Greening the Hills District
CHALLENGE
Hills Grammar School, a co-educational and non-denominational K-12 school in Sydney's Hills District, has a philosophy of commitment to personal integrity and social responsibility, with environmental sustainability being a core value.
As part of that commitment the school explored a number of potential ‘green' projects including the use of grey water on a new oval and energy efficiency measures such as a solar power installation.
With 1100 students, the school qualified for a $100,000 grant under the Federal Government's National Solar Schools Program (NSSP), which encourages schools to take practical action to address climate change by adopting energy efficiency measures such as solar power.
SOLUTION
With the upfront NSSP funding offering the school a ‘no-risk' solution, Hills Grammar proceeded with a solar power solution and engaged Solgen Energy based on the company's professional customer service, the supply of an educational student interface system and top grade solar panels.
Solgen Energy managed the project from start to finish - including the funding process, workplace safety compliance and staff training - ensuring the whole process was hassle-free for the school.
Solgen Energy installed 48 durable and efficient solar modules to the roof of the school's multipurpose hall over two days during the school holidays thereby minimising disruption.
A web-enabled monitoring device was built into the school's IT system and a ‘live results' box was installed in the hall to provide students and school staff with the ability to access real time energy generation statistics and store data. The school's Environment Club and science classes were among the first to review and analyse the results.
BENEFITS
The system not only improves energy efficiency, reduces energy consumption and operating costs, but provides educational outcomes for students and demonstrates the school's commitment to climate change.
In addition to these benefits the installation will also:
- generate approximately 16 Megawatt hours of electricity per annum, or enough solar energy to power 9 to 10 classrooms for a year
- prevent about 15 tonnes of greenhouse gases from entering the atmosphere each year, or the equivalent of removing a car from the road for 2.5 years
- address climate change and raise awareness of renewable energy in the community
TESTIMONIAL
"From the outset, Solgen Energy presented as an efficient and professional company which responded obligingly to customer requests. Solgen Energy installed our solar panels well within the scheduled time and kept us informed of what was happening at each stage of the process. It was a pleasure to work with such a customer focused organisation."
Madeleine Borrey, Campus Manager, The Hills Grammar School
