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THE BLUEBIRDīs HIGH-TECH SECRETS:
The historical structure of the Bluebird also hides some interesting technology. Through a grant from the US Department of Energy, the Bluebird has been actively assisting in the design of new photovoltaic technologies. The entire south facing roof of the house is covered in specially designed solar panels. These "PV" panels produce all of the electricity used by the Bluebird. More importantly from an aesthetic point of view is the look of the panels. They are laminated directly to a historically accurate standing seam metal roof and as such do not look anything like the boxy structures previously used for this purpose. The energy from these panels is stored in a large bank of batteries in a nearby shed. Then this DC energy is fed through an inverter where it is stepped up to household voltage. A computer controls all of these functions and logs many parameters of data for use by the Dept. of Energy and others. This is exciting technology and it
works! Come on over for a tour. The Bluebird's electric bills are typically under $200 per year!
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