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Fall 2024
Company Newsletter

Welcome to Exact Solar's Company Newsletter!

Happy fall, everyone! It’s time for another Exact Solar newsletter! As the leaves change and the cooler weather settles in, we hope you enjoyed a fantastic summer filled with great memories. Our team has been hard at work over the past few months, and there’s so much to celebrate! We’re excited to share updates on the amazing work happening around Exact Solar. Let’s jump in!

HOLIDAY HOURS

Our office will be closed on November 28th and November 29th for Thanksgiving.

Additionally, we will be closed on December 25th and December 26th for Christmas.

 

 

COMPANY HOLIDAY PARTY

Our annual company holiday party is tentatively scheduled for December 6th.

Let's welcome our newest team members!

June

Ricardo Menezes

Installer

July

Amber Sardar

Accounting Coordinator

 

Marc Faulkner

Safety Inspector

 

Yevhen Vasilyev

Installer

August

John Bustamante

Installer

September

Samuel Hauser

Sales Engineer

 

Ryan Selestay
Installer

We are very excited to have you all on the Exact Solar team!

Let's welcome our newest team members!

June

Ricardo Menezes

Installer

July

Amber Sardar

Accounting Coordinator

 

Marc Faulkner

Safety Inspector

 

Yevhen Vasilyev

Installer

August

John Bustamante

Installer

September

Samuel Hauser

Sales Engineer

 

Ryan Selestay
Installer

We are very excited to have you all on the Exact Solar team!

Mark your calendars!

Check out these important upcoming dates.

Stay in the loop with Exact Solar’s community involvement, awesome projects, and employee newsletter contributions by checking out the bulletin board section! Do you have an exciting life update, or an event coming up that you’d like to share with us? Send them to Alyssa to be featured in our next newsletter.

Summer in Review

Exact Solar has kept up with our commitment to community involvement this past summer.

Here are a few of the highlights:

Celebrating Our Recent Awards and Recognitions

For the third year in a row, Exact Solar has been named a Civic 50 honoree by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce! This recognition is awarded to the 50 most community-minded businesses in the region, honoring companies based on four key dimensions of community engagement: investment of resources, integration across business functions, institutionalization through policies and systems, and impact measurement. Honorees are objectively judged by True Impact, a third-party service that evaluates applications based on community involvement. This recognition is incredibly meaningful to us and serves as a guide for continually improving our advocacy, community service, and civic engagement efforts.

 

We are proud to be named a Top Solar Contractor by Solar Power World for the 11th year in a row! This national ranking is a testament to our team’s dedication and hard work. As of July 23, 2024, Exact Solar ranks #22 in Pennsylvania, #26 in New Jersey, and #256 in the United States.

 

On September 26th, we were honored with the Lodestar Award by the Pennsylvania Solar Center, in recognition of our leadership in solar energy across the Greater Philadelphia region. Our very own sales engineer, David Hammes, attended the celebration at Yards Brewing Company. He highlighted two of our standout projects—our work with ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charter School and Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia—which played a key role in receiving this award.

 

A big thank you to everyone at Exact Solar for making these accomplishments possible! 

 

Supporting Our Local Community Through Sponsorships

Over the past few months, Exact Solar has proudly sponsored several impactful events in our region, helping to strengthen community ties and promote sustainability. 

 

We were honored to support the Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light’s 2024 Annual Interfaith Climate Convening in September, a virtual event that connects passionate individuals across the state to build momentum for addressing climate change as a moral issue in Pennsylvania.

 

For the second year in a row, we were also proud to return as a national sponsor of the ASES National Solar Tour. Our sponsorship helps advance their mission of educating people about the benefits of solar energy and connecting those interested with solar adopters. This year, we also participated in the tour again by hosting our own local solar tour, featuring several of our own customers!

 

In September, we also continued our support of the Doylestown Arts Festival, a local celebration that has been showcasing creativity in Bucks County for over 30 years. The two-day street festival, which features more than 150 artists, live music, and interactive demonstrations, attracts thousands of visitors each year and reflects our community’s rich commitment to arts and culture.

The 2024 Lodestar Award Ceremony hosted by the PA Solar Center.

Bringing Solar Power to Coletrane Commons

Exact Solar recently completed a significant installation in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia as part of the Solarize Philly program. We installed solar systems on five new homes in the Coletrane Commons development, which aims to provide affordable housing for local residents.

 

To celebrate this project and kick off Solar Week in August, we hosted an on-site press conference in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA), Solarize Philly, and local media, with around 50 attendees present. David Hammes, the sales engineer for this project, spoke about the anticipated impact of the solar systems, which are projected to reduce residents’ energy bills by up to 75%.

 

This initiative exemplifies our commitment to supporting and expanding access to clean energy in our community.

David Hammes (left) at the Coletrane Commons project press conference.
Aerial view of the Coletrane Commons solar installations.

Celebrating Our Recent Awards and Recognitions

For the third year in a row, Exact Solar has been named a Civic 50 honoree by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce! This recognition is awarded to the 50 most community-minded businesses in the region, honoring companies based on four key dimensions of community engagement: investment of resources, integration across business functions, institutionalization through policies and systems, and impact measurement. Honorees are objectively judged by True Impact, a third-party service that evaluates applications based on community involvement. This recognition is incredibly meaningful to us and serves as a guide for continually improving our advocacy, community service, and civic engagement efforts.

 

 

We are proud to be named a Top Solar Contractor by Solar Power World for the 11th year in a row! This national ranking is a testament to our team’s dedication and hard work. As of July 23, 2024, Exact Solar ranks #22 in Pennsylvania, #26 in New Jersey, and #256 in the United States.

 

 

On September 26th, we were honored with the Lodestar Award by the Pennsylvania Solar Center, in recognition of our leadership in solar energy across the Greater Philadelphia region. Our very own sales engineer, David Hammes, attended the celebration at Yards Brewing Company. He highlighted two of our standout projects—our work with ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charter School and Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia—which played a key role in receiving this award.

 

 

A big thank you to everyone at Exact Solar for making these accomplishments possible! 

 
The 2024 Lodestar Award Ceremony hosted by the PA Solar Center.
Supporting Our Local Community Through Sponsorships

Over the past few months, Exact Solar has proudly sponsored several impactful events in our region, helping to strengthen community ties and promote sustainability. 

 

 

We were honored to support the Pennsylvania Interfaith Power & Light’s 2024 Annual Interfaith Climate Convening in September, a virtual event that connects passionate individuals across the state to build momentum for addressing climate change as a moral issue in Pennsylvania.

 

 

For the second year in a row, we were also proud to return as a national sponsor of the ASES National Solar Tour. Our sponsorship helps advance their mission of educating people about the benefits of solar energy and connecting those interested with solar adopters. This year, we also participated in the tour again by hosting our own local solar tour, featuring several of our own customers!

 

 

In September, we also continued our support of the Doylestown Arts Festival, a local celebration that has been showcasing creativity in Bucks County for over 30 years. The two-day street festival, which features more than 150 artists, live music, and interactive demonstrations, attracts thousands of visitors each year and reflects our community’s rich commitment to arts and culture.

Bringing Solar Power to Coletrane Commons

Exact Solar recently completed a significant installation in collaboration with Habitat for Humanity Philadelphia as part of the Solarize Philly program. We installed solar systems on five new homes in the Coletrane Commons development, which aims to provide affordable housing for local residents.

 

To celebrate this project and kick off Solar Week in August, we hosted an on-site press conference in partnership with Habitat for Humanity, the Philadelphia Energy Authority (PEA), Solarize Philly, and local media, with around 50 attendees present. David Hammes, the sales engineer for this project, spoke about the anticipated impact of the solar systems, which are projected to reduce residents’ energy bills by up to 75%.

 

This initiative exemplifies our commitment to supporting and expanding access to clean energy in our community.

David Hammes (left) at the Coletrane Commons project press conference.
Aerial view of the Coletrane Commons solar installations.

Exact Solar’s New Commercial

Exact Solar has a new commercial! This summer, we teamed up with a local videographer to create a brand film that reflects our journey, values, and commitment to bringing clean, affordable energy to our community. If you haven’t checked it out yet, let us know what you think!

Powering STEM Education at ASPIRA Bilingual Cyber Charter School

On Friday, September 6th, Exact Solar celebrated the unveiling of a new solar system at ASPIRA Bilingual Charter Cyber School with a ribbon-cutting event. Contracted in early 2024, Exact Solar installed this system to support STEM education and address food insecurity. The solar installation powers a closed system that grows organic, soil-free produce, which students will prepare and serve in an on-site “restaurant.” Once the first crop is harvested, students will also sell their produce at a farmers market hosted at the school.


The event featured speakers including Congressman Brendan Boyle,  Pennsylvania State Representative Anthony Bellmon, ECA’s Executive Director Steve Luxton, ASPIRA’s Director of Culinary and Environmental Education Daniel Pompile, and student leader Najara Walker. Each emphasized the positive impact of partnerships among schools, nonprofits, and government on both students and the environment.


This project was sold and scoped by sales engineer Mike Lehane, whose personal connection to ASPIRA is deepened by his father’s attendance at the school now housed in the same building. Mike collaborated with ECA, who donated the solar panels, and the Philadelphia Energy Authority to bring this project to fruition. The event also welcomed representatives from several nonprofits, including Generation180, the Philadelphia Solar Energy Association, and PennEnvironment, showcasing a united front in support of sustainability efforts.


Several members of the Exact Solar team attended, including Doug Edwards, Stanislav Kvochak, Alyssa Morley, Michael Lehane, David Hammes, and Aaron Nichols (who traveled from Colorado to attend). 

ASPIRA's solar-powered greenhouse
Congressman Boyle and Representative Bellmon
Team members from Exact Solar

Exact Solar in the Media

The 2024 ASES National Solar Tour

Exact Solar is excited about our continued partnership with the American Solar Energy Society as a returning national sponsor of the ASES National Solar Tour. This initiative not only promotes the benefits of solar energy, but also allows opportunities for connection between individuals interested in solar energy and those who have already made the switch. This free, annual event allows homeowners and businesses to share their genuine experiences with solar energy and the impact it has made on their lives.


In addition to our sponsorship, we brought back our own local solar tour, showcasing installations from several of our very own customers. This tour provided virtual attendees with a unique opportunity to see the real-world impact of solar energy in our community through photos, videos, and interviews with our customers. We appreciate our customers for sharing their stories and making this event a success!


Click the button below to see Exact Solar’s 2024 Local Solar Tour.

Off the Clock:
Employee Adventures and Celebrations

Alan’s Mediterranean Getaway

Earlier this year, Alan Caine and his family embarked on a 10-day Mediterranean vacation, including a 7-day cruise on the Princess Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Sun Princess. They started in Barcelona and made stops at Gibraltar, Marseille, and Rome. The trip was full of adventures, from a foodie tour in Marseille to a boat ride around La Spezia, where they swam in a secluded cove and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Rome was a scorching 100 degrees, but they still had an incredible experience. What stood out the most were the personal stories shared by their tour guides, making the experience even more memorable. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

 

Aaron’s Bowhunting Adventure

In September, Aaron Nichols ventured into the Colorado mountains for an exciting bowhunting trip. Though he didn’t come home with an elk, Aaron spent five incredible days living out of a backpack, immersing himself in the wilderness and testing his skills in the great outdoors.

 

Samantha’s New Life Chapter

This year has been full of exciting changes for Samantha Nicklaus! First, she and her husband purchased a condo and became first-time homeowners. They also adopted an orange cat named “Sunny D Nicklaus”!

 

Sunny D is already showing off his unique personality, including playfully tapping at Sam’s pet rabbits through their cages but being spooked when they roam free in the living room. He loves sleeping on his floor scratcher and keeping his new parents on their toes with his antics!

Off the Clock:
Employee Adventures and Celebrations

Alan’s Mediterranean Getaway

Earlier this year, Alan Caine and his family embarked on a 10-day Mediterranean vacation, including a 7-day cruise on the Princess Cruise Line’s newest ship, the Sun Princess. They started in Barcelona and made stops at Gibraltar, Marseille, and Rome. The trip was full of adventures, from a foodie tour in Marseille to a boat ride around La Spezia, where they swam in a secluded cove and enjoyed a delicious lunch. Rome was a scorching 100 degrees, but they still had an incredible experience. What stood out the most were the personal stories shared by their tour guides, making the experience even more memorable. It was truly a once-in-a-lifetime trip!

Aaron’s Bowhunting Adventure

In September, Aaron Nichols ventured into the Colorado mountains for an exciting bowhunting trip. Though he didn’t come home with an elk, Aaron spent five incredible days living out of a backpack, immersing himself in the wilderness and testing his skills in the great outdoors.

Samantha’s New Life Chapter

This year has been full of exciting changes for Samantha Nicklaus! First, she and her husband purchased a condo and became first-time homeowners. They also adopted an orange cat named “Sunny D Nicklaus”!

Sunny D is already showing off his unique personality, including playfully tapping at Sam’s pet rabbits through their cages but being spooked when they roam free in the living room. He loves sleeping on his floor scratcher and keeping his new parents on their toes with his antics!

Looking Ahead

SustainPHL Award

Exact Solar has been nominated for the SustainPHL Impact Business Leader award! SustainPHL is an annual event that celebrates the efforts of community changemakers and city leaders in Philadelphia. The Impact Business Leader award specifically recognizes businesses that make a difference in our community through local employment, environmental stewardship, and a commitment to the triple bottom line of people, planet, and profit. Doug Edwards will proudly represent Exact Solar at the awards ceremony on October 10th. We look forward to the results and continuing our efforts to empower our community through clean energy solutions!

 

Volunteer Program

Over the past several months, we’ve received many questions about volunteer opportunities, and we’re excited to finally share an update! Starting January 1, 2025, Exact Solar will introduce a company-wide volunteer day policy. This new policy will give our team paid time off to volunteer, so we can support the causes that matter most to us and give back to our community.

 

We’ll be sharing more details before the end of the year—stay tuned!

Company Holiday Party

The year has flown by, and our annual company holiday party is just around the corner! The tentative date for our holiday party is December 6th, so be sure to make mark your calendars. More details will be shared in the coming weeks!

 

Upcoming Sponsorships

Exact Solar has some exciting community events lined up over the next few weeks! We’re sponsoring two 5K races this month—the Newtown Library Company Run for Reading 5K and the FACTS Charter School 5K. A team of our very own employees will be running in the FACTS 5K, so be sure to cheer them on and stay tuned for the results! We’re also sponsoring the Snipes Farm Fall Festival, happening over five weekends in October. It’s a perfect opportunity for some fall family fun, so make sure to check it out!

 

Holiday Reminder

The holiday season is quickly approaching! As a quick reminder, our office will be closed on November 28th and 29th for Thanksgiving, as well as on December 25th and 26th for Christmas. We will share information regarding New Year’s holiday hours in the coming weeks.

Check out our summer Spotify playlist!

Featured Customer Review

5/5
William - Doylestown, PA
Read More
I did a LOT of research before fulfilling my determination to go solar. The rest of the contenders were national firms, some very big names, with varying degrees of reputation. Only Exact really understood my local power company's policies. Some of the other nationals didn't understand that I could qualify for my anticipated use, not just current use, as we transition the home away from fossil fuels. Also, Exact uses its own crews, not some shadowy local sub-contractor. That means they are accountable for their work--- you see the same guys every day of the work, and when the inspections get done. They handled the local permitting process without additional charge. I was a cash customer, so I can't speak to financing, but the payment schedule was fair and it didn't feel like they were running their business on my "up front" money. Plenty of flexibility as far as architecture--- I really wanted micro-inverters, and they accommodated that. When it came to the install, the crew were great folks. It was hot, so I set them up a hydration station, for which they were grateful. Also brought in lunch every day. Fun guys to talk to and felt good about having them on-site. Like people I'd invite back for a party. The installation itself is beautiful. So flat and tidy. And the system has performed flawlessly for 10 weeks, providing as much power as I use to cool my home and do my laundry and cook my food. Both sales and engineering were great to work with--- I'm an electrical engineer myself, and they didn't talk down to me. I feel very fortunate to have found Exact in a local FB group via a referral.

Check out one of our most recent Google reviews from a satisfied customer, Ray Thierrin, who resides in Easton, PA. Mr. Thierrin discovered Exact Solar through EnergySage, one of our primary lead sources, which allows consumers to compare and research solar companies. We want to congratulate our team for their hard work and dedication that has resulted in another satisfied customer. Thank you for ensuring our customers are well-informed, educated, and, most importantly, happy with their solar experience.

William - Doylestown, PA
Read More
I did a LOT of research before fulfilling my determination to go solar. The rest of the contenders were national firms, some very big names, with varying degrees of reputation. Only Exact really understood my local power company's policies. Some of the other nationals didn't understand that I could qualify for my anticipated use, not just current use, as we transition the home away from fossil fuels. Also, Exact uses its own crews, not some shadowy local sub-contractor. That means they are accountable for their work--- you see the same guys every day of the work, and when the inspections get done. They handled the local permitting process without additional charge. I was a cash customer, so I can't speak to financing, but the payment schedule was fair and it didn't feel like they were running their business on my "up front" money. Plenty of flexibility as far as architecture--- I really wanted micro-inverters, and they accommodated that. When it came to the install, the crew were great folks. It was hot, so I set them up a hydration station, for which they were grateful. Also brought in lunch every day. Fun guys to talk to and felt good about having them on-site. Like people I'd invite back for a party. The installation itself is beautiful. So flat and tidy. And the system has performed flawlessly for 10 weeks, providing as much power as I use to cool my home and do my laundry and cook my food. Both sales and engineering were great to work with--- I'm an electrical engineer myself, and they didn't talk down to me. I feel very fortunate to have found Exact in a local FB group via a referral.

Enter to Win the Exact Solar Newsletter Challenge!

Looking for a fun challenge and the chance to win great prizes? Join our newsletter contest and let the games begin! Get ready to flex your creative muscles and participate in a variety of exciting challenges, from photo snap-offs to brain-busting riddles. The contests will end on the last day of each month, so submit your entries to Alyssa before the month’s end!

This newsletter's challenge is a haunted digital escape room!

Click here to complete the digital escape room challenge.

Complete the challenge by October 31st to enter the raffle for a fun prize! The raffle winner will be announced shortly after the deadline.

Congratulations to our fall contest winner!

The answer to the riddle, “what part of the turkey has the most feathers?”, is “the outside”. Thanks to everyone who participated!

A Note from Doug

“Grit is passion and perseverance for very long-term goals…

Grit is living life like it’s a marathon, not a sprint.”
– Angela Lee Duckworth

We have many exciting updates to share as we close out the spring and head into the summer weather. First, we secured our first project that was over 1 MW (that’s 1,000 kW), for Americold (cold storage facility) in Vineland, NJ. This is an exciting milestone for us as we grow our team and expand our capabilities. We earned this opportunity through excellent installation work and execution on prior projects for the same developer, so it’s an honor to have the chance to do higher-stakes work for them and really add to our resume. Kudos especially to Vlad for really developing a key relationship for us that led to this!

 

We recently won a bid to do a large project for a new police station in Upper Dublin township and another commercial project to install solar for a church in South Jersey. Both were secured by Joe Tarzia, so he really had a terrific sales month, and he worked his butt off to land both of these jobs.

 

This morning, we found out that we have been recognized by the Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce as an honoree for the Greater Philadelphia Civic 50, our 3rd year in a row receiving this honor for our community connectedness, sponsorships, and our work advocating for solar policy in our region. Of all the honors we receive, this is the one I’m always the most proud of. It embodies the fact that we don’t just do a great job technically installing solar, but we do things “the right way” as a local, community-connected business. I’m very excited to be able to share this with our customers and new prospective customers moving forward. Special thank you to Alyssa, Samantha, Cailynn, and the rest of the team, who put so much into pursuing this award!

 

We also recently were honored as the top solar installer in Pennsylvania by EnergySage. This is a big honor as well, as it came from interviews and surveys of our actual customers by EnergySage, and we were selected from a competitive field. Very cool! This award is mostly a tip of the hat to our installers. You guys consistently do such a great job and leave our customers impressed, many of whom share back great reviews and positive feedback to EnergySage. We got a nice note from EnergySage when they let us know about this award that our customers said some really great things about us.

With the expanded amount of work coming up this summer, I anticipate we’ll be able to welcome a few more team members, which I’m looking forward to. We’re also looking to add Aaron Nichols to go from a part-time freelancer helping us with marketing to now a full-time marketing team member. We’ll be looking for additional help in the office as well. Please let us know if you have any friends that you think would fit our culture here and help us. We always value referrals!

 

Speaking of referrals, I’d also like to thank Josh for sending a really nice referral over to sales recently. It helps us so much when we get nice leads like that from our own personal networks. I hope to see more of this as we go forward. It feels great knowing our team is confident in the work we do and happy to encourage friends and family to come to us for solar.

 

I hope everyone has some exciting plans as we enter this peak time of year weather-wise. For my family, we’ll be spending some weekends down the shore, which is always my favorite thing to do. Whatever your summer plans may be, I hope you all have some enjoyable time with family, weekend travels, vacations, or other adventures to look forward to.

 

Thank you for all that you do to make this such a fantastic place to work. I’ve never been prouder or more excited about what we do and how we go about doing it.

Best,
Doug