Boulder County schools ‘Flip the Switch’ on solar

Flatiron Elementary was the first of three schools to hold their ‘Flip the Switch’ event celebrating the grant they received through the ReNew Our Schools program, a program of the Center for ReSource Conservation (CRC). The grant funded instillation of solar panels on the school, including a monitor displaying the energy produced and consumed by the school, and education curriculum.

The CRC is a non-profit organization based in Boulder that provides education resources to help the community conserve natural resources. CRC provides the solar arrays free of charge to awarded schools, and also provides assistance with the monitoring system, with curriculum, and with the school’s ‘Flip the Switch’ ceremony. The ReNew Our Schools program was created with the intent of educating the local community about renewable energy.

Two other Boulder Valley Schools received funding for this program in 2011. Fireside Elementary will ‘Flip the Switch’ March 11, and Monarch K-8, also in Louisville, will ‘Flip the Switch’ on March 16. The ‘Flip the Switch’ events are open to the public giving everyone an opportunity to learn first hand about renewable energy. The event includes presentations about renewable energy and a tour of the system, and is open to all students, staff, and community of the school.

Energy monitors in the schools provide real-time data on the energy created by the solar array, and consumed by the school. This data is also available on the CRC website.

“We hope this will not only be an educational tool in the classroom, but that the students and staff will use the data to change the energy consumption of their school,” says Kathy Croasdale, ReNew Our Schools program coordinator for the CRC.

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