Catalog Pg. 2

Introduction To Solar Electricity

This catalog is designed to be used by the owner or potential owner of a PV system. Much of the product information has been selected and digested to specifically apply to the remote site home owner. After twelve years of research into the components and design of alternative energy systems, we've come to believe that not everyone should engage in the same cumbersome information-gathering process. We discuss all the components, including solar modules, batteries, inverters and even refrigerators, necessary for remote home use. Hopefully you will find it more valuable to read about the components you can use in your remote site home rather than the components available for all PV applications.

System Design

The PV systems we have designed have sold themselves. The owners are happily committed to their alternative sources of energy. This catalog proposes several system designs. The logic behind this kit technology is that you will not make the same expensive mistakes others have. A wrong guess or a little misinformation can result in a wrong choice or a poor design. If you purchase the wrong piece of equipment you forever live with poor performance, or suffer the economic loss incurred in a trade-in. The solution is to profit from the previous mistakes of others.

Why Photovoltaics?

There are many reasons why a remote site home should be powered by photovoltaic electricity. For the majority of the people, the first reason to use PV is cost. If your home is $10,000 from the power line, you are required to invest, or borrow and then invest, the full amount up front. You are responsible for an extra $1000 of cost to run a cable from the road to the house and install the service equipment. Then you have the privilege of purchasing power at the going rate, with guaranteed yearly increases.

PV electricity costs much more per kilowatt than the power from the power company. If you can decrease your usage by the same percentage increase in cost per kilowatt-hour with a home designed for efficiency, then you can save the large cost of a line extension to your remote home.

A PV system is modular. It can be purchased first as a beginning system and then expanded to a medium or large system. If you cannot afford a large PV system immediately, buy a small system and add to it as your cash flow permits.

A PV system is superior to a wind system in the home application. There is less maintenance, and what upkeep there is does not require an owner to choose between climbing a tower in an ice storm or watching his or her investment go down the drain. The sun shines more frequently than the wind blows. Long periods of no power in a wind system require a large and expensive battery bank.

Note: This introduction is continued on the next web page.

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