Friday, July 22, 2011

A Solar Map--and Fish


Next time you find yourself at the Birch Aquarium, make sure to check out Boundless Energy, a new exhibit which showcases research by Jan Kleissl, a professor of environmental engineering here at the Jacobs School of Engineering.

Kleissl and Ph.D. student Anders Nottrott created a solar map of the state of California, which allows homeowners, photovoltaic installers and utilities to better predict how much power they will get out of their solar-power systems. The map is on display in the courtyard of the aquarium, which has 240 solar panels on its roof, generating 49.2 kilowatts of power.