Making energy saving technology easy, that’s what Good People is all about.  It is, in fact, our mission statement.  I don’t know anyone who actually likes wasting energy or the money it costs.  Some folks are willing to do crazy stuff to be more responsible with resources.  Don’t get me started about shower timers.  Whether you think of it as being green or just being smart with money, saving energy is a good idea.  People also get pretty excited about new technology, including new technology that saves energy.  So, why isn’t everyone using the best energy saving technologies available?

Our rather unscientific answer is that it’s often hard.  How do you know what technology to use?  How do you know whether it will work for you?  Can you afford to buy it?  Do you need someone to install it?  Where do you get it?  What happens if it breaks?  How long does it take to pay for itself?  Is it safe?  Are their rebates or tax credits?  And what’s the deal with “free” energy audits?

I’ve wrestled with these same questions as a home owner.  I remember distinctly my concerns about our home energy audit in Massachusetts and getting a list of “energy efficiency improvements” that we simply couldn’t afford.  We managed to blow in some much needed insulation as a weekend DIY project and eventually saved up for some more energy efficient sliding glass doors, but on the whole it felt pretty inadequate.  Now, my wife and I would love to add solar to our house, but then we struggle with who to trust, when is the right time, whether electricity or heating/cooling or both, and what can we afford.  Why isn’t someone making energy saving technology easy?

Making Energy Saving Technology Easy

We have a long way to go to making things easier on people who don’t want to waste energy.  Our aspiration is to make the whole process easy.

  • Easy to hear about.
  • Easy to find.
  • Easy to understand.
  • Easy to buy.
  • Easy to afford.
  • Easy to install.
  • Easy to use.
  • Easy to maintain.
  • Easy to measure your savings.

We’re starting with a very specific product, a fan controller for small HVAC systems.  We picked it because it is an example of an absolutely incredible technology that saves 10-30% system energy in most small HVAC systems, but almost no one is using.

And we’re starting with a very specific market, upgrading existing systems, primarily in New York State.  There are millions of HVAC systems with small fans in New York alone.  Every one of them is currently wasting valuable energy that could be used elsewhere.  The technology exists.  It isn’t too expensive.  It will pay for itself within 3-5 years in most systems, a year or less in some.  So why isn’t it everywhere?  Because no one has made it easy enough.  We aim to change that.

And if Good People can succeed in making energy saving technology easy for one product in one market, I’m willing to bet we can do it in others.

By the way, we secured our domain and launched a placeholder website at www.gdpplnrg.com yesterday.  In case it wasn’t obvious, gdpplnrg is Good People Energy without the wasted vowels.  Now we are hoping to guilt a local web developer into giving us hand with our pitiful website.

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