Welcome to Linda and Terry Wolff’s
2012 Solar Products Catalog

Specializing in Sustainable Solar and Wind Energy Products to Brighten your Life!

2011 © This site is maintained by Terry R. Wolff

What is Solar Energy and how you can make it work for you

Solar Energy is simply the energy provided by our sun.

There are two ways of taking advantage of solar energy:

Solar Electric Energy

Electric Energy uses the power of the sun to produce electricity through solar cells, otherwise known as photovoltaic (PV).

When these cells are grouped together they form a PV Solar Module (solar panel).

These Solar Modules produce DC electric which can be used to charge

• Solar Storage Batteries for a Stand Alone Energy Systems that stand independent of any connection to a utility company. Once set up, these systems are practically maintenance free and are a better choice than operating a generator for your energy needs
• Connected directly to your utility, these Energy Systems are known as either Grid-Tie or Grid-Interactive (battery based). Both systems use Inverters which will sell your solar electric back to your utility company.

Solar Thermal Energy

Thermal Energy is everywhere. It’s used to

• heat air for area heating
• water for radiant heating, domestic hot water and heating swimming pools.

Solar hot air is used to circulate air in a chosen area.

Solar hot water can be used to heat:

•  Actively, a conventional heating element within the solar hot water system heats water on hot days.
• Passively, water is preheated before it is delivered to a conventional gas or electric water heater or boiler.

We offer three types of Solar Electric Energy Systems:

Stand-alone: A system not connected to the grid. More often than not, these systems are installed in remote areas where there is no utility-supplied power, like remote holiday cottages.

It is often cheaper to install a solar energy system than lay electricity cables to the site. Excess energy can be stored in a battery for use during times where there is no sunshine.

Grid-connected: A system where utility supplied electricity is connected to the property, but the owners wish to harvest clean, free energy from the sun. Usually in a quest to live a more sustainable, environmentally friendly existence.

Electricity is supplied first from the solar energy system, then the connected battery if one has been installed and finally from the grid if there is still a need.

Back-up: A system connected to an unreliable grid or one of poor quality. These types are usually installed in areas where a lot of power blackouts occur. A small system will service the most important electrical appliances and lights, but a bigger system will be required to keep the fridge running during a blackout.

About Solar Energy