One-of-a-kind System Design...

Solar Epiphany put together two system options for Red Cup.
The first is a traditional flat roof mounted system using UniRac's Rapid Rac. This option mounts the modules at a fixed 10 degree tilt. Using our solar production estimates, this system should produce ~1150 kWh's a year. (1360kWh's X .85 misc. losses). This amount doesn't quite reach Red Cup's 30% offset goal.


The second system is a more visible and productive installation. It consists of a locally produced (Issaquah,WA) JX Crystals flat roof mounted tracker. The tracker follows the sun throughout the day in order to maximize solar output. If installed, it will be the first of its kind in Seattle. It is estimated to produce ~1400 kWh's of clean energy per year. (1797 kWh's X .85 - 127 kWh's due to inter-row shading during the low sun season). This represents an increase of around 17%.

Red Cup chose the JX Crystals installation because of its uniqueness and added production. We are looking forward to this exciting install..Stay Tuned!

Good Weather for Ducts!!

Sunday, before the rains, we removed two of the ducts from the roof in order to make way for the array. PV arrays need about 100 sq. ft. of area for each kW installed. For this roof, with all the obstructions and setback requirements, we're planning on around 300 sq. ft. We are planning an exciting installation for Red Cup. This system will be one-of-a-kind for Western Washington...stay tuned for the system design post coming soon.

First Things First

Solar Epiphany's Detailed Site Survey, a.k.a. feasibility study, is the most important preliminary step of a solar installation. During this process, we collect all of the necessary data about the site to ensure a quality install. It also gives us a chance to help define the priorities of our customers and answer all their solar questions. Our site surveyor determines the best placement for the collectors and components based on a 50 point checklist, takes shading analysis readings with a Solmetric SunEye, and maps out the available area. We charge a fee of $100 for this service (refunded with system purchase).
During Red Cup's Detailed Site Survey (DSS), we determined that Red Cup would like to offset 30% of their electricity with a visible installation that they could show off to the West Seattle Junction community. Since the shop didn't have adequate room for a storage tank the option of a solar water heating system was shelved until a later remodel of the shop. We decided on a roof-mounted PV array. You can see from the photo that old HVAC equipment clutters up the roof pretty good and poses some mounting challenges. We will be removing some of this equipment for the install.

As an added bonus to our customers, Solar Epiphany offers the professional energy efficiency (EE) services of Greenovations . They are a great local company that specializes in finding the areas of your home or business that need energy improvement. EE should always be the first step in going solar. Their comprehensive EE evaluation is well worth the $199 investment. We'll share some of their recommendations later on. Cheers!

Our First Project!

Solar Epiphany is working with fellow West Seattle independent, Red Cup Espresso, to create Seattle's first hybrid coffee shop. We'll show off the whole process right here on the project blog. We are hoping this installation will be part of the Seattle ASES Annual Solar Tour in October.

Solar Epiphany's Project Zone!

Thanks for stopping by! This blog will bring you along for the ride as we design and install solar systems around the Seattle area. Feel free to ask questions and get involved! Stay tuned.