Beth Andrew and Jordan Kruhlak know that shopping for solar can be a confusing, frustrating experience, and that's why they started Glean Solar Brokers to help sort the wheat from the chaff.
Glean is a solar broker that helps people understand solar, get three quotes, avoid scams, and ensure they get the best value for their money from a trusted supplier, writes Green Energy Futures.
"We have a network of vetted solar installers, and when a homeowner comes to us looking for solar quotes, we reach out to those installers and solicit three quotes," says co-owner Jordan Kruhlak.
"We then put the quotes together into an easy-to-compare format. And sit down with the homeowner so that we can answer all their questions and explain the differences between each quote."
The service is free for homeowners, he adds.
"We get paid by the installer that the homeowner chooses, so that installer lowers their customer acquisition cost, and our fee is part of that. So, the homeowner wins and gets a free service," says Kruhlak. All the solar companies have to do is prepare a quote, and since they know knowledgeable people will be looking at them, they tend to be very competitive.
"The idea came from us working previously as solar installers and realizing that it's too difficult for homeowners to get and compare solar quotes," he explains. The customer gets all of their questions answered about solar systems, paybacks, warranties, and anything else they are uncertain about.
"We are a bit of an unbiased perspective in the industry, helping homeowners to get and compare solar quotes in a more trustworthy way."
Glean Solar Brokers has about 40 solar installers in their network. Before they're accepted, they must agree to Glean's code of conduct, and they must not sell solar door-to-door.
Andrew and Kruhlak started the company in 2021 and have served more than 400 customers. They're based in Alberta, but are already expanding into British Columbia, Ontario, and the Maritimes as demand for their services grows.
Not all door knockers are bad, Green Energy Futures writes. But Glean drew a line in the sand there and does not work with companies that go door-to-door.
"We've seen quotes from price-gouging door knockers-you know, a price that should be between $2 and $3 a watt is $9, $10, $11 a watt, right? So three or four times the industry standard," says Kruhlak.
When Kruhlak says $2 to $3 per watt, he's referring to an all-in price for solar. A six-kilowatt solar system, for example, should cost between $12,000 and $18,000. That ballpark figure gets you in the neighbourhood of good value, assuming a good, trustworthy installer that uses quality solar products.
Glean is based in Alberta, which has a microgeneration regulation.
"We have a deregulated electricity market. Our electricity prices are actually as high as any other province or higher in the country," says Kruhlak.
However, "we also have a very lucrative electricity buyback program called the Solar Club, which allows for net billing." That means owners can sell power back to the grid at higher prices in the summer.
"So you can actually achieve $0 bills here in Alberta," says Kruhlak.
Leah Fraser was referred to Glean by a family friend. When it came to solar, "I had no idea what to expect or what I needed," she says. But she did know that "shopping for quotes is always a little bit of a nightmare."
Fraser says she and her family were in the process of getting a hot tub, and were looking to add a heat pump to their Edmonton home. She wanted enough solar to cover all of their electricity use and worked with Kruhlak on the project.
"He went out, got three quotes for us from reputable installers that he had worked with before," she recalls. "He explained to me the different sizes, and what we actually needed compared to what these quotes were giving us." Her solar system is between seven and eight kilowatts in size, enough to take care of all of their needs.
"It pays for our bills," she says. "It's kind of fun during the summer watching our credit build up through the Solar Club and then slowly watch it deplete over the winter."
What does she do when people ask her about her solar system? "I give them Glean's card."
Kruhlak says rising grid electricity prices are the biggest reason to consider solar. "A lot of people feel that any penny that doesn't go to the utility is a good penny," Andrews, told Green Energy Futures.
For Leah Fraser, it was a mix of factors.
"I've always been a little bit climate-conscious, and the fact that we were looking to add additional power needs to our home added a little bit of guilt that I wanted to offset."
Source: The Energy Mix
