An eleven-year-old girl entered Philippine Science High School in the early `80s. Given the tour by her "big sister", the girl along with her classmates were brought to that corner of the campus where the concrete edifice stood. Said the "big sister" to the freshmen, "This structure will be the PSHS Gymnasium. In it will be an olympic sized swimming pool and all the works for the students to enjoy and prove that we who are of PSHS believe in the saying, "Mens sana in corpore sano...translated from Latin as 'a healthy mind in a healthy body'".
The youngsters were excited.
The "big brother" who also led the touring freshmen was quick to add, "You are lucky that in a few years time, you will enjoy the features of this structure. We who are seniors will soon leave without a taste of what it's like to have a world class high school gymnasium".
Years passed by and the young girl who heard these words when she was a freshman became a senior. She herself became a "big sister" and toured the incoming freshmen telling them how lucky they were to have a gym that will have world class facilities. As for the girl, she would soon be graduating.
Many years later, the girl married, had a daughter. The daughter grew up and was admitted to PSHS! As an incoming freshman, the daughter heard the same story handed down not only by the "big sister" but by her mother many years before. "This structure will be the PSHS Gymnasium! In it will be an olympic sized swimming pool and all the works for us to prove that we who are of PSHS believe in the saying, "Mens sana in corpore sano" .
The daughter went through four years of PSHS and soon as it was her time to graduate. Even after such a long wait and two generations of PSHS students, the gym was still not finished.
One day, both mom and daughter drove by Agham Road. While driving, the daughter says to her mom, "Hindi pa ba tapos `yan?", obviously referring to the weather beaten concrete structure of the gym. Mom in her wisdom says, "It will never be finished my dear".
"And why do you say so, Mom? Surely the National Alumni Association will have enough money to take on the completion of the gym".
"It will never be finished", said the mom. "For all the years that the gym has stood there unfinished, it has served a very important purpose to us Science Scholars. The unfinished gym has always taught each and everyone of us who bears the PSHS name to never stop dreaming."
Jul 26, 2010 – The alumni of the Philippines Science High School, Batch of 1985, the celebrating Jubilarian Batch for the year 2010, in recognition of the contributions of their alma mater in moulding to who they are today, under the auspices of the Wilfred and Bonnie Uytengsu Foundation, has donated to the Philippine Science High School Main Campus the first-ever in the Philippines, non-utility Solar Energy Augmented Lighting System. The project is composed of two phases: Phase I is the Light-Emitting Diode Lighting Retrofit and Solar Photovoltaic Grid-Tied System Project for the Administration Building, and Phase II is the Stand-Alone, Off-Grid Solar Powered LED Roadway Lighting System.
This project was in the wish list of the current PSHS Main Campus Director, Dr. Helen Caintic, whose vision for the school is to be an environment-friendly institution showcasing renewable energy. Indeed, this project reduces the carbon footprint of the institute by 7.5tons-CO2 per year.
Spearheaded for implementation by Dr. Giselle Gervacio and Engr. Rodney Armena of Batch 1985, Brightbox Inc., represented by two other Batch 1985 alumni, Mr. Ramil Sevilla and Mr. Jason Hernandez, was the implementing agency.
Phase I: Solar Photovoltaic Grid-Tied System
The first component of Phase I involved the retrofitting of 200pcs of LED Ecolight downlight with a total wattage of 1,000watts replacing79pcs fluorescent tubes, 12pcs CFL and 3pcs Incandescent bulbs with a total wattage of 3,198 watts. Replacement of the conventional lamps to the more energy efficient LED lamps with a lifetime of 50,000-100,000 hours will reduce power consumption by 109,000-219,800KWh.
The second component of Phase I is the Solar Photovoltaic Grid-Tied System, which is the first non-utility grid-tied system in the Philippines, consisting of six (6) Kyocera 200W solar panels and one (1) unit of 1.5KWh grid-connect inverter. This system is designed to generate 5-6KWh of power per day, and with a life-span of 30 years, the projected total generated energy by the system for the school is 54,750 - 65,700 KWh.
Sunlight is absorbed by the solar panels which then converts the solar energy to direct current (DC). This direct current then flows into a grid-tied inverter, convert it to alternating current (AC), and is then transmitted to the main utility breaker panel to be used to light the lamps in the Administration Building. In cases of overcast weather conditions, where the power generated by the system may be less than the requirement, power is still to be supplied from the utility power provider because the system is grid-tied.
Phase II: Stand-Alone, Off-Grid Solar Powered LED Roadway Lighting System
Phase II are solar-powered LED streetlights composoed of a solar module whose function is to collect and convert solar energy into electricity, a solar charge/lighting controller to regulate and control the charging and lighting operations, a deep-cycle, lead-acid solar battery to store electrical charge for night-time operation and the LED roadway light. The system provides stand-alone, off-grid power to the 30W Ecolight LED roadway light to be installed on select roadways and outdoor pathways throughout the campus.
The six (6) units dusk-dawn solar LED streetlights each consist of a solar module whose function is to collect and convert solar energy into electricity, a solar charge/lighting controller to regulate and control the charging and lighting operations, a deep-cycle, lead-acid solar battery to store electrical charge for night-time operation and the LED roadway light. Another 12 units 6-10pm (4hours lighting operation) were installed in various locations throughout the campus to light some dark areas, replacing some existing conventional low-efficiency lights as well as augmenting the lighting in some areas.
To ensure 100% lighting uptime, the configuration provides for up to five-day system autonomy. System autonomy is the capability of the setup to provide reserve power during overcast weather where solar energy collection is below minimum required level. A built-in dusk-dawn sensing function is also provided as part of the charge controller features.
The use of LED streetlamps system reduces energy consumption by 5,475KWh/year, which relates to 31,250 – 62,500KWh for the lifetime of the LED lights, which is from 50,000-100,000 hours.
