Thank you for allowing our team to install this beautiful SunPower solar array on your home recently, Dan and Evelyn!
Listen in as Dan shares with Andy how much their solar panels produce on rainy/cloudy days in the Pacific Northwest.
SunPower
“Power Trip Energy was amazing to work with. They provided multiple options based upon several usage scenarios. They patiently answered questions. They took care of all of the permits and approvals required. The installation crew was capable, quiet, and clean – we hardly knew they were here.
They came out same day within a couple of hours of the utility installing the net-metering meter. Excellent communications and clarity.
Thank you again for your patience and flexibility with our situation. We broke-even on production/usage yesterday, and that was only with about five peak production hours and partly cloudy conditions. We can’t wait to see how it does during the peak production months! Please don’t hesitate to reach-out if we can help support your on-going efforts in the community.” Jonathan & Nancy
The Silicon Valley Toxics Coalition is renowned for conducting in-depth studies regarding the environmental and labor policy aspects of high tech manufacturers. In this year’s study of the top solar PV manufacturers, SunPower has ranked #2, and SolarWorld has ranked #4. We are proud to be SunPower Preferred Dealers and members of SolarWorld’s Authorized Dealer Network. Also of note, SunPower was recently the first pv manufacturer to receive certification from the Cradle to Cradle Products Innovation Institute which I wrote about recently. https://powertripenergy.com/sunpower-achieves-cradle-to-cradle-product-certification/
Congratulations are in order for top-ranked Trina, and #3 rated Yingli – both top Chinese manufacturers. While we are not currently offering Chinese manufactured products, we respect these company’s commitment to environmental cleanliness despite the lack of environmental regulations in their country of origin. Norway’s REC, with a major presense in Moses Lake, WA, rounds out the top 5. Of note, all five members of the Top 5 are dedicated PV manufacturing companies, focusing entirely on one product, and bringing a philosophy of vertical integration to their process. This may indicate that the mindset and ethic of the corporate leadership has a holistic understanding of the whys behind the hows of solar.
Shame to Panasonic, Sharp, Samsung, and Hyundai – all major electronics manufacturers and major PV manufacturers on the global market who all scored near the bottom of the list. Get with the program!
What is the environmental score of your pv array? Read the full report at the link below, and heed the advice of the authors: “Use this scorecard to help choose a manufacturer that is committed to high environmental and worker safety standards for PV module manufacturing.” Hint: if you don’t know who made your cells, that may not be good.
8 KW SunPower pv array on shop in Sequim, June 2014
Turner – Phase 5
This photo is of a home just outside Port Angeles with which we are very familiar. We are familiar with this home because we have performed 5 pv installations there over the years, originally in 2006, when we put up 3.4 kw of Sanyo 190 watt modules, as pictured below. They are now up to a total of 8 kw. Our client views his consistent incremental upgrades as retirement investment and a hedge against rising energy costs. This couple is also environmentally motivated, and very well known in their community for their generosity with their time for civic causes. While we wouldn’t necessarily recommend you go about your solar installation in this way due to the increased labor costs compared to a single installation, we will be happy to work with you whatever your goals and thoughts are about pv.
SunPower Ranked #1 in “Highest Quality” in Another Study
In a recent international survey conducted among PV system installers, integrators, EPC providers and PV module distributors, there were two interesting findings that align with our business practices here at Power Trip Energy.
Firstly, 99% of these respondents said that module reliability was a more important purchasing factor than price. We have made this determination long ago. As a small installer with a single crew and over 400 systems installed in the last 11 years, we are happy to have made the decision to work with high quality equipment, and not necessarily chase the lowest cost per watt. As a result of our choice, our single crew is always scheduled to be installing a new system, and is very rarely called off in order to be dispatched on a service call.
Secondly, SunPower has come on top again as being rated #1 in highest quality. Admittedly, this is a survey and so represents opinion and is not a technical study, however we have previously referenced technical studies that reached the same conclusion. We are proud to be Authorized SunPower dealers, and we are confident that this strategic partnership will serve us and our customers well over the coming decades.
Read more on this particular survey: http://www.pv-magazine.com/news/details/beitrag/module-reliability-more-important-than-cost–say-solar-customers_100014622/#ixzz2xHFHb64N
We are currently installing SunPower 335 and 327 watt modules, as in this recent wintry installation at Heather and Tony’s home in Port Orchard pictured below.
