Let’s start with the basics. A watt (W) is a measure of POWER (or one joule per second). Power is the rate at which energy is used per unit time (an indicator of how fast an item uses energy). A kilowatt (kW) is, simply, one thousand watts, just as a megawatt (mW) is one million watts. When we’re talking about electricity, power is voltage times amperage or 1watt = 1volt x 1ampere.

True, this may sound a bit like your high school physics class, but don’t panic. Read on and you’ll see it’s a simple concept to grasp…

One of the easiest ways to think about all of this is to think of electricity as water coming out of a hose. Voltage is the water pressure and the amperage is the flow. When there’s a kink in your garden hose, there’s a lot of pressure (voltage), but the water is not flowing anywhere (no amperage), which means there’s no power (i.e. a lot of volts x zero amps = zero watts).

Now let’s take this understanding and apply it to what happens when we un-kink the hose, and the water comes rushing out of it. The result is, a lot of volts x a lot of amps = huge POWER.

Okay, so you’ve got the concept POWER down, let’s go back to Watts (W). A Watt (W) is energy burned per second. A 100-Watt light bulb eats up 100 Joules of energy every second. Since “Watts per hour” doesn’t make sense, because it’s already measuring “Joules per second” and thinking of  “Joules per second per hour” is enough to make most people’s eye glaze over, our utility companies use a Watt-hour to charge us for the electricity we use. It’s a way of removing “per second” from Watts.

Now let’s use one more analogy to wrap up this explanation, pretend you’re running a marathon. Think of Watts as the speed you’re running (i.e. the rate of energy used in that instant), and Watt-hours as total amount of energy you’ve used while running at a certain rate over an hour.

A Kilowatt-hour (kWh) is the amount energy equivalent to power one kilowatt (kW)  for one hour. A kilowatt hour (kWh) is a unit of ENERGY that is a much more convenient unit of energy to use rather than the kilo-Joule. It represents the power used by the appliance multiplied by the hours in use. In other words, when you leave a 100-Watt light bulb on for 10 hours you’ve used a kilowatt-hour (kWh) of energy and TEP will bill you accordingly.

So, as you can see, the kW and kWh are fundamentally different. Appliances show their power ratings (kW) on the nameplate to give you an idea of how much energy is used per second by the item. At TFS, we look at the amount of kWh on your utility bill to find out how much energy your home or business uses so that we can recommend what size solar PV system would best suit your needs.

Solar Open House

We understand and appreciate that each of our customers serve as an inspiration to their community by doing their part in creating a sustainable future.  Often, our customers  find that neighbors, friends, family, and co-workers are curious about how their new solar PV system works, the cost, current financial incentives, environmental benefits, etc.

In conjunction with our community outreach, TFS will arrange a fun and informative Open House where we will feature your system and explain the “ins and outs” of solar energy. Simply invite your guests, and TFS will provide a “Solar For Homeowners” presentation, a tour of your system, refreshments, and personalized Q & A.  If you would like more information, contact our community outreach coordinator, Aimee King, at (520)740-0736 or aimee@tfssolar.com

Solar Energy 101

We’ve created a one-hour grassroots education program to inform our fellow community members about solar technology and sustainability. The focus of this program is to inform consumers about the facts of residential solar energy.

The program features free educational presentations, web resources, and targeted information to assist homeowners in making decisions about investing in a solar energy system. If you are interested in having TFS as a guest speaker, please contact our community outreach coordinator, Aimee King at (520)740-0736 or aimee@tfssolar.com.

Do you have a referral? Click here to fill out our customer referral form.

For a brief listing of local non-profits working hard to make Southern Arizona a great place to live, please click here.

Day 1

	TFS crew arrives on site, marks out cistern location and levels ground.
	Underground plumbing for is put together and buried in the pad
	Gutter and rainhead screen are installed on the roof edge, to catch rainwater and filter leaves and other large debris.
	First flush pipe and pipe to carry rainwater underground to cisterns is installed. The first flush pipe will catch the first few minutes of each rain storm, which is typically the dirtiest water, and divert it away from the cistern. Once the first flush is full, cleaner water bypasses the pipe and goes directly to the cistern. The inflow pipe is run underground in this system so that the cistern can sit in the far corner of the yard, away from the downspout.
	Finished mounted rainhead screen, first flush pipe, and inflow pipe.
	The form for the cistern pad is finished, with all underground plumbing, reinforcement for the concrete, and circular metal concrete form. TFS uses a circular metal form for cistern foundations, as this shape uses the least concrete. Metal forms are removed after the concrete cures, and are reused for the next job.
	The concrete truck is on its way!
	TFS crew wheelbarrows the mixed concrete into the form.
	Concrete is tamped and smoothed.
	Culvert is hooked up to crane for lifting over the backyard wall.
	Culvert is crane-lifted over wall. When possible, culverts are lifted with manpower from the ground in to the concrete pad. In this situation however, a crane was the only option for lifting the culvert into the yard corner.
	All crew members team up to center the culvert over the wet concrete.
	The culvert is set! The concrete is trowled inside and out.

Day 2

	The concrete is now cured. The inside floor of the cistern is cleaned, and sealed with a liquid rubber rated for potable water use. This creates a watertight, leak proof seal on the inside of the cistern.
	The finished sealed cistern floor.
	The lid is lifted on. We use a pitched sheet metal lid with a foam gasket around the inside lip, built in observation door and vent on top.
	We use a pitched sheet metal lid with a foam gasket around the inside lip, built in observation door and vent on top.
	The finished cistern.

There are many great non-profits to support with your customer referral.

Below, are some of the organizations that strive to make Southern Arizona a great place to live, for present and future generations.

Tucson Clean and Beautiful, Inc. – Mission: To preserve and improve our environment, conserve natural resources, and enhance the quality of life in the City of Tucson and eastern Pima County.

BICAS (Bicycle Inter-Community Action & Salvage) — Mission: To promote education, art, and a healthy environment while providing service and opportunity for those in need, through advocacy and recycling of the bicycle.

Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum – Mission: To inspire people to live in harmony with the natural world by fostering love, appreciation, and understanding of the Sonoran Desert.

Iskash*taa Refugee Harvesting Network — Mission: Iskash*taa Refugee Harvesting Network empowers refugees by creating opportunities to use their knowledge and skills to help their families and their community and to better integrate with the larger Tucson community while gaining life skills that serve them in America

Community Food Bank – Mission: Through education, advocacy, and the acquisition, storage, and distribution of food, we will anticipate and meet the food needs of the hungry in our community.”

HOPE Animal Shelter – Mission: To foster respect for all animals by providing a safe haven for the unwanted animals in an enriching environment during their stay at the shelter.  To end euthanasia of unwanted animals by encouraging responsible adoptions, spay/neuter programs and public education.

El Grupo — Mission: To encourage the use of the bicycle for physical fitness, fun, and camaraderie.  We target young people (ages 12-20) who have the determination and willingness to push themselves physically and mentally, but who would not normally have the opportunity to participate in the sport of cycling.

Environmental Education Exchange — Mission: To enhance the quality and effectiveness of environmental education leading to greater participation in current environmental issues confronting society.

Being a hands-on person, Jack had read a lot about solar in hopes of installing a PV system himself. However, he felt that solar was financially out of reach for a family living off of two teachers’ salaries. For the Prohaskas, the biggest concerns for them, in deciding to go solar, were cost and knowing what solar contractor to go with. “The cost of solar was intimidating before realizing the financial incentives that are available. Also we didn’t know which company to go with,” explained Jack.

Their perspective changed, after going on vacation with some friends and the topic of solar came up.  “The conversation turned to solar and our friends explained how they were able to afford a system,” said Liz.  After hearing that there are tax credits and utility rebates that reduce the total cost up to 70%, the Prohaskas realized that it was, indeed, possible for them to go solar.

“If you look at our income bracket, we’re not at the top. We don’t consider ourselves to be rich; we’re two teachers, but we can tell you that if you want to install solar there are easy ways to go about it. We were able to finance our system through SunPower, at a rate that was much better than even our credit union could offer us,” said Jack.  “We didn’t have the ability to pay for the total system cost up front, but the rebate from TEP, and the tax credits helped to bring the price down considerably. Financing through SunPower made it all very feasible,” explained Liz.

In order to decide on a solar contractor, Jack and Liz turned to the people in their lives who have had solar systems installed. Everyone Jack and Liz spoke with told them to contact TFS.  As someone who has built everything on his home, Jack knows good work when he sees it. “Every little detail of the installation was attended to,” Jack says. “You guys do this like you want it to last 50 years. No corners are cut; everything is done carefully and well. And that’s rare in this day and age.”

Jack jokingly said that he had long imagined being able to call up his utility company and say, “Go ahead and turn it off, we don’t need it from anymore, we’re making our own electricity now.” However, now that his system has been installed, he feels it is the best of both worlds. “TEP is like a giant battery for us,” whenever we produce more energy that we use, TEP keeps track of it and gives us credit for it. Our last bill was about $7.00,” Jack announced with a smile.

When asked if they have any advice for people who are deciding whether to go solar they said, “If we can do it, anyone can do it, and people should. We need to have more and more people know that this is a doable thing.”

Click the images below to enlarge.

Left picture: The Prohaska residence. Right picture: An enourmous water harvesting cistern, that Jack and Liz built, doubles as a koi pond.

Yard Sign Template

The file that you will receive to customize the sign with your company info will arrive as a template (as seen below). In order to customize your yard sign, open the pdf file (e.g. the file of the template) in a graphic design program (e.g. Adobe Illustrator). Second, select and delete the information that says “Your company logo here”, then  add your company logo (make sure your logo is a vector file or high quality pdf that’s at least 300 dpi). Third, delete “your website here” and type in your company website.