Swope Fountain, one of two in Kansas City switched to solar power.
Kansas City is the City of Fountains, and some of them are now being powered by the sun through a partnership with the company Grundfos. From the Parks and Recreation Department:
Two of Kansas City’s historic fountains are being removed from the electric grid and switched to solar power. The Thomas H. Swope Memorial Fountain in Swope Park and the American War Mothers Memorial Fountain at the intersection of Meyer Boulevard & The Paseo will soon be operated by a solar power solution provided by Grundfos, a Danish company with North American headquarters in Olathe, Kansas.
Officials at Grundfos saw news reports earlier this year about Kansas City’s fountain funding being in jeopardy and stepped forward to assist. Grundfos will supply electric pumps, solar panels and control boxes for the two fountains at no cost to the city; the retail value of the equipment is approximately $21,000. If successful, the partnership could be expanded to include more fountains and possibly aerators for lakes.
The first two fountains were chosen because they require relatively little energy to operate. Each runs on less than one horsepower pumping about 200 gallons of water a minute. To go solar, each fountain will require only four to six solar panels that are 2 1/2′ x 4′ each.
Parks and Recreation operates and maintains 49 fountains in partnership with Water Services who, with its #1 drinking water in the country, provides the water and electricity to run the fountains.
More about the fountains can be found here.
Filed under: facilities, green infrastructure, maintenance/management
What a great idea! It’s nice the company Grundfos donated materials and money. Hopefully this partnership will continue to be a success.