01 Mar Circular Energy: Taking Solar Full Circle
Returning once again to green business profiles, I took the opportunity to visit with Circular Energy's CEO and founder at their North Austin office.
Operations overview
Circular Energy is a full-service solar energy systems company. They do design, installation and maintenance of photovoltaic (PV) systems. They do everything except manufacture the equipment. Circular's headquarters are in Austin, but they also serve the Dallas/Fort Worth, San Antonio and Houston areas. Beginning in 2009 with a handful of employees they've grown to 43 employees currently. The solar installation photos at the bottom show two examples of their residential projects and one of their commercial projects.
Type of Customers, Products and Services
They serve residential, commercial and architectural/engineering firm customers. Beyond the design/install/maintenance of PV systems, they offer various payment options and energy management software. Five, ten and twelve year payment plans are available for residential customers. Both loans and leases are also available for commercial customers.
Their Curb energy management software "game-ifies" energy use. Curb takes real-time data from various points in a building's electrical systems and displays it on a customizable dashboard on a computer or mobile device. The dashboard can show how different buildings, floors or even individual offices/classrooms energy usage compares to one another's. This allows an organization to utilize competitive psychology and best management practices to turn a buildings' occupants into avid energy managers.
Unique Features of this Business
Circular is fanatical about providing the ultimate customer experience. They want their customers to have absolute peace of mind, knowing everything is taken care of.
They evaluate solar energy systems on how much energy they produce in kilowatt-hours (kWh) per dollar invested in the system. Usually solar energy systems are priced by dollars per kilowatt (kW) of installed capacity.
Trends and Goals
Currently there is a supply glut on the PV equipment manufacturing side with an explosion of new companies in the industry in the last few years. Prices are good now for hardware. Rebates are also good, especially here in Austin. However, Circular's goal is the long game. They plan to stay in the game by doing four things:
- Geographical diversity – this means expanding throughout Texas, into neighboring states and maybe Mexico;
- Vertical diversity – offering additional related services and products like the Curb software;
- Access to credit and leasing options;
- Efficient customer acquisition process.
Favorite Environmental Impact Factoid
They give education and awareness presentations to customers, public and professional organizations like HOAs and architectural/builder associations. They're honest about the pros and cons of solar energy systems. They admit that not all solar manufacturers behave in an environmentally responsible way. And, of course, the manufacture of solar energy system equipment does have environmental impacts, but it takes less than a year for a typical PV system to generate the same amount of energy required to make the system's components..
Community Involvement
- This year Circular is donating all the parts and labor for a 10 kW system for Austin Children's Shelter.
- Education and outreach to public.
- Member of the Austin Green Business Leader program.
Some closing words . . .
From the CEO's perspective, he was impressed at the talented people they'd attracted. Their employees truly seem passionate about the company's mission.
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