New Aurora System at “Give Kids The World Village”

Today, UMA Solar and All Florida Solar teamed up to donate a solar system and installation at no-cost to Give Kids The World Village.

In case you’re not familiar with Give Kids The World, you’re missing out on one of the nation’s most unique charities.
Give Kids The World is a non-profit organization that exists only to fulfill the wishes of all children with life-threatening illnesses and their families from around the world. The centerpiece of their organization is Give Kids The World Village (GKTW) a 70-acre, non-profit resort in Central Florida that creates magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families. GKTW provides accommodations at its whimsical resort, donated attractions tickets, meals and more for a week-long, cost-free fantasy vacation. With the help of many generous individuals, corporations and partnering wish-granting organizations, Give Kids The World has welcomed more than 97,000 families from all 50 states and over 65 countries.
In short, they’re an amazing charity.
Like all non-profit organizations, they are always concerned with two things: doing the most good possible, and making sure the funds they raise go directly to that goal. For more and more organizations, that means saving on needless utility costs, and going green!
Today, UMA Solar was happy to donate a new solar water heating system to Give Kids The World Viliage. Chuck Gabriel, and the rest of our friends at All Florida Solar are proudly performing the the installation onto “Katie’s Kitchen,” the Village’s newest restaurant which provides complimentary meals for the Village’s Wish families. Their system will feature two of Solene’s new state-of-the-art 4' X 8' Aurora panels , as well as a 120 gallon Rheem tank. This system will help reduce GKTW’s utility bill, thus reducing their operating costs, and make sure more funds go where it’s best used: creating magical memories for children with life-threatening illnesses and their families.
This is only one of the many ways Give Kids The World is taking the taking environmentally responsible steps in improving their facility. Recently, GKTW earned the Florida Green Lodging Program One Palm Certification from the Florida Department of Environmental Protection as a result of their internal recycling program, diligent use of energy and their commitment to conserving and protecting Florida’s natural resources.
To follow how the installation is going, follow us live today on Twitter by clicking here .

UMA Solar Returns from Solar Power International 2009

Last week, the UMA Solar team met up in Anaheim, CA for Solar Power International 2009 . If you’re not familiar, Solar Power International 2009 is a business-to-business solar conference and expo provides a forum where the solar industry can come together with potential customers, policymakers, and investors, and learn from each other’s successes.  The conference offered some of the industry’s best training, classes and workshops, equipping both new solar dealers and seasoned pros alike with the cutting edge in business skills, information and industry best practices.
At this year’s convention, we were proudly featuring our new Aurora Solar Collectors by Solene.  Not only are Aurora Solar Collectors are the most technologically advanced collectors on the market today, but they’re also made right here in the USA.
Kevin Good, of Solar Heat Exchange Manufacturing, flew in from Kansas to show the Simple Drainback, of which we are the exclusive national distributor.  These Simple Drainback system was designed to combine the simplicity of drainback systems with some of the better characteristics of pressurized systems, creating the easiest installation on the market.  We also had the opportunity to talk to Stephen from Steca regarding some innovative solar controls that we will be able to offer soon.
In addition to Solene, we also exhibited our other brands including Heliocol, SunStar, and MyGen by Kyocera.  In turn, Kyocera was exhibiting the new Toyota Prius, which features Kyocera solar panels on its roof .  It’s a very exciting time to be working with such an bold, dynamic company like Kyocera.
As always, these conventions are a wonderful to chance to reconnect with old friends.  We ran into friends from California, Texas, Florida, and even Central & South America; the solar industry is truly becoming a global industry!  Many of our long time customers stopped by to say “hi” and tell us their success stories.  Likewise, we got to talk to lots of new people just entering the business, either by starting their own company, or expanding what they already do to include solar.  Either way, that’s what we specialize it, so it’s always wonderful to speak someone “just starting out”.
Once again, we would like to thank SEPA and SEIA for putting on another great convention!