Thursday, August 1, 2013

How we add value at Solar Edge LLC

The solar industry is very competitive, not only with fine local electrician and solar shops, but the big national leasing companies are all vying for my customers.  To my potential clients we all look alike.  But that is not why we got into this business, to sell a commodity.  We want to change the world, and add unique value to our clients.

How do we do that?

By knowing what our customers want, and understanding what they fear, giving them more than they ask, and forging lifelong relationships.

What our customers want is to gain control over electricity prices that are growing much faster than inflation and incomes.  They are also increasingly concerned with power availability (earthquakes, power failures, power alerts).

What are customers fear is getting a bad deal from hard sales tactics, opaque pricing and leasing schemes, and cheap equipment.

Knowing this, our approach is all about transparency and best price first.  We show our potential clients how we came up with the numbers, the source of our calculations, the payback period, and how to compare our pricing with other bids.  We also offer battery back up systems that tie with our solar package, or can stand alone.

We give our clients all the time they need to make a decision, and offer them a best price guarantee on our services.  We buy our equipment from the most reputable Distributor in the United States.  That ensures a broad range of manufacturers, and the very best service.  We also offer a an American made only package for those clients that deems it important.

Our install teams are very experienced and are more than solar guys.  We can and have done additional contracting work, as necessary.

This makes us unique.  We then take it a step further and offer lighting credits to make their solar installation even more compelling, and can provide A/C upgrades at better than market rates.

So when considering a solar partner, select the one who is giving you their all, and is watching out for your long term satisfaction.

Saturday, July 27, 2013

Check Your Electric Billing Rate


I am currently working with a fairly large commercial client that is evaluating solar energy for their new property.  As part of the review we always do a rate analysis to make sure the client is maximizing their savings.  In this case when the utility called us for the meeting they told us that the client was due a large rebate as they were put on the same rate schedule as the former lessee of the building, costing them thousands of dollars a month.

The utility leaves the same rate in place as a matter of practice, assuming this will be the correct schedule. Not checking can cost you thousands of dollars in fees.

Saturday, July 20, 2013

Solar to battery, Power all the Time

Last week we completed our first solar to battery back up system.  This is a 6 100 amp hour battery system, being fed by 27 205 Watt solar panels.  Based on the clients usage patterns they can enjoy uninterrupted power for days, before the batteries are drained.  If the client prefers, we can always add more batteries and solar panels to extend the time they can operate "off grid"

The solar system charges the batteries when the sun is shining, and the batteries charge the home all night long.

My partner on this project is Eric Farmer of Eric Farmer Construction, out of Newport Beach CA