 | P a g e I propose that a significant amount of the energy used for lighting could be offset by using a rooftop solar array. Currently there approximately 120 Kilowatts per day is being consumed by hallway lighting alone. Assuming state average of 9.9 cents per Kilowatt and a run time of 24 hours that comes to a total cost of $11.88 a day and $4336.00 per year. If a 15.84 Kw solar array system were installed on the rooftop of HKMC, the initial is estimated at $78,300‐$88,300 (Table 3). Zenon Smolarek has seen other solar projects go for around $125,000 (Smolarek, 2012). Architect Fee of 10% total cost EST. $9,000 Batteries will vary on the total amount of energy LED light Coring and stored and space available replacement Installation EST. $10,000‐$20,000 EST. 15,800 EST. $5,000 PV System Total Cost $39,000 $78,300‐
$88,300 Table 3. Break down of EST cost of a rooftop 15.84 Kw solar array system. The total of HKMC’s roof is 17,776 Square feet of essentially wasted space (Figure 5). The system that I propose would take up 1190 sq/ft. Being conservative and installing 12 of these systems instead of 15 on the roof of HKMC has the potential for producing 190 KW/Hr and 843 Kw/ day using an average of 4.44 hours of direct sunlight per day (Golden, 2012). That is enough power to run half of the building’s lights at current consumption. If LED lights were introduced it could theoretically power all of the lights in the building. Appendix A includes images and descriptions of the types of LED lights and solar array proposed, and potential locations of the solar array and backup battery system. Figure 5. Stared images are locations of where the PV system could be installed and coring could take place to run required wiring to battery storage in the basement. 7 | P a g e Summary and Recommendations: The proposed LED and solar array project has the potential to put UW‐Stout on the leading edge of energy conservation. It will also reduce Stout’s carbon footprint and set the stage for a more sustainable future. I recommend that UW‐Stout take this first step using HKMC as a model. The amount of money required up front is significant, but it also has the potential to save on power consumption as well as reduce greenhouse gas emissions and solid waste generate at the university. Because solar and LED technologies are still developing, there is a good chance prices will drop and efficiency will improve. An example of improvement would be if solar panels are developed that can harness more forms of electromagnetic radiation, such as infrared or ultraviolet spectrums. If that happens then the efficiency sky rockets from the current 17% and you are already set up to install the new panels. 8 | P a g e Bibliography Daines, M. (2012). Instructor. (Adam, Interviewer) ECKELMAN, M. J. (2008). Spatial Assessment of Net Mercury Emissions from the Use of Fluorescent Bulbs. Environmental Science & Technology, 8564‐8571. Eleek Inc. (2011). Lighting. Retrieved 2012, from Ellek Lamning Guide: http://www.eleekinc.com/ EPA. (n.d.). Emmissions calculator. Retrieved from http://www.epa.gov/cleanenergy/energy‐
resources/calculator.html#results Golden, C. L. (2012, March 27). PvWatts. Retrieved May 2012, from National Renewable Energy Laboratories: http://www.nrel.gov/contacts/ Instructables. (n.d.). Search. Retrieved from solar: http://www.instructables.com/ James, K. (2012). Instructor. (A. Johnson, Interviewer) NewBay Media . (2012). Fasinating facts about Light‐Emitting Diodes. Retrieved from http://svconline.com/proav/leds_fascinating‐facts‐about‐light‐emitting‐diodes/ OSHA. (n.d.). Lighting guide. Retrieved from http://www.osha.gov/pls/oshaweb/owadisp.show_document?p_table=STANDARDS&p_id=1063
0 Smolarek, Z. (2012, April). Physical plant construction. (A. Johnson, Interviewer) Wiesenberg, S. (2012, may). Housing Director. (A. Johnson, Interviewer) Wisconsin‐Stout, U. o. (2011). Climate Action Plan. Menomonie, WI: Wisconsin's Polytechnic University. 9 | P a g e Appendix A: Images and descriptions of the types of LED lights and solar array proposed, and potential locations of the solar array and backup battery system. Figures 6 and 7. Left is what the final installation could look like; Right is the proposed LED light that uses 14 watts instead of 32. Although the lumens are 51% that of the T‐8 the lighting factor would still be about 11 lumens per sq/ft when all lights are on and 5.5 when half of them are on it would still be above OSHA standard of 5 Lumens per sq/ft (OSHA). Figure 8. Access to roof and where coring would take place indicated by the stared locations in Figure 5. 10 | P a g e Figure 9. This is the room below that roof where lines could be run into the basement to charge batteries. Figure 10. The basement room that is not being used has 183 sq/ft that could be used for battery storage. 11 | P a g e Appendix B: E‐mail correspondence Zenon Smolarek Zenon, Hi, I know that we had touched base on this subject before but the system that I found carries an output
voltage 29 volts. do you think that this is to much for that conduit to handle? The inverter that comes
with it is rugged, to handle extreme conditions. So Here is the link
http://www.ebay.com/itm/10-kW-NESL-DJ-230P-solar-PV-Kit-grade-New-Two-PVI-5000-OUTD-USinverter-/170776754410?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27c31678ea#ht_5177wt_929
I was wondering if you had a device to measure the current lumens per sq/ft, so we could get an actual
measurement to use against our theoretical of 17.7 with the T-8's and 10.59 with the LED's. I am going
to ask around the chem department also to see if i can get one.
Hi Adam,
I do have a light meter that we can use. I would rather use it myself so if you would schedule another meeting we can knock it out. I think we should plan on coring new holes for the wiring instead of putting it with the network sleeves.
Should add a $1,000 to the estimate for coring holes and installing sleeves in the floors.
Thanks,
Zenon
Zenon,
Hi, I'm sorry for not getting back to you sooner; I was wondering if you were avasilable tomorrow some
time in the morning would be best. I have research day at 11 but if not I can meet with you after 12. If
any of these times work for you can you let me know. Allison and I need a little more information to
complete our proposal.
Johnson, Adam
Actions
In response to the message from Smolarek, Zenon, 4/13/2012
To:
Smolarek, Zenon [smolarekze@uwstout.edu]
Sent Items
Monday, April 30, 2012 4:06 PM
Zenon,
12 | P a g e Hi, I was wondering if you could find out if there was a shut off switch for half of those lights that we
saw the other day, and if they are always run with half of them or if they turn them all on at night. I am
going to go there tonight to see if all of them are on.
If there is another person that I should contact please let me know; if you get a chance i know your
busy, our project deadline is this Thursday.
Thank you so much for all of your help!!
Adam
Johnson, Adam
Sent Items
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 3:37 PM
http://www.ecodirect.com/Philips-T8-Tube-GA-22W-840-22W-4000K-LED-Light-p/philips-418723.htm
A different site called eco direct its a higher wattage bulb
Johnson, Adam
Sent Items
Tuesday, April 17, 2012 3:36 PM
http://www.retrofitledlights.com/led-replacement-for-fluorescent-tubes-led-troffer-lighting#specs
http://www.retrofitledlights.com/media/RETRO_FIT/RETROFIT_MEDIA/Tech_Specs/tube_light_data_shee
t_S.pdf
http://www.retrofitledlights.com/media/RETRO_FIT/RETROFIT_MEDIA/Installation/LEDDL_Instructions.p
df
http://www.retrofitledlights.com/media/RETRO_FIT/RETROFIT_MEDIA/Installation/LED_LightTube_Manu
al.pdf
Johnson, Adam
Sent Items
Monday, April 16, 2012 4:38 PM
Zenon,
Hi I just wanted to confirm our meeting tomorrow at 9am, there will be three of us Josh will have
questions about the roof and some specs; he has class at 9:30 so he will go first. the other student is
Allison she might have some questions about lighting. her and I will have similar questions about lighting
issues and then I will have some points to touch on about installing a 48 volt DC battery grid because it is
the most efficient and can use 1/8 diameter wire to run power. Just a heads up on the kind of questions
we will have.
13 | P a g e Thanks,
Adam
Monday, April 16, 2012 4:32 PM
Zenon,
Hi I just wanted to confirm our meeting tomorrow at 9am, there will be three of us Josh will have
questions about the roof and some specs; he has class at 9:30 so he will go first. the other student is
Allison she might have some questions about lighting. her and I will have similar questions about lighting
issues and then I will have some points to touch on about installing a 48 volt DC battery grid because it is
the most efficient and can use 1/8 diameter wire to run power.
Thanks,
Adam
Johnson, Adam
Sent Items
Friday, April 13, 2012 8:13 AM
Thank you for getting back to me so soon. I am just doing some comparisons between led's and t8's i will
fill you in on Tuesday morning.
Take care, Adam
Smolarek, Zenon [smolarekze@uwstout.edu]
Inbox
Friday, April 13, 2012 8:12 AM
Good morning Adam,
We primarily use a T8 fluorescent bulb, though we also use, Halogen, LED, incandescent, high pressure sodium and metal halide in certain circumstances. Have a great weekend, Zenon Zenon Smolarek Assistant Director UW‐Stout Physical Plant 915 S. Broadway Menomonie, WI 54751 (715) 232‐2288 Confidentiality Notice: This email communication and any attachments may contain confidential and
privileged information for the use of the designated recipients named above. Any unauthorized review,
14 | P a g e use, disclosure or distribution is prohibited. If you are not the intended recipient, please contact the
sender by reply email and destroy all copies of the original message. Hi, My name is Adam Johnson, I am a student at the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN STOUT. I am part of a team that is designing a solar system for a dorm. I was wondering if you could help me? I need about 200Kw of power to run lights. As of now i was leaning towards a 12 volt but it seems that i should go for 24 or 48 volt system to get the 200Kw of power needed. I believe that a 12 volt would require 16,666 Amp Hours, 24 volt is 8333 Ah and 48 volt would be around 4166.66 Ah. I was looking for a good commercial battery that will last a long time maintenance free. can you send me some information on what type of system you could create with a $cost figure that i can forward? It seems like it would be worth it to go with the higher voltage battery to reduce the number of batteries that i will need for this. My time line for this is coming to a close, I was actually just needing to talk with some one that knows more about batteries than I do; Please contact me by phone if at all possible, I will be unavailable from 12:30‐ 1:30 but am then available from 1:30‐3:00, I will be available for the rest of the day if that will work for you I would appreciate any information that you have. CONTACT: E‐MAIL‐ johnsonadam1@my.uwstout.edu and PHONE‐ 218‐340‐9224 Thank you for your time, Adam Johnson Terry(Manager) Baykee Electric Power Equipment’s Co., Ltd 15 | P a g e