Final post in this series on Smart Meters and Solar by EcoOutfitters featuring Scott Gordon, Vice President of  Residential Sales for HelioPower.

In this, the final of our four-part series on smart meters and solar PV arrays (start here), we’re going to address one of three dangers HelioPower CEO Scott Gordon revealed to us about smart meters: How they are infringing on our privacy.

We’re going to assume that no one reading this is doing anything illegal in their homes that they want to hide. But Americans view privacy as one of our basic rights. While the right to privacy is not expressly outlined in the U.S. Constitution, the fourth amendment does guarantee us “privacy of the person and possessions as against unreasonable searches.”

Of course, our founding fathers never could have envisioned digital meters that can record and share every detail of our electric usage. (Mostly because they didn’t envision electricity!) But this is exactly what smart meters do. Why does the electric company want that information? On the surface, the utilities claim that they’re collecting this data in order to make us smarter consumers and conservationists. Armed with the knowledge of when, where, and how we use electricity, we are better able to reduce our usage and lower our electric bills.

In reality, there is a lot more they can do with the information. As Gordon explains: “Every time you use an electrical device, it draws a specific amount of power, different from other devices. The smart meter sees your life and the way you use electricity in 15-minute increments. It can see how many loads of laundry you do each week, when you’re home, when you leave, if you work from home, if you have a pool, how many refrigerators you have … I can literally build a profile of you and your life.”

Laws prohibit the electric company from sharing this information without your permission. But what if they offered you 20 percent off your bill to permit them to share the information with marketing partners? “Many people, in this economy, would take them up on it,” Gordon notes.

If you thought targeted Facebook ads were scary in a sort of “Big Brother is watching” sense, imagine this type of marketing going on across your home, through mail, email, cell phone — any avenue advertisers choose to reach you.

Protect Your Privacy with Solar
When you’re connected to a home solar PV array, your solar system is the only power signature the smart meter can read. All your other devices draw their power from the solar system. “Everything else is literally hiding behind a smokescreen that is your solar system,” Gordon explains.

For years, Gordon said, the driving factor behind installing a solar array has been to save money. “Saving the environment and being eco-conscious is nice, but for the most part, people are concerned about lowering their electric bills.”

Now, smart meters introduce a whole new reason to go solar. For 10 to 16 hours of the day, depending on the time of year, your solar PV array is supporting your right to privacy. (Read more in HelioPower’s 10 Things About Smart Meters and Solar.)

One Block Off the Grid (1BOG), the largest national solar group discount company, today announced a new Coachella Valley program to offer homeowners relief from high electricity bills. By organizing homeowners interested in home solar, One Block Off the Grid can offer a significant group discount through pre-selected installation company HelioPower. Designed to make going solar easy and affordable, One Block Off the Grid’s program provides free, impartial advice and education about going solar and offers support through every step of the process.

“This is our second Coachella Valley solar group discount program with HelioPower,” said Dave Llorens, CEO 1BOG. “Last year, we helped almost 40 homeowners make the switch to solar by making the process easy and offering a great fixed price. We’re excited to see how many more people can benefit this year.”

Rancho Mirage homeowner Cecile Morgan went solar through last year’s program. “I liked that 1BOG did the leg work and answered my questions. The system wiped out 100 percent of my electric bill. It makes me feel better about the environment, and I like that the system will pay for itself soon and add value to my home.”

HelioPower is offering "Go solar for $0 down" financing which is also available to qualifying homeowners who are participating in the 1BOG program.

The 1BOG Coachella Valley solar program is available now to homeowners throughout the entire Coachella Valley area until February 8, 2011. For more information or to sign up for free, visit http://SolarCoachellaValley.1BOG.org. Interested homeowners can also call HelioPower at 1 87 SOLAR 888 and arrange a free on site solar evaluation.

Editor’s Note: Virginia was a panelist in the first ever, Women in Green Forum, held recently in Pasadena, CA.  She has been a vital part of the development of clean energy technology in California and is working to forward educational efforts for senior executives transitioning into the green sector.

The Forum was upbeat and lively, and unexpectedly hard-hitting.  About 500 people attended, and I counted 6 men.  As always the case with a good gathering, the conference resulted in a few gems that I want to pass along to your readers. 

Some tidbits:

• Over yogurt and berries one morning the conversation turned on the hospitality industry, and in particular on the use of automated room energy management cards (the ones you stick into the slot in order to make the lights and A/C function) and how they really didn’t work in a hotel in Dubai because they were connected to the room refrigerators, too…!
• Several presenters were STRONGLY opposed to the behind-the-scenes activities of the proponents of Prop. 23.  Vote NO on Prop. 23.
• Actor Gloria Reuben reminded the audience that when it comes to tar sand oil production, it takes 3 barrels of water to produce 1 barrel of oil…

The panel I participated in was called “Marketing Yourself in the Green Space.”  I combined remarks supplied by Glenna Wiseman at HelioPower with others in putting together a List of Green Job Resources for attendees.  It was gratifying to hear other speakers echo my findings. 

Again, some highlights:

• On the topic of “creating your own job,” Sue Kately (CalSEIA) told how early in her career she “called up the head of the CEC and told them how messed up they were and that they needed to hire her.”  Take that to heart you cautious ones!
• A number of stories surfaced about the need for solar contractors (in particular) to be educated and to understand the concept of “right sizing.”  Can you imagine solar PV being sold to heat a swimming pool?!
• At a session devoted to recycling, we heard that CFLs have become the number 1 source of mercury in Illinois landfills.  Do you see an opportunity for starting a new business?
• And as for commitment, Kelly Aaron, co-owner of Everlight (recycles lights) says that her entire staff is becoming LEED certified. 
• Vonda Lockwood, who over the years grew into being Sustainability Coordinator at Wal-Mart, told how the word came down from the top one day, “No waste by 2020.”  As she put it, “Everything I’ve done has prepared me for what I’m doing today.”  I think that sentence is the one we all need to take to heart.  Understand the value of your experience!

As you can tell, I have many more notes to share, but I hope this will give you a flavor of the breadth of offerings at the Forum.  If you have any particular questions, I’d be happy to respond.  In the meanwhile, please go the Green Jobs Resource List I put together and information to help provide serious job training for senior executives in transition.

Here’s the link: Green Job Opportunities.

Information about the Woman in Green Forum can be found here.

You can reach Virginia at  vnicols@ecomotion.us.

Just like our earth’s annual trek around the sun, the solar energy business has its seasons as well. While not as clearly evident as bright flowers blooming after spring showers or leaves drying into brilliant autumn hues, our industry’s climate is driven by three strong forces – hot weather, rebates, and tax credits! Savvy consumers understand the seasonality of solar and plan accordingly to get the most financial benefit.

As a solar professional, all winter long I’m engaged in phone and email exchanges with interested homeowners exploring the feasibility of solar for their homes. We quickly determine if they are a good candidate for solar by analyzing their bills and their home’s solar exposure. Financial benefits are calculated and financing options outlined to meet their unique needs. Months go by with only their relatively small winter electricity bills to remind them of our discussions. Like clockwork, as soon as the temperature approaches t-shirt time and the AC charges on, they’re ready to move forward and schedule installation ASAP!

Rebate tier drops are another driving force in the solar year. As more and more homeowners go solar, rebates tiers drop accordingly. This is exactly how our California Solar Initiative was designed. Early adapters, enticed to jump in with big rebates, encouraged competition and drove prices down. Good solar sales representatives keep their customers informed as to when the rebate tier will drop and get their customers contracted before they lose thousands of rebate dollars. Typically during the last few weeks of a rebate tier hundreds of contracts are signed and bottlenecks are created with both utilities and installers attempting to deal with the huge surge in demand.

The end of the year also drives demand as homeowners try to get their systems installed and commissioned before December 31^st. They’re anxious to capture thousands of dollars of tax credits! Our company starts spreading the word in late summer. If you want to be guaranteed an installation and inspection by the end of the year, then we better get you contracted by the end of September. This is the only way to insure that module availability, weather, permitting and HOA issues, or scheduling won’t delay your installation. Again hundreds of homeowners scramble at the end of the year resulting in additional unnecessary stress during the hectic holiday season.

Unfortunately, these scenarios repeat themselves each year throughout our growing industry. Reputable installers are scheduling scores of homes each week. Customers feel confident using them because they have proven track records, good pricing, and there’s a higher likelihood they’ll be around for decades to honor their system’s warranty in the event of a problem. Unless you’re willing to trust your home and your roof to an untested installation firm, postponing your decision may result in a long wait enduring the highest bills of the year or waiting another year for a tax credit.

Reach your decision just a few months earlier and you’ll save hundreds or even thousands of dollars in avoided energy costs, and have the added satisfaction of working with your first choice of contractor. The best time of the year to go solar is right now! Get your last year’s electricity bills together. Meet with a few good companies and use their expertise to help you decide on the right size system and best financing option. Then sign a contract and get scheduled!

Contact Derek Girling at DGirling@HelioPower.com

By Glenna Wiseman, Vice President, Marketing, HelioPower

At HelioPower we help our clients tell their solar story.  We work with commercial, community and utility clients creating communication programs to herald their new solar power installation.   Our efforts help them weave the aspects of a solar installation into an overall green marketing message that supports their brand.

Solar is an exciting addition to an organization’s environmental efforts.  In fact, a solar power system assists on multiple levels of a Triple Bottom Line approach benefiting the company’s people, its profits and environmental efforts (the planet).

Having successfully completed several affiliate marketing programs for HelioPower clients, this information is designed to contribute to the industry’s knowledge base and guidelines for successfully telling a client’s solar story and thus contributing to their overall green marketing message.

Nearly all of our commercial and public sector clients have worked through the normal list of “reduce your energy and energy use costs” before they adopt solar.  Way before the solar conversation starts they have harvested the “low hanging environmental fruit” of recycling, green purchasing, etc.  Past this phase, they move to implementing energy monitoring to determine peak demand usage and reduce it, and energy use overall to create cost reduction programs. Out of this information comes the use of energy efficiency technologies including lighting, motors, HVAC, etc.  Solar is not generally where they start or where they should start, unless they are building a new U.S. Green Building Council Leadership in LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) structure. Then solar power technologies should be part of the design from the initial stages of the development.

Once solar is part of the client’s overall green building, thus environmental strategy, HelioPower works with them to communicate the role solar plays in these efforts and thus the environmental aspects of their brand.

A marketing / communication program for a HelioPower solar client becomes appropriate when we can implement the following guidelines:
• Assist our clients to communicate environmental benefits of solar
• Optimize strategic partner alliances
• Involve the community, green building, local and state government
• Utilize Internet and social media to provide transparency & communication
• Educate stakeholders
• Work as a team

Each solar promotion program will have its unique opportunities and challenges.  In order for solar promotion program to be successful we have found that it is essential to meet all of these objectives. 

HelioPower assists our clients to communicate environmental benefits of solar.  Part of our responsibility as an organization’s solar power partner is to help them gather the information needed about their solar installation.  We assist them in developing a full understanding of their solar power system, how it works, energy generation data, environmental offset data, how to explain it to their constituents and whatever information they need to communicate their solar program. 

We provide information online about the client’s solar power installation on the HelioPower website.  Our efforts are coordinated with the client’s to create information that is easy to access and captures all the correct data about the solar project. 

Affiliate marketing programs must optimize strategic partner alliances. At HelioPower we have

Bill Nye, the "Science Guy" shines light on Bob's Big Boy solar event, supported by Canadian Solar, SMA and sponsors

the distinct pleasure of working with some of the industry’s great brands and high profile clients.  Any program that we participate in or spearhead for one of our clients must involve strategic partners in the industry and those affiliated with our client.  Communicating the solar story would not be complete without involving the solar power panel manufacturer, inverter partner, and potentially the energy performance monitoring company.  It can also involve brands that do business with the client as was the case with the Bob’s Big Boy campaign we implemented last fall.  The key is to involve those within the industry who have participated in the solar installation by way of product and those who do business with the client.

Involve the community, green building, local and state government.  One of the very exciting aspects of taking on a communication program to highlight a solar installation is involving the stakeholders in the community. 

Community groups gather to support Porsche solar panel dedication

We are all obviously familiar with the solar “ribbon cutting/ throw the switch” ceremony.  These are important celebrations of the commitment the client has made to solar power generation.  This type of event is the most valuable when it is an opportunity to reach out to stakeholders in the community and give them a chance to support the client. 

In the construction phase of a solar celebration or marketing program, it is our job to identify community, green building, local and state governmental groups and leaders who should be involved in a program.  And you don’t need to stop here.  You can reach out to a loyal customer base, supporters, local charity groups, and any other organization whose contribution to the program will enrich all parties involved.

Utilize Internet and social media to provide transparency & communication. Marketing messages regarding environmental strategies must be transparent and easy to find online.   This upholds the integrity of the message. 

It is critical to strategize the online aspects of a client’s solar marketing program.  The effort may be as simple as identifying the best media distribution source and insuring the joint press release is supported with accurate online information about the solar installation.  It may be a more comprehensive approach that involves a program-specific website.  Each effort is unique.  Insuring opportunities for an online program are investigated and maximized as needed is essential.

Educate stakeholders.  Telling a solar story must include programs to educate the client’s constituents.  Programs typically include communication to employees, investors, media and press, community members, etc.  When you are considering a program, think about what groups are involved with your company or client and what aspects of the solar installation would hold meaning for them.  Within a particular solar story, different themes and information will hold meaning for each distinct constituent group.  Thinking through all these “story lines” will create positive communication and honor the many groups that support or are involved with the client, and thus have some level of involvement with the solar installation.

Work as a team.  Our renewable energy industry is filled with talented, positive professionals who are a joy to work alongside and truly are impassioned by their mission within the industry.  We have the distinct pleasure to assist our clients in communicating their solar story.  Thus we work to create a team approach for each marketing program, from a relatively simple press release to solar ribbon cutting events and more elaborate affiliate marketing programs. 

It takes a dedicated team of client and solar installation company individuals to successfully design and install a solar power system. So too the best programs to tell a client’s solar story, within the auspices of their brand message, also involve a team effort.

You can reach me at gwiseman@HelioPower.com.  I welcome your comments, insights and observations.

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.

San Diego area solar installation by HelioPower

Few SDG&E customers realize what happened today with the solar rebate, but it just dropped below 2MW. This means there is less than 2MW (1.96 to be exact) at the current $1.55/watt. In less than one month, the rebate will drop to $1.10/watt! I can hardly believe it since the last drop occurred at the end of June. This is one of the quickest rebate triggers I’ve experienced in my three years in the solar business. So what does the impending drop mean for you?

Let’s say that you’re thinking about buying a 6KW system for your home. At the current rebate tier, you’d receive somewhere around $9,300 in rebate money. That’s a nice chunk of change. How does this change at $1.10? The same system would only receive a $6,600 rebate. That’s a drop of $2,700!

So, if you’re serious about going solar it is in your interest to act quickly and reserve your rebate at the current tier. Once your rebate is reserved, you have one year to install your system. HelioPower can help you by providing a turnkey custom system and expedite your rebate paperwork, but you have to act fast.

In case you’d like to see where the SDGE trigger is currently, you can visit: http://www.csi-trigger.com/

Residential solar installation by HelioPower

Which means that for anyone thinking about putting solar panels on their roof, there probably hasn't been a better time.

This is the opening paragraph of the Wall Street Journal article yesterday, "Let the Sun Shine. With the price of solar panels falling, now may be a good time for consumers to take a look," by writer, Cassandra Sweet.

More excepts:
All along the supply chain, prices have been falling, and could fall further still. Silicon, a main ingredient in most panels, has been selling for as little as half what it went for a year ago, while some panels and installed systems can be had for 25% less, retailers and installers say. Throw in a 30% rebate offered by the U.S. government, plus rebates in California, New Jersey, New York and other states, and, depending on where you live, you could be looking at $15,750 for a system that would have cost nearly twice as much a year ago when the federal rebate was much smaller.

The bottom line: several factors are coming together to make it a compellingly smart financial decision to invest in solar now! For the full article, click here.

This Independence Day, we have a lot to celebrate — including a major victory for our planet.

The historic vote on the American Clean Energy and Security Act in the House of Representatives last Friday moves this bill to the Senate. Now, we must continue to build momentum and work for its passage.

Just as our founders struggled to achieve our nation's independence, we must encourage our leaders to stand up to the entrenched special interests in another struggle of great historical importance — the fight for our energy independence.

Today, our nation lives under the oppressive thumb of foreign oil, dirty energy and a climate crisis that could change life as we know it.

We are held hostage to volatile gas prices, as Americans send hundreds of billions of dollars overseas each year. This dependence on foreign oil leaves our nation vulnerable to unstable and hostile regimes, burdening our military and their families.

And our reliance on dirty energy continues to cost us — average annual household energy spending increased approximately $1,000 between 2001 and 2007.

It doesn't have to be this way, and clean energy is the path we need. Add your voice and declare your energy independence now:

http://www.RepowerAmerica.org/declaration

Thanks for all you do,

Al Gore