Advertising Goes Solar with the Eco Board
Posted by Repower Admin on Thu, Jun 03, 2010
A local company, Cooley Group in Pawtucket, RI, has teamed up with Ricoh Americas Corp, Lamar Advertising, Xunlight Corp and Takara Media to install the Ricoh Times Square Eco Board- the first 100% solar powered billboard in Times Square. The Eco Board, located on the corner of 42nd street and 7th avenue, will be honored in a June 8th celebration.
This 6,000 sq. ft. billboard system is comprised of a flexible, lightweight Enviroflex® substrate, manufactured by Xunlight. The material is printable and incorporates thin film photovoltaic panels. The billboard contains 24 thin PV modules and 62 solar panels. Just think of the energy that could be generated if all billboards in Times Square alone were solar powered!
The Eco Board is 100% off the grid and will go dark when there is insufficient sunlight. The solar panels on the Eco Board have been configured to Manhattan's low lighting. Click here to view the Eco Board web cam.
In the future, they may be adding this material to existing billboards which will generate enough energy to power the billboards. If more energy is produced, utility companies may buy the power by feeding into tariff programs or net metering. Currently, there are over 450,000 billboards in the US.
If Times Square inspired you to make your home solar powered, Repower Home provides Solar Hot Water and Solar Pool Heating products. Why pay for energy when you can get it from the sun for FREE?
For a FREE estimate, please contact us at 1-877-975-0222 or visit us at www.repowerhome.com.
Photo Credit: Ricoh USA