AltE, formerly the Alternative Energy Store, is experiencing a sharp rise in interest in alternative energy technology for individual homeowners. Despite the economic downturn, with the passing of the Alternative Energy tax credits and incentives and the cost effectiveness of DIY renewable energy, AltE is excited to be positioned to help consumers get ahead.
"Our goal has always been to help people integrate cost effective renewable energy technology into their homes," said Sascha Deri, CEO of AltE. "Unless utility companies themselves start to complete installations of alternative energy, encouraging do-it-yourselfers is one of the only ways the alternative energy sector can truly be assured of adoption at the residential level."
In today's economic climate, many are concerned about where to put their money or what will offer the best return on investment. Additionally, many are faced with rising heating costs and escalating living expenses and homeowners are looking for ways to offset those rising costs in the most effective manner. One of the best ways to invest wisely and offset the costs of running a home or rental property is by looking at renewable energy and technologies like solar thermal, solar electric and wind turbines. Renewable energy offers a 10-30% return on investment and the technology is designed to last for decades.
"When we started this company almost ten years ago, we did it because we saw the long term benefits of offering consumers a DIY solution for renewable energy. Not only is the technology green and harnessing solar or wind power, it's also fiscally sensible. Today's economic climate absolutely supports what we've always tried to do - encourage people to make a smaller impact on the earth and invest wisely in technology that is a sure win," said Deri.
As much of the Alternative Energy sector can attest, the largest obstacles in widespread adoption of these technologies are knowledge about how they work and financing the projects. Now that the tax incentives have been signed into law and extended for years to come, some of the financial obstacles have been removed, and companies like AltE are working hard to begin closing the knowledge gap as well.
"We have spent a great deal of time building out a comprehensive library of articles, developing webinars and live seminars and training our technical sales staff to help guide our customers towards the right renewable energy solution for them. We want to act as a guide, helping people choose the most cost effective, efficient system for their home. We help folks to understand the initial investment and how quickly their system will pay for itself. That is, of course, what we love best - that even the largest systems will eventually yield a return!" said Deri.
The way AltE differentiates itself in the market is by catering specifically to the DIY alternative energy homeowner. They have long proselytized the idea that Renewable is Do-able™ and in today's economic climate, that message resonates with many. The average grid-tie residential solar electric system costs between $9 and $12 per watt to purchase and install in a home. That means that a home using an average of 500 KW Hours per month will need a system that costs between $37K and $50K.
By eliminating the expense of an installer and limited use of a licensed electrician, homeowners can knock the cost down to between $7 and $10 per watt, so a house needing a monthly average of 500 KW Hours will need a system that costs between $30K and $42K. With added tax incentives and utility company rebates, this kind of savings makes solar power a reachable goal for thousands more residential homeowners.
"We work with a huge variety of consumers and so many of them initially believed that this technology is too difficult and complicated to install themselves. The truth is that a huge percentage of "handy" men and women could absolutely install most of the existing technology today with some assistance by licensed electrician or plumber to assure code compliance. That's why we've built out a huge resource section with tons of articles and that's why we've begun offering seminars and classes. We want to empower consumers and help them get ahead in the most economical way possible," continued Deri. "We want to be your friend in Renewable Energy - that guy or gal next door who knows about this stuff and makes the installation and benefits of alternative energy an attainable goal."
About AltE
Founded in 1999, AltE, Inc has catered to customers on every continent of the globe. A 2006 Inc. 500 awarded company, AltE aims to continue to fulfill its motto, "Making Renewable Do-able™," by offering cost competitive, high-quality renewable energy related products and educational opportunities to a broad spectrum of the public.
AtlE's headquarters is located at 43 Broad St, Suite A408 in Hudson, Mass. For more information visit their website at www.AltEStore.com or contact Toll Free (877) 878-4060.
