Profile on PHILLY GREEN LEADERSHIP

GREENandSAVE Team
Posted on Thursday 25th September 2008

Charles Reichner

Philly Solar Man Walks the Talk…every day for 30 years.

Role: President
Company/Organization: Heat Shed, Inc.
Starting Point: 1977

A - The Leadership:

Charles Reichner is a life-time resident of Pennsylvania, and he incorporated his company, Heat Shed, in 1977. After graduating from DelVal College in Doylestown, PA with a degree in ornamental horticulture, Charles decided to focus his company on his other main interest, the energy field.

Working out of an old shed (hence the name of the company) Charles installed over 100 hot water solar systems. The business evolved to focus on a Danish Tarm home boiler that could be manipulated by the owner to burn either wood, oil, or coal. Heat Shed installed thousands of these in homes all over Pennsylvania.

Charles has numerous manufacturer and training accreditations, including NYSERDA, NJBPU, SDF, Sunpower, SMA, GE, Sharp and others. But the most important accreditation is that of his customers. Heat Shed prides itself on customer service and they have many satisfied customers that have created a thriving referral business.

B - The Organization/Company:

In recent years, Heat Shed has focused its attention on solar photovoltaic systems. With the addition of his wife, Catherine Neil, Heat Shed has to date installed 500kw of solar. To put this in perspective, a typical residential installation may have 5kw. These installations also include the Heat Shed home and office. Charles believes very strongly in using the products he sells in order to have first-hand knowledge of their performance. The office and home are outfitted with panels from numerous manufacturers including Sunpower and the new HIT Sanyo panels. Shingles and laminate are also in use on the barn.

Heat Shed is a member of SEIA, MSEIA, NESEA, SEPA, Lehigh Valley Chamber of Commerce, Lehigh Green Builders Association, Delaware Valley Green Building Council, Lehigh Valley Sustainable Business Network, Bucks County Sustainable Business Network and the Air Quality Partnership of Lehigh Valley-Berks.

Heat Shed participates in numerous speaking engagements, demonstrations, home shows, and The Philadelphia Flower Show. The upcoming events are high-lighted on the home page of their web site.

C - The GREEN 10-Qs:

1. What childhood, personal, or career eco-experience inspired your current work?
Getting sunburned!

2. Who inspires you in our Philadelphia community?
My wife….or else!

3.What professional accomplishment are you most proud of?
The growth of my photovoltaic business in Pennsylvania despite state rebates or incentives.

4. What is one of your favorite Philly eco-activities, products, or services?
Dinner at the White Dog Café.

5. What is one of the things that you regularly do to make your life more eco-friendly?
Turn off the lights….never use the TV.

6. What would you change about your home or office to make it more eco-friendly?
Put in a geo-thermal heating system.

7. What would you change about Philly to make it more eco-friendly?
Put solar panels on all those flat roofs.

8. What book, movie, or TV show would you recommend people to read or watch?
Fallen Dragon by Peter F. Hamilton (Science Fiction)

9. In addition to your family and friends, what three people living or dead would you take to live with you for a decade on a deserted island?
George Carlin, Dave Barry, Kamol Phutlek (Chef/Owner Nan Restaurant, Philly)

10. What quote (with source) or your own words of wisdom would you like to share with our readers?
My favorite quote is by Henry Cabot Lodge referring to politicians speaking amongst themselves when under duress from the public: “What can we appear to be doing?”

LEARN MORE

Any interested individual can go to the Heat Shed website and see the live kilowatt production of several installation sites, thanks to a Fat Spaniel monitoring system.
To learn more about Heat Shed, Inc. visit www.HeatShed.com
To contact Charlie Reichner and HeatShed email: Charlie@heatshed.com

To review the GREENandSAVE Return on Investment ranking for energy saving tactics for your own home see the Home Energy Savings Table.

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