Sam Pierog, Founder, WattsUp Renewable
A letter from Sam
My name is Sam, and I’ve spent nearly two decades in the renewable energy industry. I’ve lived in New England my whole life and I’ve helped thousands (literally) upgrade their homes’ energy infrastructure. I’ve watched solar go from something green-minded people did for the environment, to one of the best and most consistent investments in our clients’ portfolios. I’ve watched heat pumps evolve to become the most comfortable, reliable, and cost-effective way to heat and cool a home. I’ve seen these technologies grow to a point where, not only are they the best way to manage your home’s energy from a control, reliability, and functionality standpoint, they are also the most cost-effective way to do it.
The problem is that there is a ton of information (and misinformation) about these products. The solar salesman you’re talking to doesn’t know (or care) if you’re planning to add a heat pump down the line, or if you’ll want batteries to back up your home during an outage. He’ll boast over-optimistic production numbers and therefore an inflated financial return. That heat pump contractor will drastically underestimate how much electricity the unit will use, because it makes his ROI numbers look better, and he doesn’t care whether your home has solar exposure or not. He isn’t worried about what happens to your home if the grid goes down in the middle of January. And electrical contractors will install a generator without thinking twice about whether a battery is a better fit, because that’s just what they’re used to. The result can be a mismatched system that doesn’t communicate and isn’t optimized for your home’s energy needs as a whole. I’ve seen the best-intentioned, technically savvy homeowners basically earning a master’s degree in home energy infrastructure, and still get things wrong.
That’s why WattsUp exists. WattsUp is built around the whole roadmap, helping homeowners make investment decisions based on what is actually best for their home and their goals. By living at the crossroads of these products, we can educate freely, without the pressure of pushing the largest possible solar array, or recommending heat pumps when your oil furnace is only a few years old. We don’t have a product to sell you. We have a plan to build with you. One that gives you a clear picture of where your home stands today, and what it’s capable of evolving into.