NW Wind & Solar

NW Wind & Solar is a division of SME, Inc. of Seattle, a leading electrical contractor with over four decades of expertise and vast experience with home, commercial, and industrial electrical systems, including primary electric service, wiring, and electrical generator systems for Homes and Industry (License # SMEINS*066DB).  At NW Wind & Solar, our goal is to help you reduce your dependence on nonrenewable energy sources and start achieving sustainability in your business or home. Our business is helping you make choices that are good for the environment and right for your home or business.

NW Wind & Solar, with over four decades of experience, is your source for developing customized solar PV systems and wind generators for homes and businesses.  We partner with you to analyze and develop a comprehensive plan that will harness wind or solar power, while effectively integrating that power into your existing electrical system.  Let us prepare a free, no-obligation wind or solar energy evaluation of your home or business to show you the benefits of reducing your dependence on the grid.

NW Wind & Solar offers:

• A staff of renewable energy experts to guide you through the process of implementing effective, user-friendly solar power or wind energy systems
• A professional in-house engineering staff to design your renewable energy systems to meet your specific needs
• Skilled, experienced, certified, and licensed installation experts
• A full ten-year warranty on our work — one of the best in the industry.

At NW Wind & Solar, we believe in renewable energy. We have several LEED accredited professionals on staff. We integrate recycling, renewable energy, and employee commuting benefits into our work. We have installed both a solar energy system and a wind power generator at our main office. Our belief in the importance of sustainable business practices extends to our own operations.

Solar Power

Surprisingly, residential and commercial Solar Power are both viable and cost effective in the Seattle area, particularly so throughout the Northwest region. Although the higher latitudes of the Northwest receive fewer annual hours of sunlight than southern regions, solar panels operate with greater efficiency in cooler climates, making Seattle and the Northwest an excellent place for solar electric power.  Our region has long summer days, including many months with high levels of solar radiation. Even though winters in the Northwest are often overcast, solar radiation penetrates the clouds and power can be generated on most cloudy days. Even baseball is finding ways to save energy costs to pay for those lights. See how Solar at Safeco field has helped the Seattle Mariners to cut costs.  In a country whose latitude is comparable to Seattle in the south and southeast Alaska in the north, Germany has become the worlds leader in photovoltaic panel and system installations. Additionally, Germany has a goal of attaining 35% of its energy needs using renewable energy technologies by 2020. Some sources report an expectation of meeting 100% of all Germanys energy needs by 2050 using renewable technology.  Although it has a reputation for being frequently overcast, Seattle and the Northwest receive more than enough direct and radiant sunlight to meet its energy needs using solar. While the regions highest solar power generating potential is in southeastern Oregon and southern Idaho, there really are no “bad” solar sites. Even the rainiest areas receive almost half the solar energy as the deserts of California. The entire Northwest region receives more solar energy than the country of Germany, the world leader in solar-powered electricity generation.

Wind Power

While most of the city of Seattle does not lend itself to significant electricity production from wind power, there are some great locations in Western Washington, and even better locations in Eastern and Southeast Washington for generating clean, renewable electricity from your own wind turbine.  If you have average wind speeds in the neighborhood of 10-11 mph, you are an excellent candidate for generating electricity from wind power, and you will have a fairly quick payback period.

In general, good spots for wind power electricity generation in Western Washington are along coastlines (Ocean Shores/Long Beach area, for example), along foothills (Enumclaw/Buckley area, for example), the Skagit flats, certain places on various islands, along the Tacoma Narrows, and certain other places. If your location is not specifically mentioned, this does not necessarily mean you do not have a good spot for wind generators. Here are a few facts about Residential Small Wind Systems.  Wind speeds are highly variable and highly localized. Your NW Wind & Solar Sales Consultant will work with you to determine if your location is suitable for wind-powered electricity generation.