Oasis Montana Brochure

Oasis Montana

EDUCATORS FOR SUSTAINABLE SOLAR

As a child she focused on saving energy, today Chris Daum is president of Oasis Montana, one of the largest suppliers, installers and educators for solar systems in the state of Montana.

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Oasis Montana

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by Joel Cornell

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ince her early childhood, Chris Daum has always lived on the lowest possible amount of energy that she could manage.

“I remember when I was a teenager,” she said, “I had received a hairdryer as a gift, and I was surprised when I realized how much electricity it used. It was really unnecessary, and I’ve never used a hairdryer since.”

Currently serving as President of Oasis Montana Inc, one of the suppliers, installers and educators for sustainable solar systems in Montana, Daum still practices that same childhood philosophy.

“So many people use electricity in ways that they don’t actually need to.

As much as we concentrate on installing quality solar electric and water pumping systems, we also focus on educating both our clients and the general public in the importance of energy efficiency,”

she said. “In these days of rising energy costs, the cheapest way to save is to become more efficient.”

Having worked in the renewable energy field since 1989, Daum has a wide range of experience in everything from sales, marketing and shipping to system design and servicing.

“Over several decades, I never cease to be surprised at how people tend to overlook exactly how much electricity they’re using on a daily basis,” she said.

“I’ve seen people go to bed with the lights on, keep their computers on overnight, teenagers will spend ten minutes staring longingly into the fridge and never pull anything out, etc.”

The core of the wide array of services that Oasis Montana provides is installing grid-tied and remote power photovoltaic systems for residential use, as well as larger commercial systems.

But, as she explained, “We don’t just get a call, go install and leave it at that.

Before we even sell them our products or services, we help them figure out how

much power they’re using now. Our initial goal is to try to reduce their loads to a point where they won’t have to pay for a 6KW system when a 2KW system will allow them to sustain their home entirely on solar through practicing efficient or ‘green’ thinking.”

Once Oasis and their customers can establish what their residence or business will need, both now and in the future, to become self-sustaining, the well rounded and highly trained staff of four, including Daum, install the photovoltaic system on site.

“For bigger projects, we have a larger crew that we can rely on, but for the most part, our smaller staff handles all our own installations,” Daum said.

“I really like that we know exactly who is doing the installation and how, because when a system like ours is 1. Solar array at the Smoke Jumper Center, Missoula, Mont. For more information, visit www.grid-tie.com.

2. Chris Daum and the office kitty sell solar at the Oasis Montana office. For more information visit www. oasismontana.com.

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installed correctly, there’s little need for repair unless something like severe hail storms or accidental damage happens.

This type of personal service means a much higher level of customization and versatility so that the customer can always end up having the right system for their situation. While we offer installations locally, we sell systems everywhere, and often work with a customer’s contractor or electrician, providing detailed wiring diagrams and tech support.”

One of the most self-reflexive benefits to a grid-tied system, like the systems in which Oasis specializes, is not simply the ability to entirely negate your utility bills, but to actually start earning off of your system. Because their entire system is tied to the local utility grid using a relatively new breed of inverters, any excess electricity that is generated by your system can be sold back to the local utility company.

“Because the utility companies sell at retail prices and generally buy from individuals at wholesale prices,” she said, “there’s not a ton of money to be made.

The utilities really aren’t going for that.

But, you can build up more than enough credit with the utility company so that

you’ll never end up paying another utility bill again if you are efficient enough in your electrical usage.”

Recently, Oasis Montana completed the largest grid-tied photovoltaic system in the state of Montana. The 54KW system was built for the Missoula Technology & Development Center, and consists of 243 American-made Schott 220 watt solar modules. The system requires no batteries, and outputs DC power which is converted on site into grid-palatable AC power. This system is located at the Smokejumper Center, near the Missoula Airport.

Because of the seasonal low-light conditions that can plague those who are dependent on solar energy, Oasis Montana also augments some of their systems with wind generators, including Chinook wind turbines.

“We offer what you might call ‘entry-level’ wind turbines,” Daum said. “These are a perfect fit for the majority of our customers with modest power requirements who live in some fairly windy regions of the country.

They can stand alone, but work best as the 3. Brad Stevens, Oasis Montana system designer, builds the mounting rack for solar modules.

4. Energy from the sun is as American as apple pie! Two killawatt pole mount solar array.

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perfect complement to a solar array to help keep the batteries fat during the cloudier or darker times of the year.”

The small Chinooks will help ascertain if there really is a decent enough wind resource; Oasis Montana also offers Bergey Windpower’s one kilowatt units, the XL.1. e’ve had these in operation as far back as 2001, with few problems.

Their slogan is ‘they’re built tornado tough’ – and they really are!”

Across the wide open expanses of Montana, many homeowners find themselves quite a long distance from their local utility grid.

“Rather than pay the utility company thousands upon thousands of dollars to extend themselves out your way just so you can start paying them monthly, it makes sense to simply work with a company like Oasis who can evaluate the size and requirements of the home and install a power system that would never require any outside electricity or specialized repairs,” Daum said. “We can design reliable, turnkey systems to meet any requirements a

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customer could imagine. And, if your budget won’t allow the entire cost now, you can add to many of these systems incrementally.”

In addition to the grid-tied solar and wind power-generating systems, Oasis Montana also specializes in the sale of solar waterpumping systems for remote locations. With a vast amount of farms, ranches and the like in the western U.S. needing water where it might not be easily accessible, Oasis can offer different styles of pumps, depending on the source and destination of the water. Whether it’s a high volume, shallow creek that needs to be used, but not depleted; or a fast-moving nearby river or a low output well 650 ft. deep, Oasis has the wide range of experience and pump designs that can cover the needs of any customer.

Oasis Montana has maintained a high level of quality in their work in Montana since 1999. Recently, they have begun to take their expertise not just across the country, but internationally as well.

“We have several self-sustaining solar water pumps in Kenya, and several in South America and the Caribbean that have been doing very well with the good solar resource that is available around the equator,” Daum said. “We even have a system for a wildlife conservation service in Ireland.”

“The green movement has been around for years,” she said. “But only recently have we begun to see a true paradigm shift in our culture, both locally and overall. People have stopped thinking about solar energy as something that’s exclusive, complicated or impossible. We’ve been striving since 1999 to bring solar energy as a mainstream source of energy to the forefront of the American consciousness, and slowly but surely, we’re making real, meaningful progress.

“People are beginning to realize the expensive externalities of fossil fuel electricity (in terms of mountain-top removal, fouled salmon runs, mercury and other toxic elements in our air and spills in our water, etc.) and are looking for more cost-effective and cleaner options for power.” Daum said. “In the future, we honestly plan to change very little about what we do here at Oasis. We want to create efficient and more affordable energy systems, turn a profit and have some fun doing it, and educate people as to the benefits of becoming more efficient: the same thing we’re doing right now.

“You know, enough energy from the sun falls on the planet in just one hour that could meet the electrical needs of the earth for one year!

We just need to figure out how to use it.” ELT 5. Two killawatt roof mounted array, Hamilton, Mont.

6. Setting the solar rack for pole installation. All photos courtesy of Oasis Montana.

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