Solaqua Energy Systems can provide you with Photovoltaic systems to provide on-site electricity generation. There are several types of systems that can be installed, depending on your needs, your site, and the condition of your soil and building architecture.  Since PV needs to have direct sun exposure to be efficient it is important to understand the cycles of energy production to size a system perfect for your needs.  To know exactly which type and size of system is right for you, a technician will have to visit your site for a solar evaluation.

Photovoltaic systems can be broken down into two primary categories:

Ground-Mounted	Roof-Mounted

Roof-mounted systems are ideal for people who do not have much excess land and have a roof that is in good architectural condition, as well as facing the southern sky.

Solar panels installed in North America should face south to maximize solar exposure and thus energy production, as the sun travels through the southern part of the sky throughout the day.  Depending on the condition of your roof and the direction it faces, you may decide that a ground-mounted system is best for you.

Ground-mounted systems are often a more practical means of installing solar panels.  Since the lifetime of solar panels is comparable to that of a roof, it is sensible to time the installations of both roof and solar panels, within a few years of each other.  If your roof is already 15 years old, it might not make a whole lot of sense to put a system on it that will outlive the roof by over a decade.

Ground-mounted systems also have the advantage of being easily accessible, and so are easy to adjust.  Ground-mounted systems can be further broken down into two additional categories:

Rack-Mounted	Pole-Mounted

Rack-mounted PV is more suitable to installations where land is available and traffic around the panels is minimal.  Rack-mounted is less costly than pole mounted because of the large number of panels that can fit on one rack system.  Rack-mounted PV is likely the appropriate choice for most residential installations.

Pole-mounted PV has some advantages over rack-mounted however.  PV that is mounted on poles is less susceptible to snow cover, damage from lawn mowing, abuse by animals, and is the easiest PV mounting system to adjust.  This type of installation probably makes sense for a commercial parking lot, or some other heavy traffic space limited area.  Poles offer an innovative solution to bringing the surface of the PV panels up and above some shadowing.  This can be a great way to combat shadowing from trees and buildings in a tight urban installation.

Pole-mounted PV can also be further divided.  There is stationary pole-mounted, which does not move from its angle, and tracking PV, which tracks the sun through the sky throughout the day.

Stationary Pole-Mounted	Tracking Pole-Mounted