Solar 101

At SunWave Energy we understand that solar energy is a hot topic and many people just want to learn more about it. That is why we have designed this portion of our web site to help our potential customers and anyone else who wants to get more information do so, easily and comfortably.

It is our goal that once you have all of the information that you need you will either take the next step and request our Free Solar Evaluation for your home or business, refer us to your friend, decide to host a seminar in your community or business or just take the

Solar Power is one of the "Big Three" in alternative approaches to creating electricity for green living. The Big Three include

• Solar Power
• Wind Power
• Hydro Power

Of these three, solar power - which uses light and heat from the sun to create electricity - has come the furthest in terms of technology, consumer awareness, and commercial adoption. At the end of 2007, solar power worldwide accounted for 2,826 MW of power generation. This is 17.25% annual growth since 1985, when the installed solar power base was only 21MW. In comparison, wind power represented only 97 MW of installed power generation at the end of 2007, and installed MW of consumer hydro power (that is, hydropower generated on-site versus from a centralized hydropower facility like a dam) is virtually nil. The reasons that solar power has become the alternative energy generator of choice are numerous, and we will cover these trends as we expand the content in this section.

Solar Power is typically used for three main purposes:

• Heating and cooling buildings (both residential and commercial).
• As a source of heat for water heaters.
• As a source of power for external lighting.

The purpose of this site is to help you understand as much as possible about solar power - including why solar power is popular, solar power technology, solar power costs (both installation and operation costs), planning a solar power installation, the "gotchas" of solar power, selection of a solar power contractor or installer, and much more.

We realize that many of the folks who visit our site - perhaps that includes you - lead hectic lives and that the time you have to evaluate solar on any given day is limited. We thus have purposely tried to keep these articles short and to-the-point so that you can read one or more articles in the time you have, and then return to continue your education.