Wednesday, October 1, 2008

Sweet Solar Panel Building in Williamsburgh!


I was walking around Williamsburgh last weekend and came across this brand new building on Metropolitain.

It appears that some delightfully clever architect has clad the southern face of the building in a gorgeous set of solar panels! How clever.

I wish I knew more. (If anyone lives near there, would you be so kind as to snap a pic and send it in?)

I think it looks great, and I'm very curious how much power it will generate.

Must investigate further!

In the meantime, I checked on Google maps and found that we can do a tasty little before-and-after.

Before.


After!


Double-sweet. If you are near, why not go check this place out? Please tell us who the builder and architect are.

Here is map, go find.

3 comments:

chris said...

Hey there guys. I'm a wee confused. What's the scientific explanation for putting solar panels on the south side of a building when the sun rises/sets in the east/west? I think you might be able to help me!

Jackson Nash said...

Great question!
The sun does rise in the East and set in the West. The area of our Earth that gets the most direct sun exposure is the equator.

Since we are North of the equator in NYC, the sun will always be "South" of us. Which is why if you live in a building that faces North in NYC you will never get as much sun as you would if you lived in a building facing South.

This is especially true during the winter months, when the sun is even further "South" of us. (I put South in quotation marks because the sun isn't really North or South. Directions like that only apply to navigating the Earth's surface. The sun is above us.

So, put your panels on the Southern side of a building and they will get direct light all year long. (Barring any shadows from other buildings, trees, etc.) That light will wane in intensity during the winter months and increase in intensity during the summer.

Hardly a scientific explanation, but the best I can do, without having to look anything up.

Hope this helps!

Yours,

Jackson

chris said...

Ah, got it. It has to do with the axis of the earth. Thanks Jackson.