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Free Hot Water wants to promote our installers and distributors as much as possible. The busier you are installing solar thermal on apartment buildings, nursing homes, hotels, and homes, the better for all of us.
If you’re an installer and have just finished a solar thermal job using Free Hot Water materials send us some photos of your crew on the job, as well as photos of the complete installation.
Also, please include some details about the solar thermal job, including:
Name of your solar hot water company
Website address, if you have one
Location (city and state)
Type of installation (Residential, apartment building, condo, etc)
Number of solar collectors
Type of solar collectors you used
Size of solar water heating tank used
Estimated percentage of annual energy offset
Please send the above information and JPG photos to solarfred@freehotwater.com with the subject line “Free Hot Water Project Submission.”
We’ll select several projects every month, and put them all together in a blog post, which will also be included in our monthly e-newsletter, as well as other sites that RSS feed the Free Hot Water solar news blog.
Your company and your clients will receive increased web exposure and publicity for their solar installations, and you’ll also be showing the world all of the venues where solar thermal makes sense.
If you have any questions, please send them to the email address above. And thanks in advance for sharing your work terrific solar work.
As of right now, you can be reading this blog post and all information on Free Hot Water’s website in just about any language.
No, we don’t have a separate website for every language in the world. Instead, Free Hot Water has installed Google Translate. Now, whether your native language is Spanish, Chinese, Italian, German, or many other languages, you can read Free Hot Water blog posts, product descriptions, and learn about solar thermal design and engineering services with a quick click of a button.
To enable Google Translate for this page or any page on our website site, simply click on the “Select Language” tab in the upper left hand corner of the page.
Choose your language of choice, and no matter where you navigate on Free Hot Water or shop.freehotwater.com, the page will automatically translate the text, although it won’t translate the text that may be embedded into images, such as the screenshot of our website above.
Google Translate isn’t perfect, but it does give you a good idea of what’s on the page. If you need to check the original English version, all you need to do is click on the paragraph in question, and you’ll see a pop-up of the source material.
And by the way, Free Hot Water does ship internationally to Latin America, Asian countries, and other regions, so if you’re looking for a huge selection of solar thermal and solar water heating products…. Willkommen, bienvenue, bienvenida, and 欢迎.
“The Story of Broke” is the latest in a series of clever animations from the “Story of Stuff” project, developed by artist and simple living author and activist, Annie Leonard.
In the past, Ms. Leonard has done short animated videos about The Story of Stuff, about America’s obsession with stuff that we throw away; The Story of Electronics about what happens to our old electronics that we throw away, as well as another clean energy favorite, The Story of Cap and Trade; and more.
In her latest video, The Story of Broke, below, Ms. Leonard takes on the oil, gas, and nuclear folks and shows how they’re a source for why America is broke, which includes the hidden and not so hidden subsides we keep doling out to the oil, gas, and coal companies. She then highlights how solar and other renewable energy technologies can be job creators today and for our future.
We urge you to watch this video and share it with your friends and other social networks. Thanks.
Good news. Despite solar hot water getting less attention in the U.S., a new poll released by the Solar Energy Industry Association (SEIA) shows strong public support for solar water heating and agree that solar water heating helps the economy and create jobs.
The independent poll conducted by Gotham Research Group shows that 74% of Americans agree with the statement, “The growth of the solar water heating industry will produce jobs and help the American economy.”
Breaking down the support by region, 80% of Northeastern residents, 78% of Midwestern residents, 69% of Southern residents, and 73% of Western residents agree with the above statement.
It’s ironic that the South, which has abundant sun hours and heat, agreed less with the statement than those in the North East. The solution is more solar customer education, advocacy, and marketing throughout the U.S., but especially in the South.
The survey also revealed that the public has generally positive perceptions of solar water heating systems, with 48% having a positive response and 4% having a negative. The remaining 52% didn’t have enough information to have an opinion one way or the another.
Once again, this 52% figure indicates that the solar water heating industry must increase customer education and marketing if the industry is to grow as fast as solar PV.
Another indication of the education gap is the finding that 63% of respondents believe solar energy can be used to heat water, heat buildings, cool buildings, heat swimming pools, and produce electricity. It’s wonderful that there’s a majority that knows about solar thermal applications, but if this were a school exam, it would be a failing grade. We need to strive to get those figures to at least a “C” (75%) by the same time next year. The more customers are aware of solar benefits and economics, the more sales will increase for these applications.
As for support for overall solar subsidies, including solar PV, 29% of respondents agreed that the type of energy most deserving of U.S. government support was solar. In second place, 20% chose wind, and 18% chose natural gas. Oil came in at 16% and nuclear came in with only 8%. Finally, coal scraped the bottom of the subsidy opinion barrel with 5%.
While solar is at the top of this broad heap, once again, we need to increase that support through showing customers and policy makers how solar is now more cost effective than ever. Eventually, solar subsidies will have to go away, but for now, subsidies for fossil fuels need to be reduced or eliminated to level the playing field.
What about customer decision dynamics? Survey respondents said that they would either be “extremely likely” (6%), “very likely” (9%), or “somewhat likely” (31%) to consider installing a solar water heating system in their own home. That’s less than half of respondents who might consider solar hot water.
The reason? As usual, it comes down to cost. “The cost of purchasing the system” (72%) and “the cost of maintaining the system” (56%) are the top two concerns for residents in all regions and across key demographic/partisan groups.
In conclusion, there’s a majority of support for solar hot water in the U.S., but as an industry, we must do more to build awareness for solar hot water benefits for homes and large-scale commercial applications, such as laundry facilities, hotels, hospitals, nursing homes, apartment buildings, and restaurants.
The survey was conducted by phone from June 23rd through 26th, 2011 among a representative sample of 1,013 adults, 18+ living in private households in the continental United States. A detailed press release is available here.
It’s no secret that many plumbing contractors are starting to look at expanding their business to include solar water heating sales and service. It’s a natural fit, since there are many similar water and space heating concepts, including pumps, tanks, pressure valves, etc.
Of course, you have to learn some new solar concepts too, such as shading and insolation, and ideal solar orientation and angles, not mention some roofing concepts.
But let’s say you learn all that through some program, such as, I don’t know, Free Hot Water’s 6-Day intensive training classes through Boots on the Roof.
Now that you’ve got the knowhow, where do you find prospects?
Plumbers have several advantages that non-plumber solar water heating contractors don’t have: Broken hot water tanks, clogged sinks, clogged tubs, leaking pipes, etc. If you’re a heating and cooling contractor, as well, even better.
The following solar water heating marketing guide is for plumbers and general contractors who visit homes and businesses for non-solar jobs.
Step One:Be ready with an elevator pitch.
The elevator pitch is an old marketing term. Essentially, it’s a 30-second pitch about your service, which you could tell to a prospect during the time of a short elevator ride.
Don’t take this literally, of course. The point here is to always have a brief, conversational opening about your solar water heating service. For example:
“I noticed you have an electric/gas/propane water heater tank. Ever thought about going solar instead? There are some great rebates and tax credits now, which have brought down the cost a lot. If you’re interested, let me know, and I can give you a free estimate.”
Don’t force this, but if you find an opening in your conversation about your current work, go for it, and see where that new solar conversation leads.
Step Two: Have your solar site evaluation tools with you.
Keep your sun eye site evaluation tool, a ladder, and perhaps even your lapt0p or iPad in your truck or van. If the above elevator pitch generates a serious conversation about solar water heating, try to do an assessment immediately. If you don’t have another appointment, the customer is free, and it’s during the day, at least do a rough evaluation. Check the integrity and type of plumbing, the roof, or pool system. Note the size and placement of their current storage tank. Ask about their water heating bills, number of people in household, etc. The more useful, valuable info you gain, the easier it will be to make the case for solar.
Step Three:Use and demo Free Hot Water’s Online solar thermal calculators
Another reason to have your laptop or tablet computer with you is so that you can use our online calculators. These tools can give you a lot of resources on-the-go, which you can use for your site assessment and/or estimate.
Also, keep in mind that Free Hot Water’s solar calculator’s price estimates are programmed at full retail markups. That’s good, because then you can use our quote to beat the calculator’s price. Of course, as a Certified Free Hot Water installer, you receive a generous discount off the components, so you’ll know your margins and size needs, especially for our pre-engineered residential and small commercial systems.
Step Four: Have brochures, estimate forms, or even better… iPad examples.
You may have come to fix a clogged sink, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t have gorgeous solar marketing materials on hand to show off . Those materials could  also include a photo slide show on your iPad, showing your successful solar installations. Integrate these rich, color photos into your regular presentation and allow the prospect to flip through these photographs. You might even offer to email a PDF with the photos and your brochure.
Step Five:Do a great install with quality products and great customer service. Whether or not you select products from Free Hot Water’s catalog of products, the most important marketing tool is a satisfied customer who likes your work and you.
We’re assuming you are always helpful and polite during the sales and install process. But also remember that this is the beginning of the customer referral process. So, after the install, make sure you touch base with your new solar customer every once in a while to make sure everything is working right. I guarantee that high customer satisfaction, whether for plumbing or solar installs, will lead to more referrals and more business.
That’s the plan, solar-plumbing contractors. Now get to work on that elevator pitch.
Okay, besides having easy financing, what’s the most powerful solar marketing tool that any installer can use? First, let’s briefly mention the traditional marketing tools:
Print advertising.
Radio spots,
Brochures, flyers, direct mail
Making news with a unique installation
Add to that the new internet marketing tools, such as blogs, Facebook pages, and Twitter, and you should be generating some leads, if you’re executing these plans well.
However, there’s one extremely important marketing tool that’s missing from the above list, and I would argue that it is the most powerful of all of them:
Customer referrals.
Customer referrals are more powerful than all of the above because people, whether business people or homeowners, are suspicious of advertising and any information that has a logo on it. However, these same people already trust their colleagues, friends, and neighbors. And when they make a big change—like going solar—that can be very interesting….
So, if Joe Apartment Building Owner talks to his friends and business associates about how he just installed a solar thermal system on his apartment building/home/pool, saving thousands every year, his friends and colleagues will probably be curious and ask the usual frequently asked questions:
“How much did it cost, Joe?” “How much will you save?” “How did you finance it?” “What’s the ROI?”
And here’s where a lot of solar hot water–and PV–installers lose opportunities. It’s not enough for Joe to answer those questions and maybe send a link to your website. If you’ve done a great install and provided great customer service during Joe’s install, then you’ve built your own trusted relationship, and now you have the opportunity to help and inspire Joe to refer you to his friends.
For example:
Ask Joe if you can leave 10 brochures, flyers, or business cards with him in case his friends or colleagues see his system and would like info about their homes or businesses.
Could you leave a lawn sign on his property for a week or two or longer? Something along the lines of “Check out our solar panels! Our building’s water is now heated by the sun! www.FreeHotWater.com”
Offer Joe some kind of monetary benefit for a closed sale from a referral. Use some kind of unique referral code. As to how much, $250? $500? It’s up to you and perhaps you can scale it according to the size.
Ask Joe if he’d like a small BBQ for him and his friends to launch the system and explain how the system works and its benefits. Many customers are very proud that they’ve gone solar and want to celebrate it. (But only after they’re secure that it made financial sense.)
Ask Joe to become a fan of your Facebook page or Twitter account, giving him the opportunity to passively spread more useful info to his online peers.
Give Joe a branded, fun, solar tee-shirt for him or his family. Make sure you have kid and toddler sizes. Not a tee-shirt fan? How about a set of  branded coffee mugs or travel mugs to hold that solar heated coffee or tea.
Check in with Joe every 6 months to a year with a phone call or email. Ask him if he has any problems with his system and offer a free maintenance check. If you have sold him a solar monitoring system, even better. Remind Joe of the solar production numbers and explain the data, if needed. This is great customer service and also another opportunity to remind him about your monetary referral program.
And if you’re worried that Joe is going to have problems, so best to let sleeping dogs lie? My answer to that is that I’d rather discover installation problems. If Joe discovers them through a leak or lower than expected savings, he’ll talk to his friends about the terrible installation and service he received from you. Your pro-activeness will make up for any losses and prevent lawsuits.
Customer referral programs cost very little, but they do take time and customer care. The dividends, however, can multiply and pay off handsomely in multiple sales, as well as organic public relations and branding.
Do you have referral plan? If not, you do now.
And by the way, if this plan generates some sales for you, we hope you’ll refer yourself…. back to shop.freehotwater.com to find everything you need for a quality installation.
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