In 2009, a group of voluteers installed 12 solar photovoltaic
panels at the back of the Ypsilanti City Hall making Ypsilanti the
first city hall in Michigan with solar power! This
system provides about 2.5KW of renewable energy that is used by the
building. The solar installation at the City of Ypsilanti’s
City Hall is the second solar installation within the Ypsilanti
Historic District. Having the panels on the back of building preserves
the Historic character of the front of the building while adding renewable
energy. City Hall is also one of the few DTE Energy customers connected via
net-metering and the first net-metering customer to use utility meters with
a customer interfaces.
How It Works: As illustrated in the diagram here, sunlight penetrates the photovoltaic panels, which converts a portion of that light into electrical current. The panels, mounted at a fixed 38 degree angle, maximize annual solar collection. This electrical current is a direct current (DC) which is carried through a wire to a disconnect switch that can turn the system off for maintenance. The DC power is then routed to the Sunny Boy inverter, which converts DC electricity into standard, 110 volt, 60 cycle alternating current (AC) that we find in an ordinary wall outlet. The power is then ready for use and is routed to the City Hall’s electrical service panel for distribution to individual circuits.
LIVE graphs showing the power coming into City Hall
(red), exported out (green), and generated from the sun (yellow) can be seen
at SolarlYpsi.org
, then clicking on the City Hall link. The website also shows
installation photos and details about the project.
