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Materials
This page goes into detail about some of the technology Competitive Solar uses. Our blog is another great resource to learn from. If you have a specific question please email us or just call (541) 436 0800.
So you've decided that you want to reduce your electricity consumption, save the planet and make a few $'s. Well there are a few items we need to figure out first. You need to know what kind of solar equipment you want to use. Do you have a confined area that faces South, like a residential roof? If so mono-crystaline or poly-crystaline solar panels are going to be your best option. Maybe you have a lot of space, but you're on a tight budget; thin film solar modules will be most economical for this situation. Thin film takes up a larger space but performs cooler and are the least expensive. All Competitive Solar products are competitivly priced (we chose the name for a reason), we want to give you the best system for the best price. A good thing to know about solar systems is they are bid by the watt. Competitive Solar has made agreements with supply companies to be able to deliver you the best possible deals on solar, starting at just $7/W.
Solar Panels
The earth has an abundant source of energy; the sun. The sun produces enough light that one hour of the total light cast on the earth could power the planet for a year. The world leaders in solar are Germany and Japan. Up until late 2008 Germany was installing as much solar in one week as the United States installs in one year. Germany now recieves over 20% of its electricty from solar. Oregon doesn't seem particularly sunny, but it has more potential than either Germany or Japan. Astoria, OR has the least amount of a solar resource in all of Oregon, yet it still has a higher solar potential than anywhere in all of Germany.
Inverters
Now that you have the type of solar modules picked out there are a few other components that we need to discuss. One of those items is an inverter. Before you can put energy back into the grid it has to be at the right voltage and must be Alternating Current (AC). When solar panels produce electricty it is in the form of Direct Current (DC). An inverter is used to convert your solar produced DC electricity into AC electricity that households and businesses can use.
Racking
The last main item of your solar system is the racking; the actual attachment to of the panels to your roof. Competitve Solar does our homework on racking systms. We will not install a solar system unless it meets our strict level of quality, both in strengh and design. We do the engineering to make sure that your panels will remain installed no matter what mother nature tests them with. Our racking systems are custom designed, specific to the area they are being installed in. Other design considerations are aesthetics, roof loading, and customer budgets.
