The Estonian Literary Museum, like many other institutions, is having trouble keeping up with rising energy and heating costs. Solar panels are being considered because the summer is when the museum uses the most electricity.
Even though cooling and a portion of the dehumidifiers in the depositories were turned off, the museum’s power bill increased four times in September compared to September 2020.
According to administrative manager Margus Peet, the cost of district heating will increase by 47 percent in Tartu starting on November 1. This will have a negative impact on the museum’s financial situation.
“Our systems have prioritized efficiency for years, so there is nothing left to optimize. Spending on electricity has grown from €20,000 over the first nine months of 2020 to €73,000 for the same period this year,” Peet said.
For this reason, the museum has joined other state institutions in requesting additional funding for this year and the following year to cover energy costs. This year, the literary museum requires an extra €50,000.
The museum, however, has another idea. to begin utilizing solar energy to supplement the grid’s supply. The summer months, when the museum must maintain the temperature of its archives, are when the museum needs power the most, according to Margus Peet. In the summer, Estonia also has the most light.
“By placing solar panels on our roof, we have proposed to the ministry that they teach us to fish rather than hand us a boat. In the summer, we use 50,000 kWh per month, up from the 28,000 kWh we use on average during the winter. When I compare the two graphs, the summertime increase in solar panel output is roughly equivalent.”
The 200 square meters of roof space at the museum could be used to build a small solar park. The cost of such a project would be around €200,000, but it would help the museum better manage its energy costs because it could get at least half of its energy requirements from the sun.
In order to reduce the summer spike in consumption, Peet said the museum could reduce its use of so-called grid power to 20,000 kWh.
Despite State Real Estate AS managing the museum building, funding for the solar panels would need to come from the Ministry of Education and Research. To the ministry, the museum has twice written. The ministry has not yet provided a comment, the latter’s communication division informed ERR.
Reference: https://news.err.ee/1608764545/literary-museum-sees-solar-panels-as-a-way-to-reduce-power-bill