NEW BERLIN – The New Berlin Library will soon be operating under its own power with the installation of 54 solar panels on the building’s roof.
“Everything is up, everything is installed and we’re just waiting for NYSEG (New York State Electric and Gas Corp.) to do a final connect,” said Librarian Darlene Labrie.
For the past year, the New Berlin Library has appealed to area citizens and was successful in raising more than $8,000 for the $83,000 project. The remainder of the sum was provided through state grants with the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority providing nearly $53,000 and the New York State Construction Grant Program donating more than $30,000.
Labrie said the library wouldn’t have been able to complete the project without help from the state.
“We went to them for the $30,000-plus (construction grant) that we needed. After we started our solar project, it became a ‘green project,’ with updates to our hot water heater and inside lights,” she said.
NYSEG is scheduled to activate the panels by April 14.
The librarian said the “green project” had stirred a wide interest among local patrons and citizens who have come to the library to see the panels for themselves and to ask questions.
“There are an awful lot of patrons who come in and ask a lot of questions. People are interested. They want to try it themselves maybe, but they want to make sure it really works,” she said.
Labrie said it has been difficult in the last few months to keep books on the subject of solar panels and other environmental-friendly technologies available on the llibraries shelves.
“Books – they are all out all of the time because people have become so very interested in the technology. It’s been extremely popular. I’m even surprised. I knew there would be an interest, but not this much,” she said.
The solar panels generate energy and are connected to conduits and inverters located in the library's basement. The converters change the energy from direct to alternating current which is then fed along NYSEG’s power lines. The process has the potential of creating more power than the building needs and the power company will give the library credit for any power excess. The credit is then spent on the libray’s energy bills instead of cash later in the year when the days become shorter and the sun’s rays less direct.
“We’re anticipating in a lot of the months we’ll be taking care of ourselves or we’ll possibly be able to feed back in the grid to earn credit for the winter months,” said Labrie.
The library will not be able to function completely without traditional power, however, because the converters and other technologies require an amount of energy from NYSEG to operate.
“If we lose all power, then the panels won’t work,” she said.
Labrie said it was possible to have the panels charge a generator, but said the option was much more expensive than the one elected by the library.
“It takes a lot more hardware and it’s much more expensive with a generator,” she said.
To help keep interest in the program, the library is installing a wireless monitor that shows how the panels are producing energy for the building and will have it on display for the public.
The library is also working on installing an instant hot water heater and energy efficient lighting for the building in an effort to cut costs and be environmentally sound.
The New Berlin Library was recently awarded a five star rating from the Library Journal. The journal reviewed a number of New York State libraries of all sizes and rated them relative to the circulation and per-capita spending along with a number of other factors. New Berlin was only one of 12 other libraries in New York that earned a five star rating from the group.
“The rating is based on all relative factors that let you compete with much larger libraries,” said Labrie.
She said the New Berlin Library was also the only library in the region’s four county system to receive five stars.