Can you tell me where to get started?

Question

I'm interested in a complete career change in order to follow my passion. I've been fascinated with alternative energy sources since I was building solar heat collectors for middle school science fairs. Since graduating with a BA, I've been in sales the last 15 years, yet I hold an enormous amount of detailed scientific common sense that is driving me to this change.

I would like to renovate existing homes with green technologies that will ease the burden or relieve the burden of the homeowner's utility costs. I want to retrofit homes with solar panels, solar heat collectors, rainwater sisterns and everything else.

Point me in the right direction and help me make my passion a labor of love. Thank you.

Answer 1

good idea... but I Dont know what country you are in so it hard to help you more...

take a course on starting your own business... make sure you have the capital ($) start living cheap now so you get money saved... (dont get any more Starbucks coffee)...

you will need a warehouse so you can order things wholesale rather than buying from a retailer.. and I would suggest you think about expanding so you have a retail branch yourself.. thus  you could buy more stuff cheaper...

market yourself not only to people who want to go GREEN but people who want to save $ on their bills

Answer 2

Just start out by installing extra insulation in people's walls and attics.  Or does this necessarily have to involve gadgetry?

Answer 3

I'd start by getting a job (maybe in sales, your proven background) with a local solar company.  They're usually small businesses.  Here's one in Northern California.

http://www.planitsolar.com/html/expertis...

Once you're working in the field, you'll learn the ropes and many opportunities can open up.

Answer 4

I'll tell you where not to start.  Don't buy into ethanol.  It takes more energy to produce than it actually yields.  It is very difficult to ship, which drives up the cost.  It is heavily subsidized by the government which is creating artificial demand.  With the subsidies that go to ethanol, standard fuels like oil are being driven up because of it.  Traditional oil is still the most efficient fuel we have.

Answer 5

Practical information can be found at www.knowledgepublications.com with a lot of books and references that'll give you the how to info.

For references on career change try www.daveramsey.com.

Develop your plan and work it.....good plans will work without debt and keep a focused intensity on the current step of your plan.

Best of luck!

Answer 6

Imagine a house that requires no heat or AC.

Imagine a house that makes most of your own food.

Imagine a house that makes all it's own power.

Imagine a house that collects it's own water and reuses the waste.

Imagine you living in that house.

Answer 7

It's awesome that you want to move into a greener life style. Education is the key to offering a successful green consulting service. There are many free online resources to accumulate the needed knowledge. I also suggest some hands on learning as well. I offer an on-site workshop on my 100% Off the Grid / Alternative Energy / Green run Ranch to help people make the green conversion. I charge nothing for it, it's just a way to educate the people on eco friendly living. For more info check http://www.agua-luna.com/

I also offer many guides on various How to DIY Green projects such as "solar electricity generation, solar thermal transfer and rainwater and HVAC condensation reclamation." and mroe at http://www.agua-luna.com/guides.html

Hope this helped, I wish you all the luck,

Dan Martin

Retired Boeing Engineer now living 100% Off-the-Grid with my family, using Alternative Energy & loving every minute.

for more info visit www.agua-luna.com

Answer 8

If you want to make a fortune go for HETAS training and registration. Those guys are like gold dust in the UK

http://www.hetas.co.uk/installer/trainin...

Solar Heating Training Course

http://www.ppltraining.co.uk/plumbing_tr...

Or look at Commercial Energy Assessors' Training

http://www.property-careers.com/training...

Answer 9

Sounds like you have an idea for a fantastic business, retrofitting homes to make them 'greener'. If you have the guts and the means, I'd write up a business plan and get down to the bank to see if you can get a loan to get this thing rolling. Best of luck to you, eco warrior