Obama Installs New Solar Panels Atop the White House to Power Equivalent of 22 100 Watt Light Bulbs.

By Rob Janicki

The Obama administration, to show its support for renewable and sustainable energy sources, has installed solar panels atop the White House.  Actually, these panels are not the first solar panel array to adorn the roof of the White House.  

Jimmy Carter, formerly described as the worst president in American history, was the first president to go solar with panels atop the White House in the late 1970's.

President Obama has now officially been designated the worst president in American history and this latest example only adds to that ignominious mantle.

It's reported that the solar array will be able to produce 44 kilowatts of power when the sun is shining at its maximum efficiency level.  Bear in mind that when the sun is shining, the maximum electrical generation occurs between 10am and 3pm and then, only during the summer months when the sun is at its highest apogee.

If 44 kilowatts hours sounds like a lot of energy, it isn’t. The average home consumes about 30 kilowatt hours (kWh) of power each day.

According to data from TradeWind Energy, one 100-watt light bulb running for 20 hours will use two kilowatt-hours of electricity (100 watts x 20 hours = 2,000 watt-hours = 2 kWh).

In other words, the White House installed enough solar panels to power twenty-two 100-watt light bulbs for 20 hours each day. And if you’ve ever been inside the White House, or seen it from a distance, you’ll notice it’s lit up like a klieg light.

 

The White House did not reveal the cost of the project, the system used, the number of panels and their ratings or the contractors that installed the solar array.

Read more here.