Homeowners and school communities across the US alike will benefit from solar adoption. As the solar industry booms, more schools are adopting solar systems as installation costs decrease. There are many environmental and educational benefits to integrating a PV Solar System to the conventional school’s normal electricity supply. This is called a “grid tied” or “grid interactive” system.

"Grid-tied systems" do not need battery storage in their design because the utility grid acts as the power reserve. Instead of sorting surplus energy that is not used during the day, schools can essentially sell the excess energy to a local utility through a specially designed inverter. 

Free electricity for the entire school district

While this may sound too good to be true, there is data-driven evidence to support this statement. Installing solar panels on the school grounds can reduce school's’ electricity bills significantly.

According to an SEIA.org analysis report, their findings showed that 450 individual school districts could each save more than $1,000000 over 30 years by installing a solar PV system. Their electricity generated in one year by all 3,727 PV systems represents a combined $77.8 million per year in utility bills - an average of almost $21,000 per year per school.

This combined energy value is roughly equivalent to 155,000 tablet computers or nearly 2,200 new teachers’ salaries per year.

The PV solar system works silently and produces no pollution

 Solar power is a renewable substitute for fossil-fuel-burning sources, is free from the sun and runs on an endless supply. Switching to solar energy is, therefore, one of the biggest changes your community can make to help curb global warming and climate change effects.

If the 72,000 schools for which solar would be a cost-effective investment were to deploy systems sized proportionally to their student body size, the combined electricity generation could offset greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking approximately 1 million passenger vehicles off the road.

Students have access to both the PV system and range of computer-based educational materials, developed to raise their awareness of the green energy technology advancements.

Educators and teachers recognize the value of solar energy in providing a long-term hedge against increases in utility rates while school boards and administrators are attracted to the technology’s ability to deliver cost savings. Solar also presents teachers with a number of educational opportunities in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) subjects.

Lastly, it cannot be denied that going solar is the way of the future. The Solar Energy Industries Association predicts that, by 2017, the surging demand for solar systems will add hundreds of thousands of green-collar jobs to the economy, including those in research, development, manufacturing, construction, sales, and marketing.

Solar curricula help prepare a majority of current students for these types of rapidly growing job opportunities.

Who doesn’t want that?