solar christmas tree

solar christmas tree

Christmas and Solar Power

In Flint Michigan something amazing will be happening this coming Christmas.  It turns out that one of the two Christmas trees the city is putting up will be powered entirely by solar power.  On November 30th hundreds of people watched as the solar powered tree was lit by the Mid Michigan Solar Company.

The huge 20 foot solar powered Christmas tree won't use any electricity from the city's electric power supply. "The City Hall tree represents tradition," said Howard Croft, the Mid Michigan Solar president. "And the solar tree represents the future."

Howard Croft hopes the Christmas tree will represent a revitalization of the city of Flint.  Mr. Croft attended a renewable energy conference in Sweden with the mayor of Flint and when he returned home a new energy counsel was created.

The 20 foot Christmas tree is powered by LED lights and was donated by Genesee Regional Young Professionals.  Around $3000 dollars were raised by the Genesee Regional Young Professionals.  Mr. Croft said his business would provide the control box, lights, and a five and a half by three and a half foot solar panel.

The lights used for the tree are energy efficient and will use four to five times less energy than the lights that are general used for the holidays.

Mr. Croft believes the tree will only use around 120 watts of electricity every hour while the solar panels are even capable of powering 200 watts every hour. All through December, the tree is thought to use only 18,000 watts of power.  This amount is not more than a toaster or any other small household appliance would use if it were plugged in the entire day.  For nighttime usage, an amazing deep cell battery was put in the control box to save the sun's energy for use at night.

 

About the Author

Pat Greenfeld is a writer who is currently focusing on the environment.  Pat can be contacted by email at patgreenfeld@gmail.com

 

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