The Toledo Museum of Art has taken a leadership role in the region in terms of green initiatives. As early as 1992, the Museum began replacing gallery lighting with energy efficient halogen lights and began using 3-watt LED night lights in the galleries instead of normal daytime lighting to save energy. Efficient fluorescent lights were installed in non-art areas, some with motion detectors.
The museum also installed energy efficient motors on mechanical system fans and pumps. These systems also have variable frequency drives that control the speed at which these fans and pumps operate so that energy demands are met, but the equipment doesn’t run at top speed all the time.
Green For You Campaign
On Arbor Day 2010, TMA launched a campaign to raise $100,000 for a campus-wide landscaping and tree-planting project. The goal is to plant 100 new trees over the next year across the Museum’s 36-acre grounds. Contributions to the Green For You campaign will support the implementation of a plan for the second century of the TMA campus landscape. Click here to find out more.
Solar Panels
The Museum has completed the second phase of a project to install solar panels on the roof of the main building. In spring 2011, more than 1,400 solar panels joined the 1,450 installed in 2008, now covering 60% of the building and making the 202 kilowatt system on the roof one of the largest solar panel installations in the state of Ohio. Now, on a clear, sunny day the modules produce up to 40% of the building’s electrical demand.
Microturbines
The next step in the greening of the Museum was the installation of four microturbines in the power plant in 2004. These generators are about the size of a refrigerator and burn natural gas. They produce 65 kW of electricity apiece and have been a cornerstone of the Museum’s energy saving efforts. With microturbine technology in place, the Museum has been able to generate 15 percent of its own electrical power, reducing it’s dependence on the electrical grid. Microturbines have many advantages, including:
- Pollute less than conventional systems
- Increased efficiency so they use less fuel
- Few moving parts (without oil lubricants)
- Burn a variety of fuels
- Durable and reliable (run 24/7)
- Immediate energy production
- Require little maintenance
- Create large amounts of energy in a small amount of space
- Work alone or in groups for capacity and redundancy
- Can generate electricity if the power grid fails