Solar Basics

How solar works, both thermal and PV

Photovoltaics: The PV systems we design and install are very simple. Gone are the days of messy, expensive battery banks. Our grid-tie systems use only three elements: the solar panels, an inverter and a switch. (show diagram?/sample?) This system ties into your home's existing electrical system seamlessly. It is called a grid-tie system because it ties into the existing grid of electrical distribution in our state. When the sun is shining any of your home's electrical needs are supplied from your PV panels. Extra energy is pushed out onto the grid spinning your electrical meter backwards 9i.e., "crediting" your account) and adding clean, PV energy to your neighbors. At night the electricity you use comes back from the grid . With mindful conservation you can eliminate or drastically reduce your reliance on coal -fired electrical plants where most of our electricity comes from if you don't have a PV system.

Thermal/hot water systems are not high-tech. Humans have been using the idea of harnessing the energy of the sun to heat hot water for thousands of years. Improvements in parts and design have made solar hot water more efficient and more reliable, and less work. A solar fluid such as water or glycol or a mix is pumped into solar collectors (panels) that trap the energy from the sun and heats the fluid. The fluid then travels into a heat exchanger that transfers the heat created by the sun , into your home's hot water system. This system can be integrated with your home's current method of heating water so that your current system becomes a back up for the solar. You'll never run out of hot water - for showers, dishwashers, washing machines.