The building, that was the highest in Europe when was built and still is the second highest in Manchester, had millions of little mosaic tiles covering its windowless façade, but due to time and pollution, these tiles were falling down. A long term repair was needed.
Gary Thomas, Head of Property and Facilities, had the idea of turning the building in a giant solar panel in 2000. And in 2004 the transformation began.
A few years, 7244 photovoltaic panels and £ 5.5 millions (around $ 11 millions) latter, the 400ft building turned into a giant solar power plant that generates 390kW, 181,000 units of renewable electricity each year - equivalent to the energy needed to full power 55 homes for a year.
Some more details:
In total, 7,244 Sharp 80W modules are used to clad the entire service tower. From this total, 4,898 PV modules are live, 870 ‘full size’ dummy modules and 109 ‘medium size’ dummy modules and 1,367 edge modules were used in order to optimize the system’s electrical generation and minimize costs. (source: Solarcenter)
Curiosities:
* Generates total electricity for 61 average three-bed houses each year (note: there is a difference between what is stated in the Tower’s site and in the Solarcenter’s site)
* Generates enough electricity each year to light an average three-bed house for over 305 years
* Generates enough electricity to make 6.8 million pieces of toast/9.9 million cups of tea every year
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