New Lewes library goes green
The new Lewes Public Library is aiming to become the greenest building in the Cape Region. With the recent decision to add 544 solar panels to the roof of the new 28,500-square-foot building, library officials may just reach that goal.
Mike Rawl of Horizon Philanthropic Services said the board's decision to add a solar system is the latest move in making the new library one of the most energy efficient in the area. Earlier in the design process, he said, library officials chose to incorporate LED lighting both inside and outside the building, which is projected to save about 60 percent in energy consumption. The board also chose to go with a variable refrigerant flow heating and cooling system, which is 35 to 50 percent more energy efficient than the system in the existing library building.
All the board's efforts should result in a building that is completely powered by its own energy system, saving about $47,000 in annual energy costs.
The panels will be positioned on both the Freeman Highway and railroad sides of the library. The system will include eight SolarEdge power optimizers that will boost energy production by about 9 percent, Rawl said. The panels will produce about 197,000 KW; however, the optimizers will boost production to about 212,000 KW.
One of the bells and whistles of the new system will be an innovative way to track the production of every single solar panel.
“The SolarEdge has a monitoring system that will be put in the lobby,” Rawl said. “So people can track panel-by-panel data for education and demonstration purposes.”
To go along with that feature, the library is planning to kick off a new fundraising campaign. Rawl said beginning in the new year, individuals or businesses may sponsor a solar panel. If the sponsor would like to find out how much power the panel is producing or how much money the panel is saving the library, the sponsor may come to the library and check the monitoring system.
The campaign will help offset the additional costs incurred by adding solar to the project. The solar add-on is expected to cost about $425,000, but the state has agreed to pay half the cost. Rawl said he is also confident half of the library's share will be covered by a grant from a private foundation.
The bid was awarded to Lucent Energy Management out of Hawthrone, N.J. Work is expected to be underway in short order, with the system operable by the anticipated library opening in April.
Rawl said part of the motivation for adding solar to the new building was the city's reluctance to continue its annual contribution to the library to cover maintenance and utilities. In February, mayor and city council approved a grant of $40,000 to the library for fiscal year 2017. However, the caveat was that the city would then evaluate its budget to determine if grants were prudent in future years.
The city is leasing the land on which the library will stand at no cost, but the library will own the building.
Nick Roth is the news editor. He has been with the Cape Gazette since 2012, previously covering town beats in Milton and Lewes. In addition to serving on the editorial board and handling page layout, Nick is responsible for the weekly Delaware History in Photographs feature and enjoys writing stories about the Cape Region’s history. Prior to the Cape Gazette, Nick worked for the Delmarva Media Group, including the Delaware Wave, Delaware Coast Press and Salisbury Daily Times. He also contributed to The News Journal. Originally from Boyertown, Pa., Nick attended Shippensburg University in central Pennsylvania, graduating in 2007 with a bachelor’s degree in journalism. He’s won several MDDC awards during his career for both writing and photography. In his free time, he enjoys golfing, going to the beach with his family and cheering for Philadelphia sports teams.
