Solar Totems - San Francisco, CA - Solar Power on Waymarking.com

Solar powered art in San Francisco, CA.

"The installation is comprised of three 30-inch diameter by 12-foot-tall reclaimed redwood logs installed upright on the open, south-facing plaza in front of the new Recreation Center. A solar powered mechanism with a spherical lens is mounted on one of the logs. The sun’s rays are focused by the lens to lightly burn into the wood. As the sun moves across the sky, the burn becomes a line; preserving a record of sunshine periodically broken by fog or cloudy skies. The lens is advanced a small distance each day to create a distinct daily line. The mechanism records one year of daily atmospheric conditions. When the yearly record is complete, the heliograph is moved to another log, leaving a sculptural archive of daily variations in sunlight that park visitors can use to compare regional weather patterns from year to year.

According to the artist, ”Taken together, the three transformed logs turn the plaza into a kind of civic solar and atmospheric observatory, artistically expanding our understanding of place and connecting us to our environment through that understanding.” (visit link)

Type of system: Photovoltaic (electrical) Related webpage: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
Tell of your visit and any comments you may have.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.