Service Call or ? [RE-wrenches]

[Michael Welch, Home Power]

Allan Sindelar, Positive Energy, Inc. wrote at 06:01 PM 05/21/2001 -0600:
  
>They went price over knowledge on the original system, so they won't value knowledge now either. 

Not necessarily. They may not have known there was a choice, they may not know there is such a thing as a professional installing dealer of RE equipment.

I get calls regularly that indicate this. For example, recently I heard from a local woman wondering what to do about her new tracker facing east while the tracker head is in for repairs (she should not have been sold a tracker in the first place). She complained that the fellow that put it in has not been responsive. She told me who the installer was, and I'd never heard of him (which was surprising for this small community). Somebody at her church had given her the name when she mentioned it would take $80K to bring utility power in to her home. (I referred her to a local, experienced installer that I trust.)

And there are also the folks that get a catalogue from a mail order company, and because that is the only business in the world that has ever shown them solar anything, they assume it is the only possible place to buy.

I am sure that you can think of still more scenarios, but the bottom line is that you guys are practically invisible, at least you are from outside of our close-knit community of solar bozos.

So, what's the next step; so that folks actually can find and pay for real professionals? IMHO, it is to beef up IPP. IPP is too small. It is run by a person (thanks for all your work, Don) that is also trying to make a living doing what you do. It relies on people like me for things like its web site, but I already have a job or two, too. It needs help. It needs a full time staff person (maybe two) and a budget. It needs an office in Washington, DC, Sacramento, CA, or LA, CA.

Here is what IPP should be doing now, in the middle of this GOLDEN OPPORTUNITY, a.k.a. the energy crisis; but does not have the resources:
1. Sending op-eds to papers throughout the country
2. Talk shows
3. Talking head news stuff
4. Wire stories
5. Actively recruiting new members
6. Certifying RE installers
7. Encouraging RE fairs & events in communities that don't have them (where you wrenches then set up and the jobs come to you)
8. Beating up the manufacturers to give us the right products
9. Encouraging foreign manufacturers to compete in the U.S. equipment marketplace
10. Fighting for more programs like buydowns, financing for RE, and other end-user incentives.

On and on .... But one thing's for sure, it would be nice to have solid trade group infrastructure already in place for when it is needed (like now).

Richard Perez has been doing a lot of P.R. stuff lately, and so have I & other HP staffers to a much lesser degree. You guys are beneficiaries of what Richard is doing. You all should be writing him big checks (advertising in the mag) or big thanks, because he is on the front lines of home-scale RE promotion. He is your champion.

But, imagine if someone with good knowledge were able to do this full time, actually calling the media instead of waiting for it to come to us? This could be your future and the future of IPP if you want it.

Get together in Amherst next month, I know a lot of you will be there. Figure out if a professionally managed trade organization is a worthy goal. 
  
Michael Welch
  
------------------------
"Society is like a stew. If you don't keep it stirred up, you get a lot of scum on top."
			Edward Abbey
        
Michael Welch, michael.welch at homepower.com www.homepower.com
     Managing Editor, Home Power magazine
     Office Coordinator, Redwood Alliance
     (Not HP mag numbers) 707-822-7884 fax: 707-822-3481

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