Gulf Power is pleased to provide schools in our service area solar energy resources as well as professional development and materials to enhance the classroom experience and teach students about solar power and energy resources.
Find solar curriculum materials you can use in your classroom, courtesy of the NEED Project.
Intermediate students learn about solar energy through investigations that explore radiant energy transforming into thermal energy, kinetic energy, chemical energy, and electricity. The kit includes a Teacher Guide, a class set of Student Guides, and the materials necessary to conduct the activities.
Energy From the Sun Teacher Guide (e-publication) Energy From the Sun Student Guide (e-publication)Secondary students learn how solar energy is used to generate electricity. Students are introduced to photovoltaic systems, concentrated solar power, and developing solar technologies. Activities explore how photovoltaic cells work and what variables affect their electrical output.
Exploring Photovoltaics Teacher Guide Exploring Photovoltaics Student GuidePrimary students are introduced to solar energy with a read-aloud book and classroom-based activities. Students will learn that the sun’s energy produces light, transforms to heat, powers the water cycle, produces wind, and that solar cells convert radiant energy into electricity. The kit includes a Teacher Guide and the materials necessary to conduct the activities.
The Sun and Its EnergyElementary students develop a basic understanding of solar energy through background reading and classroom activities. Hands-on activities demonstrate solar energy transformations into kinetic energy, thermal energy, chemical energy, and electricity. The kit includes a Teacher Guide, a class set of Student Guides, and the materials necessary to conduct the activities.
Wonders of the Sun Teacher Guide Wonders of the Sun Student GuideProvides lessons and activities to support and incorporate installed photovoltaic systems into the classroom learning environment.
Gulf Power has participated in two initiatives to bring photovoltaics closer to the classroom by providing funding and project development support in the installation of several photovoltaics systems at local schools.
One program, led by the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC), was designed to promote solar across the state and collect valuable solar data, as well as provide backup power in times of emergency. Schools with these grid-tied battery backup systems were classified as SunSmart E-Shelter Schools. Gulf Power provided resource support for 9 of these schools in the Gulf Power service area.
View listAdditionally, Gulf Power has also developed its own program, “Solar for Schools,” which has successfully installed photovoltaics on 6 more schools. These photovoltaic systems are used primarily as an educational tool, but do provide some energy benefit as they are also grid-tied. Each school’s system is unique as each incorporates different installation or mounting methods!
View listPhotovoltaics (foh-toh-vohl-tey-iks)
Each year thousands of local students are adding this term to their vocabulary and learning how the sun can make electricity by using the generation of a direct current (voltage) when electromagnetic radiation or sunlight falls on the boundary of two dissimilar substances (semiconductors) to create a charge that travels to a contact.
A standard panel in today's market is around 250 Watts DC in optimum conditions and will produce about 1 kWh of electricity per day on average.
Students relate to values that they can hold in their hands or feel from their actions. Most students have direct involvement with a computer every day at school.
A typical desktop computer or laptop during the school day consumes about 1kWh of electricity. Therefore, each solar panel installed on a school provides enough power for a computer in the classroom! Similarly, one panel can generate enough electricity to offset the power needed to run a gaming console throughout the whole day. Now that's a lot of game time!
This handy dashboard lets you see the cumulative data totals for all 15 schools.