1BOG

HelioPower and 1BOG will offer free solar information, including a solar webinar on Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. PT. To sign up visit: http://solarcoachellavalley.1bog.org/faqs-and-webinar/.

HelioPower's Scott Gordon will be representing the company. Scott has led very successful solar webinars for 1BOG in the company's previous solar San Diego campaign. He has been quoted extensively in the Coachella Valley press about this current solar community discount program.  

Excerpts from recent press quotes from Scott include the following information from The Desert Sun:  

That means a 4 kilowatt system, about 20 panels, will have a net cost of about $10,857, after state rebates and the federal tax credit for solar energy, said Scott Gordon, HelioPower's vice president for residential sales.

The package will also include computer monitoring of the system so any maintenance problems are detected quickly, Gordon said.

For Coachella Valley residents, the break-even point for such a system could range from five years to 12 years, depending on their energy use and their power provider, Gordon said. Southern California Edison customers, who pay tiered rates, would get a quicker return on their investment than east valley residents in the Imperial Irrigation District service area, who pay lower rates, he said.

Offering area residents the lowest price per watt for solar energy in the Coachella Valley, 1BOG selected HelioPower to lead it's solar group discount program in the desert.  The announcement was made yesterday by the desert's leading newspaper, The Desert Sun, in its piece, "Solar energy marketer kicks off local campaign."

Homeowners looking to buy solar panels often face a complicated, stressful process of researching solar installers

and manufacturers, scheduling home evaluations, and analyzing quotes and warranty programs. By organizing interested homeowners into a community and selecting an installer partner based on a rigorous vetting process, 1BOG can harness the group's solar purchasing power to negotiate winning rates, while eliminating each homeowner's need to shop around for the best deal.

“Teaming up with HelioPower for the Coachella Valley solar program will bolster local efforts to reduce the region’s energy consumption and reliance on non-sustainable energy sources. By streamlining the process to offer a simple and affordable alternative energy option for local residents, we are lowering the barrier to entry for solar adoption,” said Dave Llorens, Co-Founder and General Manager of 1BOG. “Every program we run is a significant step towards our goal of making solar energy widely accessible to create a new norm for powering homes.”

For each regional program, 1BOG invites local installers to bid for the project. After a rigorous, month-long evaluation of local installer companies, 1BOG selected HelioPower as partner for this Coachella Valley program, to service the local community with timely installation of quality solar products. 1BOG's strict evaluation process eliminates the need for homeowners to research installers and technology options themselves, while at the same time securing installation costs that range from 10-20% below market rates by aggregating local demand.

HelioPower founded in 2001, was also selected as 1BOG’s installer partner for the San Diego program that ran in May 2009. Heliopower was selected for its unbeatable pricing on four special product packages, as well as its track record of successful installations and reliable warranty offering. For details about the different packages available, visit: http://solarcoachellavalley.1bog.org/campaign-costs.

"Exposure to extreme desert conditions means that homes in Coachella Valley use 150% more power than the average home in California, which is incredibly expensive and harmful to the environment. Being selected as 1BOG's Coachella Valley partner is not only a huge win for HelioPower, but it's a much-needed kick start for the region's health and economic success," said Scott Gordon, Vice President, Residential Sales for HelioPower. "We are thrilled to work with 1BOG's solar group model again because we will be able to show this community how easy and cost-effective it can be to go solar."

The Coachella Valley 1BOG program is available now to local homeowners in the entire Coachella Valley from Desert Hot Springs to Coachella through December 12, 2009. For more information or to sign up, visit http://solarcoachellavalley.1bog.org/

HelioPower and 1BOG will offer free solar information, including a solar webinar on Thursday, October 22 at 7:00 p.m. PT. To sign up visit: http://solarcoachellavalley.1bog.org/faqs-and-webinar/

HelioPower client, Steve Fleischman in Rancho Mirage, was quoted in the Desert Sun article.  Fleischman got bids from five or six other companies, but he said “(HelioPower) was the one that came forth with the right information. Their analysis was correct; what they said is truly happening.”

Fleischman said his 10 kilowatt system has cut his electric bills from about $3,200 a year to under $1,000.

“To watch that meter go backward, you have a sense of empowerment,” he said. “It's yours.”

For The Desert Sun article, click here.

HelioPower, a leading solar power design and installation firm in California and Nevada, has signed the first solar power project in the 1BOG solar group purchase program in San Diego.  One Block Off the Grid (1BOG) launched its solar San Diego campaign on May 18, securing a discounted price of $6.09 per DC watt for its members.

“We’re proud to announce we’ve already sold several 1BOG systems in north San Diego County, having signed our first contract on June 1,” said Scott Gordon, Director of Sales for HelioPower. “1BOG has negotiated an incredible installation price for its San Diego participants and people are taking advantage of it. Those who hope to get the best deal will act before San Diego Gas & Electric’s solar power rebate drops next month.”

HelioPower was chosen along with groSolar to install the solar San Diego systems priced through the 1BOG program.  HelioPower is working in the northern San Diego area with groSolar installing projects in the central San Diego region.  1BOG has successfully launched statewide group solar purchasing programs in San Francisco, Los Angeles, and Sonoma County.  Outside California it has active campaigns in New Orleans, La. and Denver, Colo. Upcoming community programs are launching in Phoenix, Ariz., Sacramento, Calif. and Washington, D.C.

“The pricing from HelioPower was the lowest we’ve seen in any of our group purchase campaigns run thus far,” said Dave Llorens, 1BOG General Manager. “We were impressed by HelioPower’s request for proposal response,” he continued, “We also look for companies who truly embrace environmental awareness in their operations.  We inspected the HelioPower southern California offices and warehouse, and saw how they run their business and green their supply chain.  We were excited to see their attention to even small details like pre-removing boxes from panels to ensure they are recycled.  It made our decision easy.”

More information on the San Diego campaign can be found at:
http://solarsandiego.1bog.org.

In its webinar this week for solar power system buyers in San Diego, 1BOG, One Block Off the Grid, marketing director, Brad Burton, was joined by Scott Gordon, Director of Sales at HelioPower. The webinar gave participants an opportunity to review information and pricing related to the Solar San Diego discount pricing program currently being offered by 1BOG. 

The webinar is available in its entirety by clicking here.

"I very much enjoyed presenting the 1BOG Solar San Diego program with Brad Burton. As Brad mentions during the webinar, at $6.09/dc watt the Solar San Diego campaign pricing is by far the best 1BOG has negotiated to date," said Scott Gordon.  

"This means unprecedented savings when you purchase your solar power system through the program," Gordon continued.   "I liken this to the Costco Car Program. When you buy a car through Costco, a magic book appears from under the salesman’s desk at the auto dealership. Because Costco did all of the negotiating ahead of time, you experience a pleasant non-haggle purchase experience without having to get multiple quotes from multiple dealers. In a similar fashion, the 1BOG campaign saves consumers time and money by simplifying the solar power system purchase process for the public at large. Of course, those hoping to see the greatest savings will act before SDGE’s rebate drops from $1.90 to $1.55 per watt."

From The San Diego Union Tribune, May 31, 2009, staff writer Onell R. Soto:  "Power to the people. One Block Off the Grid uses community activism to build networks of solar energy systems so homeowners can get volume discounts. "

Excerpts, for full article click here.

The renovation, the insulation and the new kitchen all helped, but Meg Goldfeather couldn't get her 1926 University Heights bungalow to save enough power.

She can't stand looking at her three-digit utility bills, knowing she could generate her own electricity using solar panels on her roof.

But cost has been an obstacle. So when Goldfeather's electrician suggested she look at something called One Block Off the Grid, she was interested.

“The minute I read it, I thought, this is absolutely it,” Goldfeather said. “Community effort, lower price.”

One Block Off the Grid, or 1bog.org, is a campaign that groups together people interested in buying solar power so they can get volume discounts. It is run by Virgance, a San Francisco company that uses activism campaigns to bring about social change while also making money.

After requesting proposals from local solar installers (in San Diego), Virgance enlisted groSolar and HelioPower, two companies whose prices – $6.09 a watt – impress longtime advocates of the technology.

“I might have to sign up,” said Bill Powers, an electrical engineer who is looking to expand his own solar energy system. He said many of the region's power problems, such as reliability and prices, would be alleviated if more people put the systems on their roofs.

Per watt, these installations would be less expensive than the massive systems installed on warehouse roofs just two years ago, in part because solar panel prices are dropping, Powers said.
The campaign now under way comes as a worldwide economic slump pushes solar panel prices down and government subsidies make systems more affordable.

A typical household system provides about 3,000 to 5,000 watts at peak production. Its size is determined by how much power a household uses in a month, with the goal being to replace the most expensive electricity.

Residential systems typically cost $7 to $9 per watt, said Irene Stillings, executive director of the Center for Sustainable Energy, which tracks state rebates for such installations.

HelioPower and groSolar have been awarded the new San Diego 1BOG solar program, which kicks off this week.  The program brings homeowners together to secure group pricing for solar power installations. 

From the 1BOG website:
We’re extremely happy to have partnered with both solar integrators, and they are working very closely on this program with each other to keep it simple and provide the same pricing and service to all 1bog participants. When we decided to chop up San Diego I anticipated a 4 hour conversation before we had an equitable split of territory, and it actually only took  30 seconds. groSolar said, “We’re thinking this, what do you think?” to which HelioPvower replied, “yup that works for us.” And since then they’ve been meeting regularly to discuss best practices for the program. (Dave Llorens, co founder)

From the groSolar RFP response: “From the panels to the smallest bits you’ll see us use the highest quality parts in the business. We build our systems to last, and back them with a full system 10 year warranty. Moreover, if your system goes down, we will fix it in one day or pay you for the lost power until we do get it fixed –this is our one day reliability guarantee and it is also good for 10 years. This guarantee is not just your standard manufacturer’s warranty, but is in fact our pledge that we will stand behind the return on investment promised in each of our proposals, and we will put it in writing and back it up with our pocket books.”

From the HelioPower RFP response: “HelioPower has installed systems in the San Diego area for almost a decade. We were founded in San Diego in 2001 and have a strong customer base and reputation for quality in the area. We actively participate in area events including Green Build San Diego, Western Days, the Avocado Festival, Temecula Balloon & Wine festival, as well as various Earth Day events. Tyler Michael, one of our local San Diego sales reps, is the trusted resource for CCSE when referring utility customers to an expert on the complex NSHP program. HelioPower is also proud of the fact that we’ve installed almost a dozen utility projects specifically for SDGE. We are very familiar with interconnection and permit requirements and have processed hundreds of solar rebates in San Diego.”

HelioPower will be working in the Northern San Diego area, with groSolar taking southern San Diego.  More information is available on 1BOG's San Diego page.