Power Your Life with Solar Energy & Conservation Projects
Empowering communities through utility conservation education and smart solar energy initiatives.
Candlewood Consulting Group, LLC
Efficient Utility Solutions
Candlewood Consulting Group helps municipalities, businesses and homeowners identify areas of inefficiency in their utility consumption, particularly with Commercial LED Lighting, Solar Projects, and Electric Vehicle Charging Stations. We provide recommendations to remedy these issues, leveraging federal, state, and utility grants to fund projects within current utility budgets.
Solar, Lighting, & EV Charging Showcase
01/13
See What Our Customers Say
Solar Panel System Frequently Asked Questions
Please reach us at Mark@Candlewoodconsultinggroup.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Our solar consultants will evaluate this for you. They will consider factors such as roof orientation, shading, and structural integrity during their onsite evaluation.
Solar photovoltaic (PV) panels convert sunlight to electricity. Commercial string inverters convert the power into AC current usable at your business or residence. The panels are usually connected to the electric grid and directly power your home or business, which allows you to pull less, or during certain times, no electricity from the utility.
See below for information about Net Metering and how this enables you to have solar power year-round and at night.
Solar panels are worth it for most businesses and homeowners, as long-term savings and increases in property value make up for the initial installation costs. Whether solar panels are worth it depends on where you live, your budget, your roof's characteristics, incentives, and how much energy you use.
Go solar without any upfront costs or incurring any debt.
Lock in low electricity costs and realize predictable energy production over the standard 25-year agreement term.
See positive cash flow in year one.
Let your customers, employees, residents, competitors, and community see that you’re making a positive impact on the environment by harnessing the power of the sun.
Rest easy knowing that you don’t need to maintain the system or manage equipment and warranty issues.
Have the option of purchasing the system at fair market value in the future.
Transfer the PPA to a new building owner if you sell the property, possibly increasing the sales price of your building or home.
Net metering is a billing arrangement that allows you to receive credit on your utility bill for excess energy generated by your solar panels. This credit can be used to offset the cost of energy you use from the grid.
Solar panels alone cannot power your home during a power outage. However, with the addition of a battery storage system, you can store excess energy generated by your panels and use it to power your home during an outage.
Battery systems are not required. However, if you live in an area with frequent blackouts, or having power is critical, you should speak with us about battery backup systems. Battery backup systems do add costs to the overall project, but many incentives apply to the complete cost of the system.
If you need to replace your roof, licensed roofers will assess any additional cost. Our team can assist with this process and ensure that your panels are properly installed.
Your solar equipment can be transferred to the new owners once the sale is final. The new owners may be responsible for making the monthly payments — which should be no problem, since it’s likely to be far less than any bill they would normally pay to the utility company.
We provide you with peace of mind with comprehensive warranties against defects in equipment and workmanship on every project. Our typical panel warranty is 25 years. Our solar consultants will provide you with more in-depth information.
Sustainable LED Lighting A Smart Investment
Please reach us at Mark@Candlewoodconsultinggroup.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
Candlewood Consulting Group provides scalable lighting conservation retrofits for municipalities and companies of all sizes while remaining at or under fiscal utility budgeting. Depending on current lighting, CCG typically reduces lighting cost by 30%-60% while maintaining adequate retail light levels. After the initial complimentary lighting audit is completed by one of our team members, a comprehensive scope of work will be compiled detailing the new lighting measures, return on investment, utility incentive, and annual utility savings.
The goal of a lighting retrofit is to generate positive cash flow. We can show you how to achieve that objective.
CCG uses a “Pay as You Save Program” in which Federal, State, and Utility incentives are used to partially fund projects. The utility savings from the project are used to reconcile the remaining balance of the project.
Experience a favorable impact on your:
Bottom Line
Energy Use
Maintenance Costs
Environmental Imprint
Worker Productivity
All of this can be accomplished with no out-of-pocket expense!
Step 1
It is very important to understand the customer’s needs completely at the beginning of the process. We ensure that all possible benefits are realized from upgrading existing lighting layouts and other energy using systems to more efficient technology.
Step 2
Gathering information, prioritizing focus, and comprehensive solutions that meet the customer’s needs are critical to CCG's ability to add value to the customer.
Step 3
After consideration of multiple solutions, CCG presents recommendations that best meet the needs of the customer. Financing options are available to ensure outcomes that result in a neutral or positive cash flow.
Step 4
Upon acceptance of the CCG proposal, we can provide one or more services required for a turnkey solution. Paperwork will be prepared and administered by our team to maximize rebate and incentive programs available.
Are Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Right for you?
Please reach us at Mark@Candlewoodconsultinggroup.com if you cannot find an answer to your question.
For a cost-effective and successful charging station installation site owners should consider how much use they can expect and how much benefit electric vehicle (EV) drivers can get from charging while parked at that location. The best way to ensure that your charging station is used is to know that a resident, employee, or regular client owns an EV and wants to charge it at your location.
There are several kinds of charging stations -- including Level 1, Level 2 and DC Fast Charging – so the one you choose will depend on a number of factors. These include expected customer use cases, cost and site design considerations. The good news is that as a site host you have many charging station options and CCG has the information and resources to support you.
Charging station installation costs can exceed the cost of the hardware itself and are influenced by a number of design factors that should be considered such as:
- Currently available electrical service. All new charging station installations should have a load analysis performed on the facility’s electrical demand to determine if there is capacity to add EV charging stations. AC Level 2 stations will need a dedicated 240-volt (40 amp) circuit and upgrading electrical service may be necessary.
- Distance between the electrical panel and the charging station. A longer distance between the electrical panel and the EV charging station means higher installation costs because it increases the amount of necessary trenching (and repair), conduit, and wire. It is desirable to minimize the distance between the electrical panel and EV charging station as much as possible while also considering the location of the charging station on the property.
- Location of charging station on the property. Consider the impact of placing the charging station at a particular location on the property. For example, placing charging station parking spaces in the back of a building might discourage their use, but other customers may be upset if a charging station is installed in prime parking spaces that often remain vacant because there are few EV drivers.
Other considerations have less impact on installation costs but can impact how effective the station is at benefiting EV drivers and other clients. Some of these include the path the charging cord takes when in use and parking lot management practices.
Yes, you are allowed to charge people for using your station although many station owners choose to provide free charging as an enticement or benefit. An example of this is an employer offering free charging to their employees and customers. If you decide to charge for use, there are a number of factors to consider in determining what works best for you.
Charging for use depends on venue. Your decision will depend in part on the venue where it is operating. In some areas, particularly in the larger cities, some garages that charge for parking may find clients that are willing to pay extra for EV charging on a regular basis because they do not have the ability to charge at their residence.
Charging for use depends on site installation purpose. Profit generated by the station is not the only opportunity to generate a return on investment from the charging station. Charging stations might attract EV drivers who then patronize your business, retain valuable employees, or provide a sense of your environmental stewardship which might help attract EV and non-EV residents, employees, or customers.
How charging for use works. Station owners can charge for use per hour, per session, or per unit of electricity.
- Per Hour: If you charge per hour, there is a set cost for any vehicle whether it is charging or not, and different vehicles receive electricity at different rates, so the cost of energy may vary widely by charging session.
- Per Session: This is usually more appropriate for workplace charging or charging stations that have very short, regular sessions.
- Per Unit of Energy (usually kilowatt-hour [kWh]): This accurately accounts for the true cost of electricity for the charging station owner, but does not give an incentive for a car that is fully charged to leave the space
Some site owners have tried combinations of these approaches, such as charging a flat rate for the first two hours, then an increasing rate for longer sessions. Some locations might prefer to lower their operating expenses by not joining a charging station network and offering charging for free.
Contact Us
Better yet, see us in person!
Conservation projects often have a lot of moving parts. CCG gives you the education and confidence to move forward with your Commercial LED Lighting Project or Solar Project. We stay in constant communication with our customers until the job is done. To get a free quote, or if you have questions or special requests, just drop us a line.
CandlewoodConsultingGroup.com
Candlewood Road, New Fairfield, Connecticut 06812, United States
203-648-1338 Mark@Candlewoodconsultinggroup.com 203-228-1212 Jody@Candlewoodconsultinggroup.com
Hours
Mon | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm | |
Tue | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm | |
Wed | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm | |
Thu | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm | |
Fri | 09:00 am – 05:00 pm | |
Sat | Closed | |
Sun | Closed |
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