Over 30 Years of
Solar Experience
Taos, New Mexico is an unusual area for solar energy because of the very high solar resource and Taos architecture is varied and often experimental. Larry Mapes, the founder of Valverde Energy, has worked in the solar heating and solar electric field for 30 years in the Taos and Santa Fe region. During the last 30 years, most of the country experienced a solar DE-Renaissance, Northern New Mexico continued to be at the forefront of leading edge, cutting edge, and sometimes the bleeding edge of solar technologies as it does today. This learning environment has given Mr. Mapes a wealth of...
Read MoreSolar Hot Water System Installation in Santa Fe
The solar hot water system pictured above is installed on a home which appeared in the Parade of Homes Tour in Santa Fe, New Mexico. The very strict covenants in the neighborhood required a low profile arrangement that was not visible to any other neighbors. The roofing material is an EPDM rubber and the mounting hardware was installed before the roof was in place, which gave us the opportunity to make a seal that keeps the roof warranty. We usually, if possible, work with a roofer who has offered a warranty to assure that the client’s roof warranty is not effected by our installation, even...
Read MoreSolar Panel Mounting
Here is an example of Valverde Energy’s solar electric panel mounting. We install solar heat and solar pv systems in Santa Fe, Los Alamos and Taos, New Mexico.
Read MoreWhy Solar?
Buying a solar energy system is a powerful and direct way to invest in your future, because you are buying the equipment to harvest free energy. In many cases, depending on the energy source being displaced, the break even (when the money spent equals the money saved from energy use) can be from 5-15 years. Typically solar systems are designed to last 20-25 years plus. Valverde Energy maintains solar systems the founder installed 30 years ago in Santa Fe, Taos and Los Alamos homes that are still producing energy. Many people in northern New Mexico install solar energy systems to reduce...
Read MoreNew Mexico Solar Eclipse!
The moon passed between sun and earth last Sunday, casting a perfectly aligned shadow across a band of New Mexico stretching diagonally from Farmington to Roswell. According to the NASA website, a 90% alignment of the annular eclipse would be viewable in Taos. One hundred percent sounded much better to us, so we made a day trip of it, heading to Cochiti Lake, which turned out to the perfect spot for viewing the Ring of Fire. Severe eye damage, including blindness, can result from looking straight into the sun–whether eclipsed of not–for long periods of time. Our first thought was to look...
Read MoreValverde’s Solar Eclipse Story
Being amazed by the sun is a daily occurrence here, but we were awe-struck by this!