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STUART BLOCK: One of the things that got me started with this initially was the University's
2025 goal of being a carbon neutral campus. I had actually asked our house mom if I could
see our electricity bills and realized we are paying way too much money.
JOHN LAWSON: We’ve had projects that initiated
and gone down those paths with various other technologies, lighting and some other types
but not from a student or a fraternity member and making their house.
STUART BLOCK: This is only the second solar
system installed on a fraternity house in the entire country.
JOHN LAWSON: I met Stuart actually via email.
He was inquiring how to get solar here on campus and how to do more to participate in
energy conservation at his fraternity.
STUART BLOCK: We talked to them about the potential to get some additional funds to
make it a more affordable investment. And they gave us that opportunity to pay back
that loan through service hours.
JOHN GONOS: So our panels generate electricity when the sunlight hits them. The micro inverters
on the back convert the DC electricity into AC electricity. That AC electricity is tied
directly into the building right on the roadside of the meters. So if the building needs it
it’ll be used by the building first. The electricity will go to the building first.
Any excess will go back through the meter into the grid.
STUART BLOCK: I think this is definitely really
important given the context of time that we're living in. You know, this is the first time
that sustainability is really an oppressing issue. It's something that, you know, we all
recognize is going to need to happen in the future for us to be more sustainable and sustain
the future of our society.