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Sustainable Power Pt 2 - Solar Power

Posted By Travis, on April 7, 2009at 1:51 PM

I’m sure by now everyone knows that solar power is energy harvested from the sun. In terms of sustainability, it is a fantastic power supply. You know you are going to have sun light until the sun burns out, which hopefully won’t happen anytime soon. Ever wondered how solar power works, here is a very brief synopsis.

Electricity is the flow of electrons from one place to another. We use conductors like copper and aluminum wire to get the electrons from the main utility distribution centers all the way down to your toaster. There are three (basic) important terms that coincide with electricity: Voltage, Amperage, and Wattage.

Voltage is the measure of electrical potential (electromotive force) of a circuit.
Amperage is the measure of the total amount of electricity that passes a given point at a given time.
Wattage is the measure of the amount of electrical power provided by the circuit.

Not to get too boring here, but if you have 2 of the values above you can always find the third.
Volt X Amp = Watt, Watt/Amp = Volt, Watt/Volt = Amp

Not much of segue here, but there are 2 types of current, DC, which is Direct Current and AC, which is Alternating Current. DC is a steady stream of electrons flowing from one point to another, it is the type of current that is used in vehicles and other electronic devices, it is the only type of current that can be stored in a battery. It always travels one direction. AC on the other hand goes from a positive peak to a negative trough and the back again (think sine wave) it reverses its direction many times a second, it is 60 times a second in the US. The measure of that reversing is called hertz. This is the power that comes from the utility company and is utilized in homes and businesses.

That’s probably enough for today, I will continue on next time. Thanks for reading!

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Sustainable Power Pt 1 - Viability?

Posted By Travis, on April 1, 2009at 2:29 PM

With energy costs that will only continue to increase in the future and it still being unknown how much it will end up costing Americans for carbon offset fees, sustainable power is starting to sound pretty good. The idea of solar power (and wind power) could be extremely viable in the near future for Kansas homeowners, because of this, Greenwave is beginning to learn more about cost effective installations and what applications are most efficient in Kansas.

Depending on where you live, how your house is situated, whether or not you have continual sun exposure, and if you have a good wind flow can determine the best sustainable application for you. Some things to consider for solar power: southern exposure, a decent amount of roof square-footage, trees that would impede the sun, near-by homes that are taller, and hail/wind damage. Solar power is great for Kansas, we have a lot of days of sunshine (between 200 and 275) throughout the year. Wind power takes up a lot less space and can produce a decent amount with the average wind speed in Topeka being about 8 to 12 mph pretty consistently. Most people don’t realize that they make wind turbines that are now 48″ and smaller in height, require a very small amount of wind speed, and make less than 5 decibels at 5′, and produce anywhere from 500w to 10kw.

Next article - Solar Power, How it Works

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Ballpark Pricing

Posted By Travis, on March 24, 2009at 2:03 PM

In the last few weeks we have had a few instances of potential customers inquiring for pricing without allowing us to see the work. As a company policy we do not provide ballpark pricing and unfortunately had to turn them down.

Your home is like the human body and every one is different. Most doctors worth their degree won’t try to diagnose you over the phone, they want to see you so they can take everything into account when they make their final decision. We feel the same way about pricing work for someone’s home without seeing it first. Everyone’s home is different, some have aluminum wiring, some have no equipment grounds, some have no easy access to ceilings and walls, some lights are 10′ off the floor and some are 20′. Sometimes the terminology that technicians use and that is used by the public is very different, like a circuit breaker, some call them fuses and some call them switches. A price for a circuit breaker is different than a price for a fuse or switch. There are even certain older circuit breakers that are not readily available and have to be ordered, so actually looking at the breaker is a must. This is just a very small example of what we are referring to when it comes to needing an on-site visit.

There really is no substitute for an in-person, hands on look, at your home by a professionally trained licensed technician. I would say this, if you have an electrician working in your home, you want them to notice something that looks unsafe or not right and tell you about it. Beware the company that will quote you without reviewing the situation in person, more than likely, they just want to get the work and get paid. When we are judging a situation we will let you know if there is need for concern, sure, no one wants to pay for unexpected problems, but a repair now could save a lot of money and heartache in the long run.

The last reason we do not give ball park prices is because the price quoted is typically higher than it needs to be. This happens because a contractor has to take many different issues into consideration to make sure that their bases are covered. There is a lot of risk involved when quoting prices without seeing the work and troubleshooting the situation, and naturally prices escalate to match that risk.

Greenwave Electric currently charges $49.00 to show-up and troubleshoot a residential electrical problem in Shawnee County. When we are done inspecting the situation we will then submit a final price to you to fix the issue. If you choose not to hire us, then the cost is simply $49.00 for our time to find the problem, you will retain all of the information we gather from the troubleshooting.

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New Home Warranty

Posted By Travis, on March 18, 2009at 3:00 PM

We have a lot of confidence in the quality of our work. So much so, we have decided to apply, what we believe to be, a new level of value to the homes we wire. If you hire Greenwave Electric, whether you are a builder or a home owner, we guarantee the electrical work at that residence for 5 years from the date of completion. On top of that, we will also offer a 5 year membership in The Wave program.

One of the benefits of The Wave program is that we do an annual detailed electrical inspection of your home. Think of the value in that, every year for 5 years after we wire your home, we will come back, do a complete inspection of the home AND fix any issues at no cost. Obviously there will be some exceptions, like regular use of light bulbs, acts of God, and user abuse/wear and tear.

As part of this protection program, we will also install a high quality surge suppressor in every new home we do. In this day and age, with surge suppressors being so reasonable, there really is no reason not to have a whole panel surge suppressor in a new home. The protection they provide to your expensive electronics is a must have.

Building a new home, give us a call! 228-2478

Posted in New Home |  No Comments »

Fun with the Trailer

Posted By Travis, on March 17, 2009at 1:50 PM

I love our trailer, it is about 12′ long and has a beautiful design done by jhP here in Topeka. It is really handy to have a moving warehouse with parts and tools to get the job done, even has a ladder rack on top.

Having said that, I am upset with the trailer today because one of the back door hinges has decided to seize up and will not open properly. Mostly due to a lack of user maintenance. Read: Dumb Owners. So, now I am going to have Jim’s Trailers cut the hinge off and weld a new one on. I hope it doesn’t do too much damage to the design wrap. Cross my fingers.

Posted in What are we doing? |  No Comments »

Glenn Beck Watch Party

Posted By Travis, on March 16, 2009at 2:22 PM

Just wanted to say thanks to Glenn Beck, WIBW radio (Raubin, Megan and Deena), and the Kansan Grill here in Topeka for putting together the watch party on Friday. It was great to see so many liberty minded people in one place. I think there were around 150 people, give or take.

We ended up giving away about 30+ flashlights and a bunch of magnets and stickers. It was really nice to meet all of you and we hope to see you again in about 6 months on 9/12!

Posted in In The Community, Media |  No Comments »

On time every time?

Posted By Travis, on March 13, 2009at 8:51 AM

On time every time or we buy you dinner.

You know, time is the one commodity that you can never make more of. Once it is gone, it is gone forever. When we were initially putting together the concept of Greenwave Electric we asked many different people what drove them crazy about contractors. We wanted to know how we could redefine the low expectations that people seemed to have about service companies.

The one problem that was always at the top of the list was showing up late or not showing up at all. We realized that this needed to be our starting point for changing the perception of the industry. We also figured that in order for us to push ourselves we had to make it hurt financially for us. This is where the gift card idea came in. Greenwave shows up late and you get a $25 gift card to a local restaurant.

Now you might be saying, well, you’ll just charge me more for the job to cover it. We have a set rate for showing up to diagnose the issue before we provide a price to fix the problem. Before we even step in your home, you will get a gift card if we are 1 minute late. Whether or not you hire us to perform the work will have no bearing on that. Want $25 off the diagnostic fee instead? Just ask! It is our way of acknowledging that we broke our promise to show up when we said we would.

We are very proud to say that we have not been late yet! If we are this dedicated to just showing up on time, imagine the amount of detail we put into the actual work.

Greenwave is Time Saved

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Greenwave News

Posted By Travis, on March 12, 2009at 7:29 AM

This week has been pretty good, besides the cold weather!

We set a temp pole for a new Anglican church on the west side of town. We are doing that project with Coal Creek Construction. The building pad is down and the structure starts going up next week. We will be wiring by the end of March probably.

Just heard that we will be doing an office remodel for Edward Jones over at Gage Center Plaza with Apex Construction. Hopefully we will get some pictures up for that job once it starts, probably next week. I love office remodels!

Aaron is taking care of some service work for the Red Robin Restaurant here in town. They have used us a few times now so I encourage everyone to go eat there, tell them Greenwave Electric sent ya!

I am bidding a few new homes for a builder in town, I would really like to do a new house with Greenwave (we’ve done many houses over our careers, just none with Greenwave…yet). Hopefully we can win those bids and build a positive relationship. Most people just rely on the builder when building a home to pick the subs. If you are interested in at least getting a price from the most detailed electrical contractor in northeast Kansas, have your builder ask us for a number. We’d be happy to do it!

Aaron is working on a kitchen remodel project with a local home-owner, they have been great to work with so far. We’ve done quite a bit of other work in the house and it really has been a pleasure. Kitchen and bathroom remodels are projects we love to do as well. It especially helps the project to get us involved at the onset to help think out lighting and outlet placement.

Exciting things going on!

Posted in What are we doing? |  No Comments »

Questions and Answers

Posted By Travis, on March 10, 2009at 7:26 AM

Every week we will be posting a question and answer blog.

So, feel free to ask any questions you have about the company or the services we offer. Have a question concerning your home or business electrical problem? Ask away, we will do our best to answer the question.

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The Contest

Posted By Travis, on March 9, 2009at 10:45 AM

In an effort to promote the new site, we are instituting a contest.

Starting right now and running until the end of March we are going to give away an 8 Gigabite Apple I-Pod Touch.

Now, for the nitty-gritty. What do you need to do to get the I-Pod? It is pretty simple.

1. Start by Commenting to this post that you are in the game with a valid e-mail (not published).
2. Spread the word about Greenwave Electric. You know you want to.
3. Those who utilize our company and say you are the referrer will get a point.
4. You will also get a point for every $100 your sale brings in.
5. Customer must be within one of the counties we service. Found at the bottom of the FAQ here
6. Highest point score wins!

Examples.
Joan tells Paul about GW. Paul hires us to change out a panel, tells us Joan sent him. Price is $1,600.00.
Joan gets 1 point for the referral and 16 points for the sale. 17 points total.

So, please make sure that if you are referring us you tell the person to let us know. Please feel free to utilize our referral program page. This will allow you to let us know who you have been telling and help us match you up.

If this goes well, we may do it on a regular basis. The idea is this, we want to partner with you, our fans and clients for supporting our company. We want do it with something special. Thanks to everyone who has helped us get here. We look forward to giving away many, many more.

Legal Stuff
Relatives and employees are not eligible. Must have a valid e-mail account so that we can let you know if you win. Winner must respond in one week of notification or we will draw another name. Winner must provide an address for shipment or come to our place of business to pick it up.

Posted in In The Community |  No Comments »

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