The Classroom

It teaches.

Most schools teach energy from a textbook. Wayne Trace could teach it from its own campus — real watts, real weather, real dollars.

Don't take our word for it.
Drive it.

Change the weather. Tilt the panels. Run a whole school day. The math responds.

Wayne Trace Living Lab

500 kW HIGH SCHOOL ARRAY · HAVILAND, OH

Weather

Panel tilt 30°

Ideal here is about 34°

Time of day 1:00 PM

0 kW
Producing now
0 kWh
Energy today
0 lbs
CO₂ avoided
$0
Saved today
POWER OUTPUT — kW THROUGH THE DAY1:00 PM
0 250 500 6 AMNoon8 PM
What this is teachingThe power curve peaks at solar noon — this is why the array faces the way it does.

Illustrative simulation for Haviland's latitude (~41°N), Ohio retail rate (~$0.105/kWh), grid carbon (~0.85 lb CO₂/kWh). The real installation displays actual measured data on this same screen.

One array.
Every grade.

K–5

See it.

Watch the curve rise with the sun. Count cloudy days. Graph the seasons.

6–8

Measure it.

Correlate weather with output. Build a hypothesis. Test it against real data.

9–12

Work it.

Engineering, payback math, and career exposure on the district's own $1.05M asset.

See sample lessons

The Cloud Detective · Grades 6–9

Predict tomorrow's output from the forecast, then check the dashboard. Forecasting, error, and the variability of renewables.

Pay It Back · Grades 9–12

Model how long until the system pays for itself using its real cost and daily savings — then stress-test it at 5% annual rate increases.

Tilt & Angle Lab · Grades 7–10

Find the best angle with small panels and protractors — then check it against the real array outside.

Carbon Translator · Grades 5–8

Convert avoided CO₂ into cars and forests, and publish the school's monthly infographic.

The numbers are real.
That's the point.

1,050 kW
of working hardware to study
365 days
of free, live data every year
$178K
in savings students can model
30 yrs
of curriculum life

And the careers it leads to