Welcome to the Innovation Spotlight. Champions for Sustainability (C4S) launched this initiative to help tell the informative and inspirational stories of Southwestern Pennsylvania’s green business organizations in this feature about innovative companies in green products, services, and jobs.

Southwestern Pennsylvania is tapping into cutting-edge people and companies that are offering products, services, and employment to growing markets that contribute to our regional economy based on green and sustainable principles. It is important that these stories are told so that our region’s workforce, consumers, potential business partners, and community members can connect and build relationships with these leading firms.

This initiative is generously supported by the Green Building and Construction Industry Partnership (GBCIP) as convened by the Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board (scroll to Green Jobs). If you are a Green Building and Construction related employer and would like to learn more about the GBCIP please contact Micah Frankenfield at mfrankenfield@trwib.org.

Vol. 1, No. 3: December 2011

Underwood Solar Future, LLC

“Solar energy is the future.  For every solar panel we bring on line, that much less coal is needed to generate electricity.”

                        - Fred Underwood, President and Founder, Underwood Solar Future

Underwood Solar Future, LLC is a full service solar panel system estimation and installation service company that operates on Pittsburgh’s North Side.  The firm deploys solar industry training from the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP), and offers extensive training opportunities for people to make the solar industry their career.

The firm was established by Fred Underwood, who also serves as the firm’s President.  Mr. Underwood has served as an activie duty member of the U.S. Marine Corps. and in the PA National Guard for a combined service 24 of years, where he gained many years of experience in working on generators, heaters, and tank technology as part of the Refueling Wing.

The firm works in both monocrystal and polycrystal panels because of their long life expectancies (30 – 40 years) as well as their ability to not require recalibration after a year (something that most thin film designs require).

All installations use a local workforce with all USA generated parts.  The installation comes with a 25 year warranty.

Mr. Underwood also helps craft Power Purchase Agreements (PPA’s), for which it is possible to rent out roof space for solar installations in exchange for reduced rates of electricity, often at 90% less than a typical provider of electricity.  These agreements also can lock in rates over a period of time so that the price for electricity remains less sensitive to potential rate changes.

Such an agreement can benefit anyone who uses electricity.  All that is needed is a flat roof or awning that faces south.  Parking canopies are ideal sites for these sorts of installations and agreements.

Mr. Underwood also offers real-time monitoring of solar systems.  This means that it is possible to evaluate a system’s output and efficiency on demand.  Examples of this real-time capability can be viewed online at this firm’s monitoring portion of its website. 

The company has been founded using a very hands-on approach.  Mr. Underwood works best by being able to touch projects and work on them.  The firm has gotten a lot of practice by constructing mock-ups to test and troubleshoot designs and processes.

Mr. Underwood spends a considerable amount of time staying current on the latest technology and researching products. 

The market had been growing quickly.  In 2010 the Rendell administration made available $210 million though its grant programs.  This funding made it possible to offset nearly 65% of the cost of getting solar systems on line.  Federal tax credits pay for 30% of projects and federal grants can cover an additional 30% of the projects.  Mr. Underwood sees no other barriers for the effectiveness of solar technologies besides up-front costs.

Mr. Underwood commented on how Pennsylvania’s Renewable Portfolio Standards (RPS) played an important role for helping to increase the role of solar in the state.  He hopes that these standards will be updated since their 2004 adoption in order to keep Pennsylvania competitive when compared with neighboring stats, such as New York, New Jersey, and Maryland. 

Mr. Underwood stated that there were not that may solar companies in the market competing against each other.  The number of companies is small, and the amount of work available has been plenty to go around.  He pointed out that there are a growing number of people who want to get into this market.

Training Program

The firm has evolved into an extensive training operation that in 2011 took 27 people who never touched solar panels before and successfully involved them in installing an extensive solar facility in Williamsport, PA in 21 days.  A video of this accomplishment can be found here. 

An important dimension of the training program involves asking a lot of questions and having students teach others after they learn in a classroom setting. 

People who are interested in Mr. Underwood’s training program come from a broad range of backgrounds.  He has had trainees from ages 20 to 65.  The requirements of the program are that the trainees must pass both entering and random drug tests.  They must be able to work with high voltage equipment and be able to go on roofs of buildings.  The candidate must possess a GED and must maintain a professional appearance, which Mr. Underwood characterized as “no baggy pants.”  He stated that as long as a candidate is motivated to do the job and can perform the tasks, he or she can get involved.  The application for enrollment is available on the career section of the firm’s website or through Northside Leadership.

Working in the solar industry offers opportunities to earn good wages: $18/hour to start as a skilled laborer and $25/hr to work as an electrician.

Vol. 1, No. 2: April 2011

Dan Whalen, President
Kevin Whalen, General Manager
Q-Dot, Inc.

“To Be Smart with Green is Easy”
 
As an engineer, my expectations about going to visit a company named “Q-Dot” (a common mathematical symbol for heat transfer) brought back images of thermodynamics equations, boilers, and air conditioners.
 
Instead of an immersion in mechanical systems, I learned a valuable lesson about a highly successful company that is making a big impact on the green economy.  The lesson learned for any company: Getting involved with people and earning their confidence is the most important issue for making our economy more energy efficient and green.

Dan and Kevin Whalen, a father-son team with decades of experience at Q-Dot, Inc., demonstrate that long-term relationships with customers form the basis for more technical work.  Through these relationships they are better equipped to propose a few common sense changes that improve the performance of heating, ventilation, and cooling (HVAC) systems.  This approach often can afford a bigger impact on reducing energy consumption rather than a rush to install exotic systems in buildings. 

The core of this philosophy involves providing real value to customers by investigating what it is that they need.  For most people, a jump to high tech installations may not make sense.  There are a lot of other improvements that can be done, and these improvements can save huge amounts of energy and fit within budgetary conditions.  For Dan and Kevin, this means, “to be smart with green is easy.”
 
Q-Dot has been delivering this type of value since 1911 when it was founded as H. F. Langdon Company.  The original company’s namesake happened to be one of the originators of the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating, and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE).  The company services and maintains commercial, industrial and institutional HVAC systems in Southwestern Pennsylvania.  To be successful for such a long time has required a persistent commitment to service quality that keeps customers coming back.
 
Systems View
 
Delivering value and building strong customer relationships over long periods of time works because it becomes possible to look at the performance of buildings and their HVAC systems as whole systems, rather than as pieces of equipment.  The first stage in this process is determining how a customer’s current system is operating before making any recommendations.  This involves installing monitoring equipment and extensive inspections.  Sometimes the suggested changes are simple: clean the system and institute a preventive maintenance program so that systems continue to operate at efficient levels.  

Dan and Kevin described a recent situation involving a client’s building that was experiencing problems.  The owner was concerned that the HVAC system needed to be replaced.  A visit by Q-Dot first started with a review of the operating data to see how the equipment was performing by monitoring the pressure conditions.  This review was followed by a cleaning of the equipment and replacement of a few fittings.  With these simple changes the equipment returned to its normal operating mode.  The process cost about $500 and saved the owner tens of thousands of dollars in equipment and energy costs. 

Q-Dot also recommended building in scheduled maintenance as part of the normal operation of the system.  System maintenance is typically neglected because it is viewed as an operating expense; however, neglect of maintenance usually results in even higher expenses from wasted energy and shortened equipment life.  As Dan pointed out, “With these systems, there is no free lunch.”  Neglected equipment will fail and bring that high replacement expense sooner.

Q-Dot’s strategy involves demonstrating that a client’s value comes from a longer-termed view.  Both short-termed and longer-termed costs are lower and energy usage is more efficient when equipment is maintained.  The ability for customers to achieve this outcome involves establishing a longer-termed relationship that involves scheduled reviews and maintenance.

Dan and Kevin stated that their immediate goal is to “work themselves out of a job”, meaning recommending the less expensive cleaning and maintenance-oriented client solutions rather than selling more expensive new equipment. 

They also recommend retro-commissioning existing buildings on five-year periods.  Over this timescale, it becomes possible to budget for maintenance, investments, and upgrades as equipment ages beyond what can be handled by simple fixes. The rate at which old equipment experiences problems before and after scheduled maintenance visits is weighed against the age of the equipment. This approach permits the ability to calculate effective payback times for the investments and upgrades.  The goal becomes using the savings achieved from improved performance in order to leverage investments in new equipment when the economics make sense.

In an age when most businesses operate on selling customers on short-term solutions, often involving the latest and expensive new equipment, Q-Dot shows how what is innovative involves cultivating relationships through customer value over the long haul.  The most efficient solutions come through responsive service that delivers value to loyal customers.  For this reason Q-Dot prefers to work with customers who show genuine interest in their building’s performance.  

Good Career Trajectory

According to Dan and Kevin, there are many opportunities for people to have a career path in this line of work.  The work can pay well—$60,000 - $70,000 or more per year.  There are many training opportunities available through Community College of Allegheny County.  After completing training, workers start out as apprentices through the local unions where they apply their training and learn on the job.  The best mechanics are people who like to tinker as hobbyists with their cars or other equipment—as Dan said, “people who like to get involved and not just sit around.”

The schedule can be demanding as a worker must go to solve problems whenever the customer calls.  This can lead to some long weeks to get a job done.  But there is a career ladder opportunity.  As a worker develops skills they can progress to become representatives for equipment manufacturers, project managers, experts in various aspects of automation systems, or even open up their own companies.  The rewards are there, but they require sacrifices and a commitment to applying oneself to master this service business. 

Vol.1, No. 1: February 2011

Tim Carryer, President and Founder
GreenoverGreen

The recent cold weather spell has reminded us all about the costs of heating our homes and businesses. This first Innovation Spotlight focuses on a local entrepreneur who has not only helped many businesses and individual homeowners save on the cost of heating and cooling their place of business and their homes, but makes people realize that there are even more potentially valuable opportunities that begin with looking at the performance of their built structures from the perspective of a system.

Performance Over Efficiency

Tim Carryer founded GreenoverGreen (GoG) in 2009 in order to offer businesses and homeowners a strategy of a “whole home performance” or “whole workplace performance” perspective. Mr. Carryer pointed out that people will make isolated decisions about replacing a broken HVAC, replacing old windows, or by hiring a weatherization expert to seal up leaks without recognizing that these isolated choices about technology miss huge savings and opportunities for adding value.

If someone replaces an HVAC without making the whole structure more energy efficient, that person will buy a much bigger HVAC than would otherwise be necessary and pay higher monthly bills.

Instead, the vision for GreenoverGreen focuses on a structure’s comfort and air quality and ties strategic energy choices to an assessment of those conditions. First, figure out which rooms in a structure are cold and drafty-- places where people avoid. A solution that provides optimum value to the home finds the causes of these conditions and corrects them. Causes include lack of insulation in walls or attic, leaks around doors and windows, gaps in the corners of the building or roof, among many other possible sources. Leakage can account for up to 40 percent of energy lost from a building.

Second, investigate indoor air quality of the structure. Inspect ductwork to see if it contains mold or mildew, a common condition for structures in this wet region. Better health from improved indoor air quality adds value to the structure.

Comfort and air quality issues come from outdated construction techniques. Pittsburgh has old housing and building stock. Many structures were built when coal was used to heat steam boilers—in an age where energy seemed limitless and air quality was not a priority. Even more recent structures have designs that do not prioritize air quality, comfort, or efficiency.

For these reasons GoG offers a comprehensive service that combines an extensive audit that looks at home or building performance from the perspective of adding comfort, improving air quality, and offering more efficient energy outcomes. GOG’s services improve the daily functioning of the structure and increase its overall value.

Trust and Cost

Mr. Carryer pointed out that there are two significant issues that need to be overcome before a homeowner or building owner is won over by this performance and value driven approach. First, it might look like the audit is being set up as a way to help sell the owner on services and materials that will make the contractor a lot of money. This is fundamentally an issue of trust. Pittsburgh consumers tend to be rather conservative in their dealings with contractors, especially in the weatherization industry, an industry that is new on most people’s radar screens.

GoG overcomes trust concerns because it operates as a network service guided by regulated standards instead of as a single contractor whose interest may be fragmented according to its specialty for technology installation. Instead, GoG puts together an optimal package that minimizes the total investment costs and maximizes the total value to a home or building. This was explained as building a team that fits to the needs of a particular structure, based on the comprehensive audit. The team provides the least expensive service options—beginning with sealing the building envelope first in order to minimize the size and expense of other equipment, such as new HVAC systems, windows, or alternative energy systems.

GoG also is a member and partner with the Diagnostic Energy Auditors of Western Pennsylvania (DEAWP), which acts as a source for experienced, certified, independent energy auditors and contractors.

All of GoG’s providers are certified according to RESNET/BPI national standards. RESNET and BPI standards serve as the accreditation requirements for service providers and are associated with the USEPA Energy Star program as well as the Department of Energy. This adherence to standards of practice and methodology, as well as the tailoring of a team specifically to the needs of a particular home, mean that GoG has the interest of the best value for the home or building owner at the highest level, not just selling products or services that may not be needed or add to the value of the home.

The second issue is cost. GoG integrates a funding package that combines tapping into tax credits, grants, rebates, utility programs (launched from PA ACT 129), and low interest loans that provide a package for maximizing the value for that particular home or business. The program of recommendations and financing are attuned to the house’s or building’s ownership time frame. Longer term ownership (5 years or longer) provides for more value from making changes.

There are some new trends taking place in the housing market, driven by banks and mortgage companies, for which homes are being assigned the equivalent of “MPG” ratings: the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) is a growing trend that will mean that a particular home or building will be assigned an energy performance rating. This rating can influence the future sale of that property, with more efficient properties likely selling faster and at higher values than homes rated at lower efficiencies. Launched in California and increasingly being deployed in housing markets in New Jersey, New York, and other parts of New England, HERS is likely to make its way into the Pennsylvania housing market. Vice President Joe Biden announced in November 2010 a home efficiency program that incorporates a score on home energy efficiency. The result of this rating system is to further strengthen the perspective of energy, comfort, and air quality as directly tied to the value of a home or property, meaning future property assessments and loan applications will take into account a HERS rating for that property. Short term cost is an important factor, but trends and programs increasingly are making this financial picture shift towards long term value of homes, with funds to reduce the impact of the short term costs.

Building a Marketplace for Value and Employment

In an economic climate where building a workforce and saving on costs through smart investment takes on the highest priority, GoG and its network of contractors sees the potential for how this industry is on the cusp of a breakthrough that can add millions of dollars in value to the local economy and employ more people as a direct result of this investment of savings and value. The industry does not have a lot of barriers to entry into the marketplace, as the standards and training programs are very real and in place. It is possible to climb a career ladder from an entry position doing basic installation work to eventually becoming an independent entrepreneur participating as a service provider in GoG’s network. Candidates seeking entry into the field must have a strong work ethic and basic skills in math, reading, and using tools. From there training programs for certification and installing more advanced equipment are in place.

Mr. Carryer pointed out that the word needs to get out about these career opportunities, as the need for more certified contractors exists, especially as more people learn about the value of the service and what it means for the value of their homes.

“There are employment opportunities as more people realize this industry is about to make a difference in the economic development of our region,” Carryer said.

According to Carryer, “Instead of money being spent on paying for consumable energy, people can simultaneously improve the value of their homes, build a stronger regional, skilled workforce, can provide increased demands for bringing together local trades to tackle an important regional issue, and can do something to help improve their neighborhoods and communities. This is a no-brainer. The word just needs to get out”

And our region appreciates the pioneering, entrepreneurial role that Tim Carryer has taken with establishing GreenoverGreen, an organization at the center of getting these new opportunities started.

For more information about GreenoverGreen, visit the company’s website or contact Tim Carryer directly at tim@carryer.com.

For more information about training and employment opportunities in this industry, visit the following resources for more information:
Three Rivers Workforce Investment Board
Diagnostic Energy Auditors of Western Pennsylvania (DEAWP)
Community College of Allegheny County