Today in Arizona, solar energy is making an ever increasing impact. It is believed that Arizona has the highest per capita number of solar installations of any state in the continental U.S. Most of these installations are for solar hot water, but there are other popular uses of solar energy in Arizona today.

Passive solar homes (homes that are designed for natural heating and cooling) are popular in both mountain and desert areas of the state. Some of these homes have adobe, rammed earth, or straw bale as a building material.

Arizonans also have solar features on their homes such as solar porches, greenhouses, solar clearstory windows, trombe walls and solar air heaters.

Solar cooking is becoming popular in all parts of the state. Approximately 500 solar ovens are sold in Arizona each year. Many schools use solar ovens to teach solar science principles.

For remote locations, photovoltaics are used to provide power in places where constructing new power lines is too expensive or impractical. As the price of this technology falls, new applications become more cost effective in areas that power from a utility is close at hand.

Solar energy can be used by anybody in Arizona today. Solar energy is not a vision of the future; it is an opportunity for today.

Arizona is the sunniest state in the nation. It receives more than 4,000 hours of sunshine each year. This makes Arizona an ideal state for making solar energy work.