Energy from Moving Air

Wind is simply air in motion. It is caused by the uneven heating of the Earth’s surface by the sun. Because the Earth’s surface is made of very different types of land and water, it absorbs the sun’s heat at different rates. These different surfaces also shed the sun’s heat at night at different rates. This uneven heating and cooling creates the daily wind cycle.

The Daily Wind Cycle

During the day, the air above the land heats up more quickly than the air over water. The warm air over the land expands and rises, and the heavier, cooler air rushes in to take its place, creating wind. At night, the winds are reversed because the air cools more rapidly over land than over water.

In the same way, the atmospheric winds that circle the earth are created because the land near the Earth’s equator is heated more by the sun than the land near the North and South Poles.

Wind Energy for Electricity Generation

Today, wind energy is mainly used to generate electricity. Wind is a renewable energy source because the wind will blow as long as the sun shines.

Contact Us to find out how you can harness the wind resource in your area.

Solar technology is mature. Solar cells have been made for going on half a century now. Still, designing or installing a solar electric system is something no professional takes lightly. Solar hot water, wind, and ground-source heat pump systems are like that, too. There are more ways to design and install these systems wrong than there are right ways. That’s why it’s important to demand quality and professionalism in your renewable energy system supplier.

Why Certify?

That is an excellent question. There are three major factors in play when installing an energy system on your property:

1. The safety of the workers (and you and your guests)
2. The Performance of the system
3. The condition of your roof after the job is done

Certification also shows that your renewable energy professional is serious about maintaining high standards within the industry. If you value quality work, seek out and hire a certified professional.

Certified Solar Solutions, LLC is one of only two renewable energy companies in Missouri with two NABCEP certified energy professionals on staff. NABCEP certification, issued by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, is the gold standard for solar PV, wind, and solar hot water energy systems. Many states that have renewable energy initiatives like Missouri does have found out the hard way that the only guarantee of success is to demand high standards of knowledge and professionalism from the practitioners in the industry.

Quality and professionalism is NABCEP’s mission–and that’s why we’re NABCEP certified.

Safety

When anyone goes up onto a roof for any reason at all, they must be aware of the hazards and dangers present. When someone goes up onto a roof to work, they must be very familiar with the challenges of working on a roof. Besides falling off, it’s possible to drop something and have it go over the side. The less often that happens, the less likely someone on the ground will be injured.

At Certified Solar Solutions, safety really does come first. We run a safety checklist on every job and our installers and supervisors receive OSHA 10-hour training every year.

There are no degrees of safety. There is only safe and NOT safe. Safe workers feel more comfortable and are more productive. A single accident can ruin a company. If you see a contractor cutting corners on safety, know that they aren’t in business for the long haul. Safety harnesses and ropes, work platforms, and barricades should be in full use at all times.

Performance

When you buy a solar electric (photovoltaic) system or a solar hot water system, you’re counting on it to do its job for many years, and do it well. A well-designed system will be an asset that any homeowner would be proud to have and any certified professional would be proud to sign off on. Unfortunately, a proorly designed or poorly installed system is guaranteed to be a poor performer–and worse, will take much longer to pay for itself than it should. Perhaps never making it past the make-break point at all.

A NABCEP certified renewable energy professional has demonstrated knowledge and experience that allows them to predict system pitfalls and produce successful outcomes. They can maximize the output of a solar collector and save you a lot of money in utility bills.

Your best guarantee of a successful project is a certified professional installer and professional designer.

At Certified Solar Solutions, we employ degreed engineers and trained technicians and installers to make sure that quality and performance are at their peak. We’re the only renewable energy firm in Missouri with a licemsed Professional Engineer on staff. After a staff engineer reviews a design or project plan, our Professional Engineer goes through it thoroughly to ensure that nothing has been missed. We can even stamp your plans with a Professional Engineer’s seal, the highest mark of design quality there is.

Roof, Sweet Roof

Your roof is the most important part of your house. Water is the number one threat to your home. Once water comes in, mold, insects, and other undesirables soon follow. Therefore, choose a certified professional to perform the necessary modifications on your roof.

Here at Certified Solar Solutions, we inspect our customers’ roofs before the job, throughout the job, and at the end of the job. We are absolute roofing fanatics. In fact, we routinely repair roof problems that we find–often at no charge to our customer. Your roof is your insurance policy against water damage and major headaches down the road, and we take that very seriously.

Our Mission

The team of dedicated, certified professionals at Certified Solar Solutions wants nothing but peace of mind for you and meany years of low electric bills.

Contact Us to find out how our team of design and installation professionals can help you take control of your energy future.

Net metering applies to systems from zero to 100kW. That’s a big range and covers everything from small houses (or condos) to light manufacturing. 100kW will produce enough to power most large commercial businesses. If you need even more, though, we can deliver.

Certified Solar Solutions has the project management experience to handle multi-million-dollar projects. From contracts to site superintendents, we are also available to be your Owner’s Representative and ensure that your industrial-scale project exceeds your goals.

Contact Us to discuss your large-scale project.

Where Wind is Harnessed

Wind Power Plants Require Careful Planning

Operating a wind power plant is not as simple as just building a windmill in a windy place. Wind plant owners must carefully plan where to locate their machines. One important thing to consider is how fast and how much the wind blows at proposed locations.

Map of U.S. Wind Resources

As a rule, wind speed increases with altitude and over open areas that have no windbreaks. Good sites for wind plants are the tops of smooth, rounded hills, open plains or shorelines, and mountain gaps that produce wind funneling.

Wind Speed Is Not the Same Across the Country

Wind speed varies throughout the United States. It also varies from season to season. In Tehachapi, California, the wind blows more from April through October than it does in the winter. This is because of the extreme heating of the Mojave Desert during the summer months. The hot air over the desert rises, and the cooler, denser air above the Pacific Ocean rushes through the Tehachapi mountain pass to take its place. In a state like Montana, on the other hand, the wind blows more during the winter.

Fortunately, these seasonal variations are a good match for the electricity demands of the regions. In California, people use more electricity during the summer for air conditioners. In Montana, people use more electricity during the winter for heating.

Major Wind Power Locations

Wind turbines (sometimes called wind machines) generated electricity in 31 different States in 2008. The States with the most wind production are Texas, California, Iowa, Minnesota, and Oklahoma.

International Wind Power

Most of the wind power plants in the world are located in Europe and in the United States where government programs have helped support wind power development. As of 2008, the United States ranks first in the world in wind power capacity, followed by Germany, Spain, and China. Denmark ranks ninth in the world in wind power capacity, but generates about 20% of its electricity from wind.

Offshore Wind Power

Conditions are well suited along much of the coasts of the United States to use wind energy. However, there are people oppose putting turbines just offshore, near the coastlines. However, there are people who think the wind turbines will spoil the view of the ocean. Right now, there is a plan to build an offshore wind plant off the coast of Cape Cod, Massachusetts.

Wind is a renewable energy source that does not pollute, so some people see it as a good alternative to fossil fuels.