GRIVEL, Made in Italy with Solar Energy.

Founded in 1818 by a family of blacksmiths in the small village of Les Forges at Courmayeur, Grivel is the oldest brand producing alpinism equipment. After 160 years of tradition, the surname is still preserved, being part of the living history of alpinism.

In Practice:

The roof of the factory is around 7000 square meters, and the solar panels will cover a surface equivalent of a football field.
Our solar panels will generate 516 Kwp and they will produce the energy consumption of 194 families. Every day they will save the planet’s air of 806 Kg of CO2, equivalent of a car travelling 5.800 Km. During their 25-years life cycle, they will produce around 12.000.000 Kwh, which would cover the needs of one family for 4.200 years. Every year they will save 1.173 barrels of oil.

What is photovoltaic?

The sun has been active for billions of years, supplying us light and heal for free. Every day, it sends to the earth as much energy as it is used by the whole world population in one year. Just to have an idea, consider that every square meter of the sun radiates in one hour as much energy as the burning of 6,300 liters of oil for heating.
If we could use directly less than one hundredth of this enormous energy source we could solve for ever all the energy problems of our planet.

Technology:

The photovoltaic technology allows to convert solar radiation into direct current electricity, through the photovoltaic effect. It is based on the properties of some semiconductors, such as silicon, which generate electricity when hit by solar radiation. This makes a “photovoltaic cell”, and several linked cells make a “photovoltaic array’, which will be connected into a “solar panel” such as the ones you can see on the roofs of buildings.

The word “photovoltaic· explains everything: “photo” means “light” in Greek and “voltaic” comes from Alessandro Volta, the inventor of the battery.

Performance:
To evaluate the performance of the panels, several factors need to be taken into consideration, such as:

Their geographical position (latitude)
The solar radiation (daily hours, intensity)
The average temperature (temperature loo influences performance)
The orientation of the surface.

The Advantages are many:

The source (the sun) will not run out.
No wastes produced.
No maintenance needed for the components.
High reliability through the lack of moving parts.
No occupation of natural ground.
The energy of the future: all good things come from above.

Why has Grivel chosen solar energy:

To avoid burning non-renewable energy sources.
To help to save the environment.
To leave to our children a better world.
To avoid the use of natural ground, so important in our area (Aosta Valley).
To lower the cost of energy and remain competitive in the global markets.
To show the way to those who are doubtful.
To present on the global markets products which respect the environment.
Because respecting the environment should be logical for outdoor industry players.
Because can be an advantage towards our competitors.
Because it shows how our “Made in Italy’ is true and real.