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<font size=3>Jim:<br><br>
We have spent considerable dollars pursuing patents pending and hope they
provide future return. Our little wiring techniques are not unique
enough to patent and if Enphase really cared, they could figure out
better techniques to hold wires in place, but I do not belive that is
their focus. Selling inverters is more likely their top
priority.<br><br>
Our best return on our investment in developing clean and reliable
installation techniques is in our local market, peeling off some work
from the competition. There are now 17 solar installation
contractors in our little county alone. Every electrical contractor
has gone from Joe Schmoe Electrical to Joe Schmoe Electrical and
Solar.<br><br>
Sincerely,<br><br>
William Miller<br><br>
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At 06:56 AM 11/13/2009, you wrote:<br>
</font><blockquote type=cite class=cite cite><font face="arial" size=2>I
see Friday the 13th has arrived all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed one more
time just like clockwork. But now it is wearing horns as
well. That's some conundrum you present about keeping your
competitive edge in a dicey business climate. What if you
"sold" your wiring concept to Enphase on a royalty basis use
arrangement? Would that have some appeal to you so that private
knowledge doesn't totally go to waste vis a vis the Enphase product in
general? One would think the manufacturer might recognize the
wisdom in your discovery and would want to show some appreciation for
sharing what you found lacking in their own product concept. I know
I would. You could call your idea the Miller System. Can you
license/copyright the idea maybe? If so, then you could always sell
the concept elsewhere when further occasions of similar use came
up. Think man, think! Then you could tell us more ... for a
fair price. This reminds me of my solar thermal days back in the
late 70s when we discovered various clever ways of improving such systems
but we kept that knowledge strictly to ourselves for fear of benefitting
our few competitors. That company eventually went belly up by 1985,
partly in result of not finding a workable arrangement for the profitable
sharing of valuable in-house knowledge we had developed earlier.
And such is life in the slow lane sometimes.<br>
</font><font size=3> <br>
</font><font face="arial" size=2>Jim Hartley<br>
Homestead Specialties</font></blockquote></body>
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