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Section 3: Planning roof-top solar for an O'Neill colleague (20 pts)

A colleague of mine is interested in rooftop solar energy generation. Below is his electricity use

from Duke in the past year and a half.

Kwh

Year Month/na. What is his average monthly electricity usage and his total annual usage? (2 pts)

b. Assume he would like to get an electric car in the future, so the system specification

should be at 150% of his total annual electricity use. How many 400 W photovoltaic

panels will my colleague need? State your assumptions clearly, including how many

hours of sunlight he will get in Bloomington Indiana. (5 pts)

c. How much does it cost to install solar panels? Most installers set the price according to

the system's wattage, with the average cost between $2.50 and $5 per watt. Please give

us the range of your cost estimate. (5 pts)

d. Should he buy the solar PV system? Discuss any US governmental incentives for such a

system at the moment and how would you convince him one way or the other? (8 pts)

Fig: 1

Fig: 2