Solar Basics and Frequently Asked Questions

Photovoltaic Systems
How do grid tie systems work?
How does the angle of a solar array  affect performance?
How do battery backup systems work?
How do off-grid systems work?

Solar Thermal Systems
How do solar thermal systems work?
What is the difference between evacuated tubes and flat plate collectors?

Planning
What is involved in a solar site assessment?
Are there any government incentives available?
What happens when it snows? – blog entry
How will solar affect the selling price of my home? – blog entry
What do the economics of a grid tied solar PV system in Alberta look like? – white paper
What are the tax implications of installing a microFIT solar electric system in Ontario? – CRA document

Downloads and Spec Sheets

• Solar electric:
  • Inverters (residential and commercial)
    • Enphase M190 microinverter
    • Enphase M210 microinverter
    • Enphase M215 microinverter
    • Enphase Envoy (EMU) monitoring unit
    • Enphase Enlighten per-module monitoring
    • SMA Sunny Boy 3000, 4000 inverter
    • SMA Sunny Boy 5000, 6000, 7000, 8000 inverter
    • SMA Sunny WebBox monitoring unit
    • SET Sunergy 5 low voltage inverter
  • Inverters (commercial)
  • Power One 10.0I 10kW inverter
  • Satcon PowerGate Plus 30kW
  • Satcon PowerGate Plus 50kW
  • Satcon PowerGate Plus 100kW
  • Satcon Solstice 100kW inverter
  • Satcon Solstice Smart Sub-Combiner
  • Contact us for details on system monitoring for each of these inverters
• Modules(solar panels) – Western Canada (other brands and models available)
• Conergy P 235 Watt
• Suntech Black 180 Watt
• Sharp 224 Watt
• Mitsubishi 218 Watt
• Canadian Solar 200 Watt
• Sanyo HIT Power 220 Watt (high efficiency)
• Modules (solar panels) – Ontario Content (other brands and models available)
• Heliene 215M 240-250 Watt
• Conergy ON 230-240 Watt
• Sovello P 230-245 Watt
• Sharp 240 Watt
• Battery Based Systems (grid tied and off-grid)
• Schneider XW system
• Outback grid interactive
• Outback off grid
• SMA Sunny Island
• Small off grid components (SureSine inverter, SunSaver charge controllers, etc) – see Morningstar website: http://www.morningstarcorp.com/en/products
• Solar water heating:
  • Enerworks residential system brochure
  • Enerworks commercial system brochure
  • Viessman Vitosol 200-F collector
  • RESOL solar thermal controllers - Catalog
  • PAW solar thermal pumping stations – Catalog
  • Techno-Solis pool heating system
• Solar air heating:
  • SolarWall brochure (commercial product)
  • SolarSheat brochure (residential product)