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WisconSUN Case Study:
Ritger Law Offices
- Installed: December, 2000
- PV System Size: 5.12 kW, composed of eighty 64 W Uni-Solar panels
- Design: Standing seam integrated PV roofing panels, with uninterruptible power supply system
- Building architect: LJM Architects
- PV system design and installation: Lake Michigan Wind and Sun
- PV system design support: L&S Associates
- Location: Random Lake, WI
The Ritger Law Offices under construction. Note the darker looking photovoltaic (PV) panels
on the top left surface of the roof. The panels will run the length of the building.
Lawyer Ed Ritger has built one of the greenest commercial buildings in Wisconsin. Not only is it powered by the sun, but it uses a pond geothermal system for heating and cooling, daylighting for illuminating offices with natural light1, highly insulated walls2, and many recycled and recyclable building products. The building also stands on land that was once a landfill.
The Uni-Solar photovoltaic (PV) standing seam roofing is aesthetically appealing and has a 20-year warrantee. The PV standing seam roofing should provide reliable shelter from rain and snow while providing almost 7,000 kWh of power annually for 40 years. The PV material arrived in rolls and was adhered onto the standing seam roofing panels before they were installed.
The building's PV system has dedicated eight PV panels to maintain the charge on the batteries supporting an uninterruptible power supply system (UPS). The UPS system is able to provide power to critical building systems, including computers, telephones, lighting, and heating system pumps. With the UPS system, the offices will continue to function whenever the power goes out. During extended outages all eighty PV panels will support the UPS system.
Interested individuals are invited to view the system. It is located 675 Wolf Rd., at the
corner of highways 144 and K on the north side of Random Lake, Wisconsin. For more information
contact
the Ed Ritger Offices
phone 920.994.4313
e-mail: Ritgerlw@execpc.com
Notes
1 Note the first floor "T" shaped windows. The top windows allow dispersed light into the office building, while the lower windows allow only a fraction of the direct sunlight and heat into the building's interior. High ceilings and light colored interior walls help bring the daylight deep into the first floor of the building..
2 Made of interlocking polystyrene blocks that are filled with reinforcing bars and cement.
Photo credit
Niels Wolter, WisconSUN
copyright © 2000 WisconSUN
