Costa Rica Schools

Colegio Humboldt races to be
1st carbon-free school in Costa Rica

The children who attend the Colegio Humboldt, a German school in the western San José district of Pavas, have a bright and sunny future ahead of them.

Two German energy companies – Steca Elektronik and Sunset Solar – put the finishing touches on the school's new solar roof this week as part of its efforts to become the first carbon neutral school in Costa Rica. The system, which will generate between 5 and 7 percent of the school's total energy consumption, began generating electricity on Thursday morning.

The project, which was coordinated by the German Energy Agency (DENA), began in March 2009 and cost €90,000. Funding for the installation came from the Federal Ministry of Economics and Technology in Germany and a private German bank.

Aswin Linsenmeyer, an engineer for Sunset Solar, said the Costa Rica school should see a “return on investment” within 10 years.

The companies installed photovoltaic and thermal solar systems for the school. The photovoltaic system converts solar rays into electricity. Dirk Hasse, member of the school's executive director's board, said the photovoltaic system generates the perfect amount of electricity to power small machines like computers and printers in the school's offices.

The thermal solar system converts sun rays to heat, which is used to heat water. In Colegio Humboldt's case, the hot water will be used in the kitchen, dining hall and gym showers.

Hasse noted that aside from the emissions-free benefit, solar energy provides a great cost-cutting method.

In peak hours, electric rates in Costa Rica are higher. If a building can reduce the amount of energy it uses during these times, Hasse reasons, it can decrease the amount of electricity drawn from the grid and reduce the amount of money spent.

Hasse said, “Why spend so much money on energy when we have sufficient, free energy from the sun?”