ENERGY LEADERS TODAY T H E M A G A Z I N E F O R C A P TA I N S O F I N D U S T RY
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Sustainable Energy Group
COST-EFFECTIVE ALTERNATIVES Ray Darby has over 30 years of experience in the energy industry and a background in mechanical engineering. Today, his Grass Valley, Calif. company, Sustainable Energy Group, specializes in finding the most cost-effective alternatives to meet a given customer’s needs and budget.
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Sustainable Energy Group Proving Solar and Energy Efficiency Can Be Cost-Effective by Joel Cornell
Sustainable Energy Group Inc. is a Grass Valley, Calif. company providing complete solar and energy efficiency services from initial consultation, through design, construction and servicing. Their specialty is finding the most cost-effective alternatives to meet a given customer's needs and budget - a crucial plus in these challenging economic times. "Some folks just hire us for a consultation,” said owner Ray Darby. “Given the range of services we offer, we can give them a good qualitative sense of their best options in a short amount of time. If they like, we can also give them a quantitative assessment of the costs and benefits of a wide range of alternatives." While Darby always recommends customers get competitive bids, he isn't concerned that it might result in less work. "We've developed a pretty sharp pencil and lowered our overhead over the years, so we stay
pretty busy. Besides, most of our work comes through referrals from happy past customers,” Darby said. Sustainable Energy Group is licensed to provide general, electrical and plumbing contracting services. In addition to consulting they design and install solar thermal systems, solar PV systems with and without battery backup, hydronic (hot water) radiant floor and baseboard systems, advanced (high efficiency) evaporative cooling systems, and provide a variety of building performance contracting services. With less than a dozen employees on payroll, the company is small by most standards. But that doesn't keep them from the larger projects. "We have a number of out of work contractors in the area, some I've known for 30 years; so if we need more man-power, help is just a phone call away," said Darby.
While Ray himself is up on the details associated with today's energy technologies - from the underlying science, to the hands-on nuts and bolts, to the economics. "The benefit of our group is the depth of expertise we have under one roof. For example Dave's background in electronics and construction really helps when it comes to complex electronic control systems,” said Darby. Darby is a licensed mechanical engineer and has specialized in energy efficiency and solar energy since 1978. As a consulting energy engineer over the past 32 years he's helped thousands of building owners in 34 states and around the world find their most cost-effective energy options. Darby, also known as The Energy Guy, has a popular web site by the same name offering a comprehensive assortment of pages and links related to sustainable energy. After working closely with contractors over the years, it was a natural evolution to start Sustainable Energy Group, a design/build firm, in 2004. He began his career as a technical assistant in developing the Passive Solar Handbook for California under the direction of Phillip Niles, a recognized solar pioneer by the American Solar Energy Society. Through that project he was introduced to the "who's who" of people in the industry, including managers from the California Energy Commission who he's worked LEFT: From left to right, Dave Stokes, Jake Von Schoff and Brian Bookout of Sustainable Energy Group out on a recent job with Darby‘s all-electric vehicle behind them. Darby has been driving electric for 13 years, powering the car and his home with solar energy. OPPOSITE: A dormatory in Squaw Valley, Calif. with a combined space and domestic hot water system (upper row of collectors) and solar PV (lower row of collectors). The collectors are mounted on a 45-degree metal roof so they can easily shed snow and collect energy all winter long as the area has a 212 pounds per sq. ft. snow load. The steep roof and three-story building height made for an especially challenging installation.
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ABOVE: Sustainable Energy Group groundmounted solar arrays are designed and installed to help facilitate regular maintenance washing as dust and pollen can reduce power production by five percent or more. With roof-mounted arrays, they attach all the cabling under the panels to allow easy removal of leaves and pine needles with a leaf blower, something Darby says few other installers take the time to do. BOTTOM: (LEFT) An example of the company‘s innovative, cost-saving approach is this home they retroffited with a reconditioned 500-gallon solar storage tank and 12 4x10 used solar collectors. The drainback system was designed to heat a hydronic radiant floor and the homeowner’s hot water on a shoe-string budget. Collectors are tilted to facilitate drainback. Deciduous Blue Oak trees allow winter heating but prevent excessive summertime heat gain. “What sets us apart from other companies is a focus on how to better serve a customer‘s specific situation, needs and budget,” said Darby. (RIGHT) This pool heating system, designed by Darby in 1982, used plastic pool collectors (absorbers) inside a metal frame with corrugated fiberglass glazing on top. After 28 years, when the plastic absorbers began to leak and the glazing yellowed and turned brittle, the homeowner got bids to replace them. Darby cleaned and repainted the frames, replaced the absorbers and installed clear double glazed Lexan cover glazings, saving the customer over half the cost of replacing them.
with on and off over the years. The Commission has awarded Darby with the coveted Superior Accomplishment Award twice; the first time in 1999 for his work in helping develop Sustainable Building Design Guidelines for state buildings and again in 2001 for his efforts helping to resolve California's peak electricity crisis. He has worked with state and federal energy offices, California's gas and electric utilities and other top experts in his field on a wide variety of endeavors over the years including research and development, building energy code development, sustainable design guidelines for state buildings and schools and training energy managers in school facilities. Because of his long history with solar water heating, including serving as the Energy Commissions point-person on solar, he served on the board of the national Solar Rating and Certification Corporation (SRCC) and chaired the Standards Committee. From the very beginning of his career, Darby recognized the value of the practical, handson knowledge of contractors and installers. "I was introduced to the concept of engineer versus contractor early on,” said Darby. “Contractors typically complain about an engineers' lack of practicality – 'Do they have any idea what this will cost?' - while engineer's complain about how contractor's are so stuck on the way they always do things they never want to change.” Darby took it upon himself to bridge the gap by working elbow to elbow with contractors from the design phase through construction. He and his company are staunch supporters of what's referred to as the "Design Team Approach", wherein the customer, contractor and designer work together from the beginning to meld the needs of the customer with the knowledge and expertise of both designer and builder. ELT Energy Leaders Today 5