Twenty years in the past, Exact Solar started in Newtown, Pennsylvania, with a single venture and a perception that solar energy might make a distinction for households and communities. What began as a small household enterprise has grown steadily yr after yr. Now thought of a reliable title working in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware, and a multi-year listee on SPW’s Prime Photo voltaic Contractors Listing, Actual Photo voltaic is celebrating its twentieth anniversary. The corporate has put in greater than 20 MW of photo voltaic capability throughout the area and accomplished over 2,500 tasks for properties, faculties, nonprofits and companies.
Actual Photo voltaic’s origin
Actual Photo voltaic’s unique workforce, pictured in 2018
Actual Photo voltaic’s story started with a one-day course, a visit to Central America, and an unheated pool. In 2004, Actual Photo voltaic’s co-founders Mark and Dara Bortman moved their younger household to Costa Rica for a yr. There, Mark joined a neighborhood installer on tasks and developed each hands-on expertise and a deep respect for the potential of photo voltaic power.
When the Bortman household returned to Pennsylvania, they noticed a spot. Folks needed photo voltaic pool heaters, however nobody was providing them domestically. They discovered their first buyer, secured the job and put in Actual Photo voltaic’s very first system. What started as one venture quickly grew into many.
As a result of Actual Photo voltaic was based earlier than incentives made photo voltaic financially engaging, and earlier than aggressive gross sales ways started to erode public belief, Actual Photo voltaic constructed its repute in a different way. From the start, the workforce was guided by curiosity, a willingness to study by doing, and a easy promise to at all times do proper by the shopper.
“This can be a firm that you would be able to symbolize proudly with out hesitation. I’d promote photo voltaic techniques to my mom and my sister with Actual Photo voltaic. I do know the set up workforce goes to do an ideal job and depart the roof and residential higher than they discovered it,” stated Don Kane, gross sales engineer at Actual Photo voltaic.
Development over time
A present workforce photograph of Actual Photo voltaic
In 2021, after almost 20 years of main Actual Photo voltaic, Mark and Dara retired, passing the baton to Doug Edwards, who now serves as the corporate’s president. With a background in power effectivity and renewable power, Edwards has carried ahead the traditions of high quality and buyer care that Actual Photo voltaic was constructed upon, whereas bringing a ardour for mentoring, profession growth, and workforce development.
Underneath Edwards’ management, Actual Photo voltaic has grown from a small workforce of 15 to greater than 50 staff. The corporate has been intentional about welcoming individuals who share the identical values, ardour and dedication which have outlined Actual Photo voltaic from Day 1. That shared dedication reveals by means of in a whole lot of verified five-star evaluations.
Alongside the way in which, Actual Photo voltaic has been acknowledged domestically and nationally, together with honors from EnergySage, the Pennsylvania Photo voltaic Middle and group favorites like “Better of the Area,” “Better of Bucks County,” and Philly’s Favourite Photo voltaic Installer by the Philadelphia Inquirer. Photo voltaic Energy World has constantly named Actual Photo voltaic a Prime Photo voltaic Contractor for greater than a decade, and the Better Philadelphia Civic 50 has acknowledged the corporate’s group affect for 4 consecutive years. These acknowledgments symbolize the belief folks have positioned in Actual Photo voltaic, the care the workforce brings to each venture, and the distinction that belief and care have made during the last 20 years.
“Our mission has by no means modified,” stated Doug Edwards, president of Actual Photo voltaic. “Educate first, set up with pleasure and assist our prospects for the long term. The work is about folks as a lot as it’s concerning the techniques we set up.”
Training and group
Actual Photo voltaic accepting the Better Philadelphia Civic 50 award
Actual Photo voltaic’s mission to coach and empower the group has grown alongside the corporate. Lately, the workforce has constructed an intensive library of free on-line assets which might be accessible to anybody. These supplies assist folks learn the way photo voltaic works, observe coverage modifications, and discover whether or not going photo voltaic may benefit them, all with out high-pressure gross sales ways. Whether or not or not somebody chooses Actual Photo voltaic, their aim is to offer clear, trustworthy steerage so folks could make the choice that’s proper for his or her house, enterprise or group.
That dedication carries by means of to Actual Photo voltaic’s personal gross sales practices, which prioritize an academic, non-pushy method. The workforce views each dialog as an opportunity to discover photo voltaic collectively and assist prospects make knowledgeable choices.
Actual Photo voltaic can also be energetic in group occasions and workforce growth. Staff members often take part in native festivals, Earth Day occasions and college fundraisers, and the corporate companions with workforce growth applications reminiscent of OIC Philadelphia to create pathways into clear power careers. As the corporate seems forward, it plans to increase these efforts, displaying up, giving again, and creating extra alternatives for folks to study photo voltaic and participate within the clear power transition.
Centered on the long run
Photo voltaic expertise continues to evolve, and so do the wants of the communities Actual Photo voltaic serves. Rising power demand from knowledge facilities, the expansion of electrical automobiles, and shifting insurance policies will convey new challenges, but additionally create alternatives to make photo voltaic extra precious than ever. With power storage, EV integration and new and progressive financing choices turning into a fair larger a part of the dialog, Actual Photo voltaic’s workforce is worked up to assist their prospects navigate these selections with the identical care and honesty they’ve at all times introduced to each venture.
The subsequent 20 years will convey change, simply because the final 20 did. Insurance policies will shift, expertise will enhance and the clear power transition will advance. What is not going to change is why Actual Photo voltaic does this work. From the start, Actual Photo voltaic has been about folks: prospects, workforce members, and the broader group. Each set up represents a household, a college, a corporation, or a enterprise that selected to take a step towards one thing higher. Whether or not that alternative is motivated by reducing power payments, defending the planet, or gaining power independence, every choice has performed a job within the progress Actual Photo voltaic is celebrating right this moment.
“We’re grateful for the belief so many have positioned in us and impressed by the affect we now have created collectively,” stated Edwards. “We’re extra dedicated than ever to carrying that spirit into the subsequent 20 years, persevering with to develop, to study, and to serve.”
