Students in Professor Chris Girand’s Master of Finance 418 class used satellite imagery of beach houses in Encinitas, California to design the most optimal grids for producing energy.
Sixty houses were selected based on size, roof direction and lack of shading. Each student was assigned one house. The student measured the south-facing portion of the roof using satellite imagery from Google’s Earth Viewer. Various panel layouts were configured to get the maximum number of panels on the south-facing surface.
The students employed a simple, grid-tie photovoltaic system and priced the system based on market prices for the individual components. Each house ended up with a slightly different solar array to make optimal use of the particular roof.
The students made assumptions about the typical electrical consumption of an Encinitas household (10,000 kWh per year) and future prices of electricity. The students calculated what each system would produce to offset that consumption. The savings created by the solar system was treated as a future positive cashflow. The present value of these cashflows was netted against the initial cost of the system. Cumulatively, the net present value of the 60 systems was $1.5 million.
The assumptions are dynamic variables. Interested readers may log on to the Google Sheet to adjust variables as they see fit and see the actual houses that were selected (all from publicly available sources). Over the last decade, the price of residential electricity in San Diego has gone up 3.5% per year. The students modeled 3% annual increase for the next 25 years. If a user thinks future electrical costs will increase at 4% per year the net present value of the 60 systems is $1.9 million.
Since it is Earth Day, it is nice to know that the 60 systems would generate enough excess electricity (482k kWh/year, beyond what is needed for the houses) to power 120 Teslas – 2 for each household. Each Tesla could drive 12,000 miles per year off the excess power – saving a total of 552 metric tons of carbon dioxide.
Disclosure: These houses were the low-hanging fruit of solar candidates with south-facing, unshaded roofs – not all residents of Encinitas are so lucky! Some houses may require expensive things like a new roof or an upgraded electrical panel before a solar installation can be performed. Students did not actually visit the houses in-person, climb up on any ladders or speak to the residents. A 30% Federal tax credit to help offset purchase price of system was not included.
Rady MFin Students Use Satellite Imagery to Design Optimal Solar Panel Systems for Earth Day was last modified: May 13th, 2020 by Rady School
The Rady School of Management at UC San Diego is pleased to offer a unique fellowship opportunity for graduates of any University of California campus who are interested in pursuing a Master of Finance (MFin), MS in Business Analytics (MSBA), or Master of Professional Accountancy (MPAc) after graduation.
The Rady UC Fellowship guarantees $10,000 in fellowship
funding to qualified admitted students.
In order to be considered for this fellowship, individuals must apply and be admitted to the Rady MFin, MSBA, or MPAc program, and must have completed or be on track to complete a degree from one of the ten University of California schools: UC San Diego, UC Berkeley, UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC Irvine, UC Santa Cruz, UC Riverside, UC Merced, and UC San Francisco.
For more
information on the programs and the admissions process, please visit:
At 3 p.m. on Fridays, employees at LinkedIn’s San Francisco
headquarters step away from their keyboards and gather on the 17th
floor terrace to enjoy each other’s company. They mingle with colleagues in
different departments. They savor a drink or some snacks. And they soak up the
glimmer and bustle of the SoMa neighborhood below. Doesn’t sound too bad, eh?
In late October, Rady School students had the opportunity to
immerse themselves in LinkedIn’s culture (and others) during the Bay Area Trek
organized by Rady’s Career Management Center. Over the course of two days, Rady
students (primarily MBA students, but also those in other master’s programs) visited
LinkedIn, Facebook, KLA, Komodo Health, Salesforce, AirBNB, Flex and Intel,
touring the state-of-the-art office spaces, asking questions of the working
professionals—many of whom are UC San Diego or Rady alum—and getting a clearer
picture of where their degree from Rady School of Management can take them.
We caught up with two students who attended—Ping Gu and Sitong Liu (MFin ’20) to ask them about their most memorable moments and why they encourage more Rady students to make the trip.
Which companies did you visit and why did you select them?
Gu: I visited Facebook and LinkedIn. I saw the big names and I didn’t think too much! I knew I wanted to go visit these companies.
Liu: I went to LinkedIn, Komodo and KLA. I was exciting to learn about them all. They offered a broad range of experiences. I was curious to know what kind of career advice they would give us.
What left the biggest impression on you from these visits?
Gu: At LinkedIn, all three speakers were UC San Diego alum. They were so supportive of us and said they see Rady growing very fast. Eric Darwin (Head of Corporate Development) shared his story of transitioning from investment banking to working at Salesforce and now doing mergers and acquisitions at LinkedIn. It painted a picture for us of how we can navigate our own careers. After the session, we got a tour of the building. Because it was Friday, we also got to join in on their regular happy hour on the 17th floor. That was so cool! People from every floor of the building came up to join.
Rady students enjoy the views at LinkedIn’s San Francisco headquarters
Liu:I did not know what to expect from Komodo, because they are a small firm, but they ended up being my favorite part of the trip! They have about 200 employees. There were three presenters—two were remote who are based in New York. They shared what it was like to move from a big company to a startup, and then grow in the new role from startup to small company. The employees were all very open. We had a short tour of their office and got to spend most of the time asking questions, even common interview questions, such as how to respond to “Tell me about yourself,” or what kind of opportunities I could be looking for based on my interests. One of their presenters, Brice, who is Head of Engineering, is also involved with recruiting, so he had a lot of great insight to share. I asked the question, “What can I do if I don’t like coding but I do like analytical work?” Brice followed up after the visit with a thoughtful email response to that question and it has really helped me in my career planning.
Komodo Health welcomes Rady students.
What interactions did you have with Rady alum during the Trek?
Gu: On Thursday night, there was an alumni mixer at Atwater Tavern in San Francisco. Dean Ordóñez was there too! I got to meet a lot of Rady alum working in the Bay Area. Some alum even drove from San Jose—almost two hours with traffic—just to come to the event. I talked to Jessica from KLA about Rady life and how much she loved it. I also met Jessica’s classmate Chiara (18). She’s doing consulting for the nonprofit sector and she told me about some really exciting job opportunities. In that moment I realized how networking can work for everyone. She said they needed someone with an accounting background. I studied finance and accounting as an undergraduate. Sometimes you don’t expect too much from just talking, but that is the magic of networking!
All of the alum shared an appreciation for Rady. They love Rady. They love San Diego. And they know what to expect from Rady graduates. They all showed a willingness to help one another.
KLA in Milpitas.
Rady students join alum Jessica Bonilla in KLA’s cleanroom.
Liu: At KLA, three employees—two who are Rady alum—made themselves available for a Q&A session. They offered us great advice about how to negotiate with a supplier. During their presentation, they showed us this video, The Monkey Business Illusion, to demonstrate that if you focus too much on one thing during negotiations, you end up ignoring some really important aspects of the transaction.
What did you gain from going on the Bay Area Trek?
Gu: The company visits allow you to not only learn what these employers do, but then you get to explore what you want to do and what direction you want to go after graduation. At LinkedIn, for example, each speaker had a different route getting to where they are today. Nobody had a typical path. Hearing about their processes and how they made it work opened my mind to what kind of career path I can pursue in the future. If you don’t go on a trip like this, you’ll never get to hear those stories. And if you weren’t attracted by the big company names alone, it’s also a great opportunity to meet Rady alumni and students from other departments.
Liu: Don’t underestimate what you can get out of visiting a small company, or a startup! [On the Trek], you really get to know the companies on a deep level. You can build personal connections with some of the presenters. This is a rare opportunity to take these tours. When you read online about what companies are like or what the culture is, the answer comes for a PR department, or maybe someone outside of the people who are doing the actual work that interests you. On the Bay Area Trek, you get to meet them. You get an authentic answer.
Your Invitation to LinkedIn’s 17th Floor Terrace Awaits was last modified: December 10th, 2019 by Camille Cannon