Virginia Bacon had some time to kill before her Photoshop user’s group meeting, so she ducked into a solar energy faire to see what all the fuss was about. As her interest in energy conservation peaked, she began shopping around the various solar companies in her area, but the little real estate agent on her shoulder was worried about the appearance of the panels on her roof.
“It’s not attractive. Solar panels on a roof are just like any other improvement in a home: unless its visually attractive, it doesn’t add any value at all,” said that nagging voice inside of her.
“When I looked around, Ready Solar had the only solution that met my needs to make it relatively attractive,” says Bacon. “I am also interested in supporting women’s businesses; I didn’t meet any other women in the business outside of them.”
A revolutionary in the solar power industry, Ready Solar has ideas so intuitive it’s not surprising the company is comprised of 80 percent women. Founder Meredith McClintock understands that such a technical system can be daunting to the average consumer, and strives to make this renewable energy source as accessible as possible. And for those concerned about house value, she designed Ready Solar’s patented framing system to make the traditionally bulky panels appear less noticeable.
“Solar is very equipment intensive. You see all this hardware in traditional panels and it’s so obviously tacked on. TV antennas stuck on top of a house just look ugly, that’s why satellite dishes have been getting smaller and smaller,” she says. “We took the same approach with solar panels. Our product looks more like a skylight, a more deliberate part of the home. It’s the best camouflage the industry has been able to come up with.”
“It’s the curb appeal, it doesn’t catch your eye from the road,” says Ready Solar’s Business Development Rep Janey Ward. “It’s really hard to take a picture of the product to show that you can’t see it. But that is the main selling point to a home owner.”
But it’s not just about aesthetics. Traditional solar systems are highly customized for the roof of each home. Ready Solar offers the standardized “Solar in a Box” system, which makes installations both easier and cheaper.
“When I was a solar customer, I found that the strategy for a lot of people in the business, was presenting it as ‘It’s really complicated…and we’re the only ones who understand it so you need to go with us,’” says McClintock sitting with Ward and Bacon at headquarters in sunny Portola Valley. “It’s solar in a box…you don’t need this black magic voodoo.”
Bacon shopped around to several companies before settling on McClintock and crew. She tells tales of companies asking to tear up her roof for installation, some wanted to cover the entire thing in bulky blue panels, and others simply said they couldn’t work with her particular style of roof.
“We’re finding the solar industry is a lot like how the personal computer industry was 25 years ago. Today you can buy a relatively inexpensive PC, whereas 25 years ago they were incredibly expensive and inefficient. You had to either be an expert or pay an expert to do it for you,” explains McClintock. “Then some companies emerged who really focused on standardizing the industry so every PC wasn’t custom made. People could just take it home and use it.”
According to the Energy Information Administration, 51,265 solar systems operated in the U.S. as of the latest study in 2005. But the Ready Solar team thinks the tides are changing and one day solar will be as prevalent as recycling.
“I think the shift is coming where people are finally accepting solar and embracing it as a really cool thing to have,” says Ward. “You already have your countertops of granite, organized closet and organized garage…you can spend that money on getting a beautiful solar system with a frame around it and continue to save money.”
According to Ready Solar, the installations of a 2kW Ready Solar system could save approximately $13,000 per year in utility bills over the lifetime of the system.
McClintock is now met with enthusiasm when she divulges the nature of her business, rather than the strange looks and confusion of just a few years ago. “If everyone just got a few units like that think of what a huge difference that would make on our energy dependence, our electricity grid, and the possibility for brown outs, and our whole carbon footprint,” she says.
McClintock doesn’t feel out of place as a primarily female office in such a male dominated industry. Her resume includes marketing and sales executive at General Electrics and a stint at an aerospace start-up. She also volunteered for a time at a girl’s middle school in Mountain View, teaching an entrepreneurship class.
“I was very surprised as I got into the solar industry how few women there are. I figured it’s green and progressive, why would it be all men? But I think because it’s very engineering-oriented it’s intimidating for women. Hopefully as the industry grows and mainstreams that will change, we’re definitely looking for more women in solar power.”
And although she has the impressive work history and education, McClintock sometimes feels as if people are wondering whether they can take the bubbly female CEO seriously. But future projects should quiet any doubt: Ready Solar’s systems will be featured in homes in both Sunset and Dwell magazines coming this fall. Between the publicity and a drastically more user friendly concept than competitors, Ready Solar is poised to lead the country into the green future.
That is, if they can convince investors of the importance of appearances. “People in this industry just don’t get it. I had a meeting with a venture capitalist today who was unimpressed. He doesn’t get why the aesthetic is so important. He might not care, but there are a lot of people who do,” says McClintock.
“Talk to his wife,” suggests Ward. “She’ll understand.”
*originally published in Bay Area BusinessWoman News September 2007
Saturday, September 1, 2007
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