What made you decide to open this business?

After being in the construction industry for 31 years it became clear to me that energy efficiency i.e.; solar and building performance programs are the absolute best home improvement anyone can facilitate for their home. Not only do these programs change people’s lives by saving them money, the improvements often make the customer’s home more comfortable, not to mention they can improve indoor air quality. These programs are amazing!!  I can literally put money back into my client’s pockets. It was very gratifying to me to know that I could save people hundreds of dollars a month just by putting money into their home instead of giving their money to their utility company. Finally, these programs WILL reduce our carbon footprint and thus we become environmentally responsible. 

What was it like when you first started?

I started  facilitating energy reports about 10 years ago and I was fascinated by it. This was a little known field back then. Building performance was just coming into swing and not many companies were doing it. I learned a lot from my mentors on how to implement reduction measures. After 10 years of practice I’ve gotten very good at what I do. I can walk into a house and instantly get a handle on what we have to work with. The cost of power has gone up exponentially the last 10 years. Over the next 10 years it will double again as utility costs are constantly on the rise.

What has surprised you most when owning a business?

It surprises me that people don’t realize that solar is a good thing. Most people seem to be resistant to the concept of solar and think it is a liability instead of realizing it is a MAJOR asset.  This improvement can literally put money back in their pocket the first day it is turned on.  

What would your customers say they love most about your business?

They probably love my passion for what I do. We always check in with our customers and see how the production and/or reduction measures are performing. We really want to make sure our programs are doing what we promised. We set our customers up on a monitoring system. For example, you can monitor your solar panels from your cell phone. You can check it day or night. It will tell you what you are producing at any given time of day. If you are having a problem it will tell you from which panel you would be having an issue. Circling back to a customer and making sure they are getting what they paid for if not more, is very important to me