Greetings and welcome to Sargosis.com, a website devoted toward educating people about solar-power and renewable energy. Here, we provide various tools to help those of us interested in “going green” along their installation and maintenance process. For those interested in learning more, we have created a series of helpful articles focused on teaching how solar arrays work, as well as how the purchase and installation process goes. In addition, there are charts and calculator tools to help people with specific and common questions get quick and easily understood answers tailored to their situation. For those who are already educated in solar technology and more interested in finding a job, we provide a jobs-posting board, updated regularly.
In terms of services, our specialty is centered on design, repair, and maintenance of PV arrays. I have had a wide array of solar-related jobs throughout my career, and as a result, I’ve found some niche services that can be offered to customers, such as array-cleaning and maintenance, performance measuring and analysis, even diagnosing problems and repairs. For those who are looking to get a second opinion on design and installation process advice, we also offer consultation and design review services as well. We have designed solar arrays for small off-grid houses as well as large utility sites, so we’re well versed in many of the techniques used for various methods of installation. Check out our services page where we go into more detail about what we do exactly.
As for our business stance, we are employing a radically different approach. Here are our main rules for how we operate:
1. Don’t be evil.
We are admittedly stealing this one from Google, but we agree with it whole-heartedly and stand behind the statement. Our goal is to make money, but it’s also to better the environment, our community, help others live a happier and more fulfilling life through technology, and improve people’s knowledge of our field. These beliefs aren’t just a part of our business…they’re a part of who we are, and a part of everything we make, which leads us to our next rule…
2. Always be “net positive.”
What we mean by that is: no matter what our situation, no matter what the circumstances, always try our best to improve our surroundings with our presence. A similar concept is “always leave a place cleaner than how you arrived.” However, we prefer to expand the theme to a more generalized one of, “leave a positive impact on the world with your statements, decisions and creations.”
3. Be open and honest with customers.
We actually like the idea of transparency. We don’t see a problem with people understanding where our prices come from and how we calculate them. We see only beneficial things coming from sharing knowledge and informing others about solar technology. We offer honest services at prices that are not meant to gouge our customers, but merely to provide us with the ability to live and continue business, and therefore have nothing to hide. We are setting an example of open and honest business that stands for quality products/services and excellent customer service in the hopes that it catches on and others follow as well.
4. Never Acquire Investors
As it currently stands, Sargosis Solar & Electric is a “mom and pop shop,” consisting literally only of me and my wife. If we ever get enough demand for maintaining solar arrays that we need to hire other employees, then we’re happy with that, but we really have no desires to become an enormous corporation with thousands of people under us. I’m somewhat of an introverted person and I don’t do well in large groups, and have crippling fear from public speaking, so I really don’t see myself as some ruthless CEO spearheading some new business market. In addition, I personally feel as though investors are at the root of what’s wrong with America’s economy, so I have simply taken the stance of not having any investors…ever. If we need someone to come along and give us a huge sum of money in order to stay in business…we’re doing something wrong and probably deserve to go out of business.
I found your newcomers section very informative and very readable for the lay person. I have one quick question for you now, with I am sure more to follow. You stated that the federal solar rebate program has ended. What I am reading, is that the government had a cash rebate program which ended last year, but they also had a tax credit rebate of 30% which was still going on through 2016. I had been planning on the tax credit. I had never heard of the cash rebate. (Also, after going through your info, I think the price for my solar has dropped to at least 50% of my original quote from Renewable Technologies from 2009 due to prices coming down and my electrical usage going down 23%). Thanks for your input.