White House Solar Panel

Description:

During his term in office, President Jimmy Carter fought for clean energy using renewable sources. As a symbol of his faith in “the power of the sun,” Carter had 32 solar panels installed on the White House West Wing roof in the summer of 1979. These panels were used to heat water in the household for seven years until President Ronald Reagan had them removed in 1986. The panels were stored in a government warehouse until 1991, when they were acquired by Unity College in Maine. The college installed some of the panels to heat their cafeteria water.

This solar panel is one of the original Carter White House panels and was donated to the National Museum of American History by Unity College in 2009.

Date Made: ca 1977

User: Carter, JimmyMaker: Inter Technology/Solar Corporation

Location: Currently not on view

Place Made: United States: Virginia, WarrentonUsed: United States: District of Columbia, Washington

Subject: EnvironmentDepicted: Environmental History

Subject:

See more items in: Political and Military History: Political History, General History Collection, Government, Politics, and Reform, Energy & Power, Environmental History

Exhibition:

Exhibition Location:

Data Source: National Museum of American History

Id Number: 2009.0154.01Catalog Number: 2009.0154.01Accession Number: 2009.0154

Object Name: solar panel

Physical Description: glass (overall material)metal (overall material)Measurements: overall: 5 in x 37 in x 78 in; 12.7 cm x 93.98 cm x 198.12 cm

Guid: http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/ng49ca746ac-ac0e-704b-e053-15f76fa0b4fa

Record Id: nmah_1356218

Our collection database is a work in progress. We may update this record based on further research and review. Learn more about our approach to sharing our collection online.

If you would like to know how you can use content on this page, see the Smithsonian's Terms of Use. If you need to request an image for publication or other use, please visit Rights and Reproductions.