How The Pros Do It

Starting Out

How did you get started in this business Vern?
        "As a teenager in Manitoba, Canada I started working at a battery factory and worked for that same company for the next 12 years. I was promoted to Eastern Operations Manager after only a couple years making stops in North Dakota and Southern Ontario. I finally ended up in Hamilton, Ontario and that is where I first went into business for myself. I teamed up with the president of the Canadian Battery Manufacturing Association and we opened up a Specialty Battery Company. Being a battery specialist, that's how we got into the solar business. It's really interesting how it all came about."

When did you see your first solar panel?
        "It was 1984 and we had imported a shipment of motorcycle batteries and on one shipment we got 5 Kyocera solar modules and that was my first encounter with solar panels. They had a mahogany frame and were incredibly beautiful to look at. Solar was still a very small, specialized field back then, but I got involved. We sold Renewable Energy packages to government, camping applications and some northern Indian reservations."

When did you start your own company?
        "Just after that time I started out on my own selling mostly batteries, but solar too for stationary (household) applications. We were one of the first to sell Stat-Power inverters at the time. You could have knocked me over with a feather when I finally realized you could make (AC) electricity from 12 volt (DC) batteries. I thought, Oh! My God, that is going to be an incredible opportunity. In the late 1980's we became a Stat-Power distributor and we started pursuing the Renewable Energy business whole-heartedly. As the inverter products improved with Modified Sine and Sine Wave Inverters came onto the market our business soared. We sold a lot of inverters."

What changes have you seen in your business over the years?
        "It was about this time that we saw a change in the crowd of customers. The upper middle class started to upscale their cottages and rural homes. With the new technology of communication and Off Grid Power these people realized they could live anywhere and be connected to work and family- and that is basically what we are facilitating. Of course now the in thing is Grid - Tie houses. Produce your own power and sell some back to the power company and reduce your bills. This way of doing things is really powerful once you have done it."

What part of the Renewable Energy business do you enjoy best?
        "I love doing the installs! Working outside in a beautiful spot and when we're done turning on the switch and it works like it's supposed to. Then the customer is proud of what he has accomplished. It takes a lot of different skills to make it all come together- sales, delivery, wood and metal construction, AC and DC electronics, staying up with new technology, time management, I use a special headset phone so I can talk and work on site. And of course climbing. I do all of the climbing right up to 100 feet. We have all of the safety equipment. I don't want any of my guys taking that risk so I climb myself. I couldn't take the risk of any of my guys falling either morally or financially."

You mentioned aesthetics in connection with doing an install?
        "Your average installer falls short in two major areas. First off they don't install enough batteries for proper energy storage. Second, they don't take enough time making the system look good. PVC pipe for wire protection, Laser levelling of the equipment, that sort of thing. If someone is going to spend on average 30 thousand dollars to install a system it should look good, not have wires hanging out all over the place and nothing even. It looks all mish-mash. We color-code all the wire and protect it with PVC pipe making sure the system is safe as well. It is better to overdo than under do a job."
        "Right now we are working on a million dollar home and all of the neighbors are watching our every move while we work. You can bet the owner doesn't want some eyesore on his roof, flapping in the wind. He wants his investment to enhance his property."
        "It's difficult some days but I love it! I wouldn't do anything else for a living and I think Renewable Energy is going to go a long ways in this World. What I love is the sense of freedom the customer experiences the first time the power goes out."
        "He calls me up and says, "Vern! My beer is cold and we're having steak. All of the neighbors are over and I'm the king of the block. Thanks." It's bout that time he finally realizes what he's got."
        "I get a sense of pride, the customer is happy and I get lots of referrals and we're off to the next job- and I love that part."

What do you see for the future of the business?
        "The install process will get more streamlined , the work will get easier with more packaged systems from water heating to power production.

        The future does look bright for Renewable Energy Installers who "Do it Right." In the next issue we go on-site with Vern and the Excess Energy crew to install an Off-Grid System.