Washington (CNN) -- Solar panels and a solar hot water heater will soon be installed at the White House, Energy Secretary Steven Chu said Tuesday. 
 
 Chu announced the conversion at the 2010 GreenGov Symposium in Washington, accompanied by Nancy Sutley, chairwoman of the Council of Environmental Quality. 
 
 "This project reflects President Obama's strong commitment to U.S. leadership in solar energy and the jobs it will create here at home," Chu said in a written statement released by the Energy Department. "Deploying solar energy technologies across the country will help America lead the global economy for years to come." 
 
 By installing the solar panels on the White House, Sutley said the president is underscoring a commitment to "lead, and the promise and importance of renewable energy in the United States." 
 
 The solar panel system, which should be installed by next spring, will convert sunlight directly to electricity, while the solar hot water heater will have a solar collector facing the sun to heat water for use in the White House residence. The Energy Department said a competitive procurement process will be used to select the company that will make the installations. 
 
 This is not the first time solar energy has been tapped at the White House. Former President Jimmy Carter had solar panels installed on the roof of the White House residence during his term. They were removed during the Reagan administration. Former President George W. Bush also used solar energy to help power a maintenance building on the White House grounds, and to assist in heating the swimming pool there. 
 
 The announcement comes on the one-year anniversary af an executive order signed by the president that called on the federal government to lead in the establishment of a clean energy economy. 

 FILE - This file photo released by Solar Design Associates shows the solar thermal system produced by the Harvard, Mass., company, installed on the roof of the White House pool cabana in Washington during... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this June 21, 1979, file photo President Jimmy Carter speaks against a backdrop of solar panels at the White House Washington. The panels catch the suns rays and warm water used in parts of... (Associated Press) 
 
 FILE - In this June 20, 1979, file photo President Jimmy Carter, center, is surrounded by reporters and photographers as he inspected new White House solar hot water heating system located on the roof... (Associated Press) 
 
 The most famous residence in the United States, which has already boosted its green credentials by planting a vegetable garden, plans to install solar panels atop the White House's living quarters. The solar panels are to be installed by spring 2011, and will heat water for the first family and supply some electricity. 
 
 Energy Secretary Steven Chu announced the plans Tuesday in Washington at a conference of local, state, academic and nonprofit leaders aimed at identifying how the federal government can improve its environmental performance. 
 
 Former Presidents Jimmy Carter and George W. Bush both tapped the sun during their days in the White House. Carter in the late 1970s spent $30,000 on a solar water-heating system for West Wing offices. Bush's solar systems powered a maintenance building and some of the mansion, and heated water for the swimmint pool. 
 
 Obama, who has championed renewable energy, has been under increasing pressure by the solar industry and environmental activists to lead by example by installing solar at the White House, something White House officials said has been under consideration since he first took office. 
 
 The decision perhaps has more import now after legislation to reduce global warming pollution died in the Senate, despite the White House's support. Obama has vowed to try again on a smaller scale. 
 
 Last month, global warming activists with 350.org carried one of Carter's solar panels _ which were removed in 1986 _ from Unity College in the state of Maine to Washington to urge Obama to put solar panels on his roof. It was part of a global campaign to persuade world leaders to install solar on their homes. After a meeting with White House officials, they left Washington without a commitment. 
 
 Bill McKibben, the founder of the 350.org group, said Tuesday the administration did the right thing. 
 
 "If it has anything like the effect of the White House garden, it could be a trigger for a wave of solar installations across the country and around the world," McKibben said in a statement. 
 
 What was unclear Tuesday was how much the White House solar project will cost, and how much fossil fuel-based electricity it would displace, since the system is not yet designed and the White House will not disclose how much energy is needed to keep the president's lights turned on. 
 
 Based on available roof space, administration officials expect the photovoltaic system will include between 25 to 75 panels and will convert sunlight into 19,700 kilowatt hours of electricity a year. That would save a typical household $2,300 on its electricity bill, based on commercial rates in Washington. The solar hot water heating system, based on government estimates, could save an additional $1,000 a year. 
 
 But the White House is far from a typical house, noted Danny Kennedy, the founder of California-based solar energy provider Sungevity, which offered to put solar panels on the White House for free earlier this year as part of a campaign called SolarontheWhiteHouse. 
 
 Kennedy estimates that outfitting Obama's home with solar would cost about $100,000 if paid out of pocket. But the money would be earned back with savings on the electric bill in the first five years, he said in an interview from the Maldives, where he is installing 48 solar panels on President Mohammed Nasheed's private residence. 
 
 Kennedy said his calculations were based on a 5,000 square-foot (464 sq. meter) California home, which uses 60,000 kilowatt hours of electricity annually.
– The White House will be powered at least in part by the sun after the installation of solar panels and a solar water heater next spring, CNN reports. The system will provide some electricity and heat water for the first family. "If it has anything like the effect of the White House garden, it could be a trigger for a wave of solar installations across the country and around the world," says the founder of one environmental group, reports AP. This isn't the first time that solar panels have been used at the White House. Liberals and conservatives have engaged in a tug-of-war over the technology: Jimmy Carter first installed panels on the roof of 1600 Pennsylvania, but Reagan had them torn out. It was George W. Bush who found a compromise—he used solar power, but only to power a maintenance shed.