LIHU‘E — The sea of lights were turned on formally Friday evening during the Festival of Lights ceremony at the Historic County Building. In the vast expanse of illumination which paints the trees on its lawn as well as the
LIHU‘E — The sea of lights were turned on formally Friday evening during the Festival of Lights ceremony at the Historic County Building.
In the vast expanse of illumination which paints the trees on its lawn as well as the exterior facade, one small tree stands out.
“This tree is powered by solar,” said Pat Gegen, accompanying a trio of Kalaheo Elementary School students. “We’ve got about 200 lights on this tree and it’s all powered by one solar panel.”
The main source of power is the 240-volt solar panel, Gegen said. This covers the housing for the inverters and batteries which is able to run the lights during the night and a couple of hours in the morning.
The tree is a project of the school’s fifth-grade class as part of its energy and sustainability education, done in collaboration with The Blue Planet Foundation.
“The students are adding decorations made from the aluminum from the Thanksgiving turkey,” Gegen said. “The other decorations are from used light bulbs from the exchange for compact fluorescent lamps. It’s all done by the fifth-graders.”
The students are bringing home kilowatt meters, acquired through a grant, to measure how much their home is costing, he said.
“It’s all about sustainability and recycling,” Gegen said.
“They’ve eaten the turkey and the dressings. Now, they’re figuring out how to make decorations with the containers.”
The Norfolk pine with its accompanying solar panel set-up is located to the right of the stairs leading to the entrance of the Historic County Building.
