CEAGE has installed a 6.44KWp solar photovoltaic system on the roof of the Virginia Tech Research Center building at Arlington. The system is intended for educational, research, and demonstration purposes and also contributes to the LEED credentials of the 144,000 square foot, seven-story building of the research center as well. The 6.44 kWp system has been online since February 23, 2012 feeding more than 35,000 kWhs of electricity to the building since installtion.
Yonael Teklu, Energy Systems and IT specialist at the Virginia Tech Advanced Research Institute (ARI), managed the technical, engineering, and implementation aspects of the project. Teklu also designed and installed the data logging and monitoring system for the plant. Saifur Rahman, Joseph R. Loring Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and director of ARI, supervised the overall design and coordination of the project.
In addition to monitoring the plant’s electrical production, the solar photovoltaic system records meteorological data such as solar radiation, wind speed, and temperature.
Northeast Construction Inc. of Richmond, Va., was the contractor and LG USA contributed the solar photovoltaic modules for the project.
Details of the system are:
- Manufacturer of PV Module: LG Electronics
- Model: LG230M1C monocrystalline, 230Wp
- Layout: 28 modules in two strings totaling 6440 watts
- Current inverter: Fronius Primo 6.0-1 208-240 6KW
- Monitoring/Data Logging: Fronius Datamanager Box 2.0
- Racking: UniRac’s RapidRac G-10 system
The operation of the system can be viewed on the dashboard.