Photo of house with PV panels mounted on the roof. Photovoltaic panels at Oberlin College's Adam Joseph Lewis Center for Environmental studies The skylighted entryway at the Thoreau Center for Sustainability at Presidio National Par, San Francisco, California, uses photovoltaic cells that are laminated to the skylight glass to produce electricity as well as to shade and daylight. This 4.8-kilowatt solar electric system, mounted on a home in California, is grid-connected and has a battery backup. Photo of shingles, made from amorphous silicon, produce 17 watts of power under full sun. National Renewable Energy Laboratory Photovoltaics for Buildings NREL Home Search and Directory NREL
The vision of the Photovoltaics (PV) for Buildings research program at the National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is to see PV, also known as solar electricity, become a common building technology in the 21st century. Our goal is to improve PV building technology and to educate consumers and the building industry about PV to overcome technical and commercial barriers to market acceptance of the technology.
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Photo of an 8-unit apartment building that serves as student housing at Fairfield University. The solar electric panels on the roof provide about 60% of the electricity needed for four of the apartments.
Feature Project - Preparing Your PV System for Future Blackouts.

Solar kept some people supplied with power while others (about 50 million) were left in the dark. more		 Photo of Porter Square Shopping Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts, where solar electricity helps off-set electrical loads.
Feature Project - Solar Saves $$$ in Blackout.
The use of solar could have prevented many losses during the August 14th blackout and should be considered for backup power in the future. more


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