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<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>Geoff,</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>Years ago we tried maintenance agreements.
We gave up on the idea. Some of our lessons to share
here:</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>First, we never worked out a fair approach.
There's no fixed charge that was both fair to client and to us. We finally
realized that the small percentage of customers who were interested in
maintenance agreements really just wanted regular service and to minimize the
likelihood of failure without doing their own maintenance. As these were all
residential applications, each situation was unique. So our "agreement" is that
on an agreed schedule, generally either once or twice/year, we contact the
customer to set up an appointment. What we do depends on the client and system,
but it's a standard T&M charge for time spent. In other words, our
"agreement" is to contact the customer on a regular interval to do a service
call. There's no charge to remember to call.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>Also, we learned that when work was
slow, these service calls provided a modest amount of additional billable hours.
However, when business is really hopping, these same obligations get
in the way. Generally, one skilled technician is away from installations for
several days, spread over a few weeks during spring and fall. These service
calls are not particularly profitable, just part of our services
offered.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>I think that what Joel describes below is a
good application for a contract, as it spells out response time and covered
activities. The customer is a commercial entity, and they are paying for access
to prompt response. The system is much bigger.</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008>Allan at PosE</SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=687343205-30122008></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr align=left><FONT face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B>
re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org
[mailto:re-wrenches-bounces@lists.re-wrenches.org] <B>On Behalf Of </B>Joel
Davidson<BR><B>Sent:</B> Monday, December 29, 2008 12:45 PM<BR><B>To:</B>
RE-wrenches<BR><B>Subject:</B> Re: [RE-wrenches] Maintenance
agreements?<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif">
<DIV>Hi Geoff,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Hung over? Naay. I'm too excited about PV in the
coming year. Washington has finally shifted away from
Reagan's anti-solar. Here's hoping that the rest of the US out-shines
California's booming solar industry.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Model your battery maintenance agreements similar to UPS agreements. Some
guidelines can be found on the internet. For example <A
href="http://www.jantechups.com/Services/battery-maintenance-agreements/">http://www.jantechups.com/Services/battery-maintenance-agreements/</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>PPAs depend on a reliable revenue stream which, in turn, depends
on reliable equipment performance and careful monitoring. One PPA provider
says:</DIV>
<DIV>Maintenance falls into two primary categories; regularly scheduled and
emergency. Emergency system maintenance is usually triggered by an alarm from
the remote monitoring system. Regularly scheduled system maintenance takes place
every few months with a more detailed annual inspection. Maintenance
includes:</DIV>
<DIV>- Washing the solar array <BR>- Inspection of electrical connections on the
panels <BR>- Inspection of array tracking equipment to ensure mechanical
operation <BR>- Testing inverter equipment to ensure optimal performance </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>In 1996, Southern California Edison bought a 100 kW PV system for
voltage support that they insisted have a 10-year service
contract. I charged $2300/year based on what I thought would
be make them happy: two 1-day site visits by an electrical engineer. The
contract non-emergency response time for service calls was 3 business days.
We had several non-emergency calls as the Omnion inverters aged
and required manual resets. Emergency response time was within 4
hours after getting the phone call, but we never had an emergency
call. Twice a year an engineer visited the system to inspect
equipment. On the August inspection a few days before SCE's annual
performance test, the engineer also hosed off the array. Total
time for each service call including travel was less than 4
hours.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>A few years ago we did a PPA with several PV systems. Each system had a
proprietary internet monitoring system that used an on-site weather station to
model what the system should be producing and sent an email if actual production
was off by a certain percentage. The maintenance supervisor would go
on-line and test the system to determine if a technical team had to go
to the site. Array washing was performed at least once a year or when
production dropped to a certain point.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Happy New Year!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Joel Davidson<BR></DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"><BR>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: times new roman, new york, times, serif"><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>
<HR SIZE=1>
<B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B> Geoff Greenfield
<geoff@third-sun.com><BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B>
RE-wrenches <re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Cc:</SPAN></B> John Fanselow
<john@third-sun.com>; Kent Phillips <kent@third-sun.com><BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Monday, December 29, 2008 8:28:36
AM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: [RE-wrenches]
Maintenance agreements?<BR></FONT><BR>
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<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">
<P>Thanks Joel - </P>
<P> </P>
<P>I left unsaid how this can all differ with different customer classes (large
commerecial VS rural off-grid etc). The obvious maint of
batteries... PPA agreements becoming a new type of entity... The
benefits of remote diagnostics via fat spaniel, win-verter and
others...<BR> </P>
<P>More thoughts? You all can't still be hung over on holiday
cheer????<BR></P>
<DIV>For a brighter energy future,<BR><BR>Geoff Greenfield<BR>Founder and
CEO<BR><FONT size=4><STRONG>Third Sun Solar & Wind Power
Ltd.<BR></STRONG></FONT>340 West State Street, Unit 25<BR>Athens, OH
45701<BR><BR>740.597.3111 Fax 740.597.1548<BR><A
href="http://www.third-sun.com/"
target=_blank>www.Third-Sun.com</A><BR><BR><EM><FONT size=4>Clean Energy -
Expertly Installed<BR></FONT></EM><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV><BR><BR>----- "Joel
Davidson" <joel.davidson@sbcglobal.net> wrote: <BR>>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hell Geoff,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Maintenance agreements are no more "easy money"
than any of your other labor earnings. Price maintenance work the same
as other specialized labor and factor in travel time and costs and perhaps
a little something extra for your client (who has become more than just a
customer). The reason some people say maintenance agreements are easy money is
because they don't actually do anything. I know a roofing company that charge
annual maintenance fees and never visits the site unless they get a leak call. I
stopped doing business with that roofer. I know other companies that use
their maintenance service trips to stay in touch with their clients. They
ask their clients if there is anything else they may want or need and ask
if their neighbors or friends are interested in PV, wind, etc. Do this for
several years and you build a powerful local referral network.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Best wishes for a wonderful new year!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Joel Davidson</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">> ----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial">> <B>From:</B> <A
title=geoff@third-sun.com href="mailto:geoff@third-sun.com" target=_blank
rel=nofollow ymailto="mailto:geoff@third-sun.com">Geoff Greenfield</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">> <B>To:</B> <A
title=re-markets@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-markets@lists.re-wrenches.org" target=_blank rel=nofollow
ymailto="mailto:re-markets@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-markets@lists.re-wrenches.org</A>
; <A title=re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org
href="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org" target=_blank rel=nofollow
ymailto="mailto:re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org">re-wrenches@lists.re-wrenches.org</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">> <B>Cc:</B> <A title=john@third-sun.com
href="mailto:john@third-sun.com" target=_blank rel=nofollow
ymailto="mailto:john@third-sun.com">John Fanselow</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">> <B>Sent:</B> Monday, December 29, 2008 6:43
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">> <B>Subject:</B> [RE-wrenches] Maintenance
agreements?</DIV>
<DIV><BR>> </DIV>
<DIV
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Times New Roman">>
<P>Hello and happy new year fellow listers... I am happy (as are my
batteries) for longer solar days as we move forward around the sun...</P>
<P> </P>
<P>I am faced with yet another client who is surprised that I don't have a
"maintenance agreement" or "plan" to offer them (similar I guess to such plans
offered by HVAC contractors?). </P>
<P> </P>
<P>We have developed a simple one page explanation that basically says we will
work at our hourly rate for non-warranty items, for labor not covered on
warranted equipment, and for scheduled preventative maintenance (or
unscheduled emergency maintenance)</P>
<P> </P>
<P>I keep hearing that maintenance agreements are "easy money" - (?).
One of my HVAC contacts shared that they give a "preferred rate" as well as a
"hotline 24 hr #" and priority service to those on a plan, as well as annual
"start of season" tune up. I am considering something similar... <BR>> </P>
<P>I am curious about the pros and cons of these agreements, as well as any
other words of wisdom... links to reference materials would also yield
kilowatts worth of appreciation.<BR>> </P>
<DIV>For a brighter energy future,<BR>> Geoff Greenfield<BR>> Founder
and CEO<BR>> <FONT size=4><STRONG>Third Sun Solar & Wind Power
Ltd.<BR>> </STRONG></FONT>340 West State Street, Unit 25<BR>> Athens, OH
45701<BR>> 740.597.3111 Fax 740.597.1548<BR>>
www.Third-Sun.com<BR>> <EM><FONT size=4>Clean Energy - Expertly
Installed<BR>> </FONT></EM><BR>> </DIV></DIV>
<P>
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