Dayton Metro Library will soon power one of its largest branches with 292 solar panels.
The array has been installed on DML's West Branch roof for about a month, but the equipment hasn't start generating energy because they're in the final phase on implementation.
The panels lining the library branch roof on Abbey Avenue are bifacial, meaning they can produce electricity from both sides.
Each panel can produce 585 watts of power. Overall, the array is expected to reduce the building's energy use by 90%.
"The other 10% would be handled by the grid, but even that energy is from renewable resources as well," said Phillip Dunlevy, facilities director for Dayton Metro Library.
The West Branch was chosen for the solar panel pilot project for a number of reasons, including roof space and sunlight positioning. Once the array is operational, it will be the system's most sustainable branch, Dunlevy said.
"It is one of our largest branches so it uses a lot of energy," Dunlevy said. "I thought the West Dayton community would really appreciate the investment.”
Over $300,000 was spent on the installation, 40% of which will be paid back to the library system through federal rebates.
"So we are getting a large chunk back, and that's why I moved so quickly to get it going before those rebates went away," Dunlevy said. "And we do have about a nine to 10 year return on investment on that."
This recent investment is just one part of the organization’s efforts to reduce its carbon footprint, Dunlevy said.
The library also has been working with the Sustainable Ohio Public Energy Council, which provides public energy programs for communities to achieve local sustainable energy goals.
“The biggest thing that we've done is we partnered with SOPEC a few years back, and through their P3 program, we run on 100% renewable sources of energy," he said. "So that was kind of a really big step forward in lowering that carbon footprint.”
Dunlevy also monitors all energy usage daily to evaluate ways to lower environmental impact.
"Lower our HVC uses and stuff like that because that is probably our largest source of energy use, that and in lighting," he said.
The exact cost-saving benefits of the new solar array won’t be clear until the panels have been in use for some time, Dunlevy said, but he hopes they will be able to install more technology like this at other branches in the future.
"We're just going to wait and see," he said. "I have a few other locations in mind, but I'd like to get this going before we start really exploring that."
