Solar Panels Added to White House Roof

in hardware on 2014-05-13 02:24 (#3KD)

In 1979, President Jimmy Carter installed 32 solar panels to the roof of the White House. These panels were mainly used to heat water and were removed in 1981 by President Ronald Reagan during roof repairs. In 2002, George W. Bush added solar panels to a maintenance shed on the grounds to help heat the pool.

For the last few years, President Barack Obama has been promising to install photovoltaic solar panels on the White House roof. Although the system was initially planned to produce approximately 19,700 killowatt hours of electricity per year, the final system was scaled back to a mere 6.3kW system. The new system, however, is finally complete and providing power to the high profile residence.

5 comments

My Solar Panel System (Score: 2, Interesting)

by bryan@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 02:32 (#1HV)

For comparison, my own house has a 7.685 kW photovoltaic system.

Noticeably fewer security guards, though.

Is it of decent quality? (Score: 1)

by nightsky30@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 11:34 (#1J2)

Wonder if they took into account recent news and/or did some basic research before investing in their solution:

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2014/05/12/hackable_solar_systems_spurt_free_money/
http://www.solar-log.ro/fileadmin/BENUTZERDATEN/Downloads/Firmware/ReleaseNotes_3.1.1-66-20140414-EN.pdf

Re: Is it of decent quality? (Score: 1)

by zafiro17@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 19:35 (#1JS)

For a president focused on green energy and the like, taking this long to get a system in place is pathetic, to say the least. Obviously the White House had security issues to deal with - imagine some rogue state putting listening equipment in the panels and having access to a great listening opportunity - but still, those problems have solutions and this is ridiculously late in Obama's presidency. It comes across as an afterthought.

Anyway, better than nothing. I'll be putting solar panels on my place next year too, hopefully. I'd like to do it while there are still fancy tax credits on the offer.

Re: Is it of decent quality? (Score: 2)

by bryan@pipedot.org on 2014-05-13 19:53 (#1JV)

Ill be putting solar panels on my place next year too

I would recommend any homeowner do this. It is one of the best investments I have made to my house, and you have to love getting a negative electricity bill every month. Forever.

Carter was right (Score: 0)

by Anonymous Coward on 2014-05-14 22:06 (#1MB)

Where Did the Carter White House's Solar Panels Go?
http://www.scientificamerican.com/article/carter-white-house-solar-panel-array/

[...]

Here is what Carter predicted at the dedication ceremony: "In the year 2000 this solar water heater behind me, which is being dedicated today, will still be here supplying cheap, efficient energy"¦. A generation from now, this solar heater can either be a curiosity, a museum piece, an example of a road not taken or it can be just a small part of one of the greatest and most exciting adventures ever undertaken by the American people."

For some of the solar panels it is the former that has come to pass: one resides at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American History, one at the Carter Library and, as of this week, one will join the collection of the Solar Science and Technology Museum in Dezhou, China. Huang Ming, chairman of Himin Solar Energy Group Co., the largest manufacturer of such solar hot water heaters in the world, accepted the donation for permanent display there on August 5. After all, companies like his in China now produce some 80 percent of the solar water heaters used in the world today.

[...]