About The Data
The Schoolgen website displays data on how much electricity the schools are generating from the solar panels on a daily, weekly, monthly and yearly basis. Some of the Schoolgen teaching resources have been specifically written to require students to compare, analyse and interpret the data from the solar panels. Don't worry if your school doesn't have the solar panels as you can use data from one of the Schoolgen schools in your classroom.
Solar Radiation
We are now providing real-time solar radiation data from NIWA so students can understand the effects that weather has on the generation of electricity from the solar panels.
The solar radiation data for each school is displayed alongside the electricity generation graphs on a daily basis.
The solar radiation data is obtained from a number of weather stations across the North Island. In the Auckland region the data is obtained from the Mangere EWS weather station. For the Hamilton City schools the weather data is obtained from the Ruakura 2 EWS weather station. For schools in the Greater Waikato we use data from the Ruakura 2 EWS, and for the Greater Wellington schools data is obtained from the Wallaceville EWS. Manawatu/Wanganui and Hawkes Bay regions utilise the Palmertson North EWS and Napier Aero AWS, respectively.
What do the solar radiation graphs mean?
Generally the solar radiation reading will correspond with the power output from the solar panels - ie high solar radiation means high power output from the solar panels. However there may be some instances when even though the solar radiation has remained high the actual power output from the solar panels is low.
This anomaly could be for a number of reasons:
- The Weather station that the solar radiation data is obtained from is not close to the school in question so whilst the weather may be sunny at the weather station it could actually be cloudy over the school at the particular moment.
- The school may be experiencing some network problems which may have caused a disruption in the electricity generation data feeds from the solar panels, resulting in a low power output figure.
Genesis Energy appreciates the support of NIWA in being able to provide this information on the Schoolgen website.
Emission Co-efficient
Genesis Energy uses the emissions factor of 0.195 kg/CO2 per kWh as referenced in "Guidance for Voluntary, Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting - data and methods for the 2008 calendar year" Ministry for the Environment September 2009. This emission factor has applied since January 2008.
More information about the emission factor can be obtained from the Ministry for the Environment's Website: www.mfe.govt.nz.
Prior to that Genesis Energy used the emissions factor of 0.165 kg/CO2 per kWh as referenced in "Guidance for Voluntary, Corporate Greenhouse Gas Reporting - data and methods for the 2007 calendar year" Ministry for the Environment September 2008.
Real-time Information
We have also included real-time information relating to the output of the solar panels of the schoolgen schools. This information explains the panel voltage and the output power of the PV system:
Panel Voltage: This refers to the actual voltage the Solar panels are producing. The more sun they are exposed to the higher the volts they will produce. These numbers will be different from site to site when for example it is a nice sunny day at one school but overcast at another. This will typically be more pronounced during over cast weather when one of the schools is in a small clear patch while others remain in cloud and rain!
Output Power: As the sun on the Solar panels becomes more intense and the voltage increase this makes the output POWER also increase. This number represents the total output power of the system once the Solar (DC - Direct Current) power is converted to the type of power you use in the School or home (AC- Alternating current).
