About us
Renovus Energy is a small business completely committed to reducing
our dependence on fossil fuels.
Renewable energy system design and installation is the
only thing we do.
Contacting us
via the Web or by E-mail
- Solar Electric - essential information
- About Wind Energy at Renovus
- Solar thermal (water heating) FAQ
- Hydroelectric (microhydro) FAQ
- Geothermal comments and recommendations
We continue to be flooded with inquiries, so help us help you by reviewing the following webpages:
If you look at any of the pages listed above, you'll find our request that you fill out a secure web form matched to the type of inquiry. The link to the web form is found only on these overview or FAQ pages - not here - since we want to be sure that you've looked at the relevant information first! We use these not-so-personal forms to collect basic information from prospective clients and to expedite a much more personal follow-up from us. Thanks for understanding!
Your web form inquiry will be answered promptly by our Customer Liaison (a fancy title for s/he who has this challenging task). S/he will answer questions, schedule Site Evaluations or Project Consultations, and basically guide you through the process of working with us to have a renewable energy system designed, installed and commissioned. This person is usually reachable by phoning our office during normal business hours. However, the best way to get started is simply to submit one of our secure web forms - to which we try to reply within 24 hours. Or, if you wish, feel free to e-mail us directly with your questions.
Questions regarding customer payments, accounts payable, and other business matters should be e-mailed directly to Natalie, our Finance Manager.
by Phone
OK... here's our numbers, but please consider using our secure web forms or e-mail first. Thanks!
607.277.1777 phone
607.277.1277 fax
in Person
Visitors are always welcome and someone will usually be in the office during regular business hours (9am-5pm) to talk with you, provide information or give a building tour. However, if you want to be absolutely certain, please call us (or send e-mail to us) ahead of time.
Please Note: If you're looking for assistance or advice on renewable energy system design, we'll happily take a few minutes to answer simple questions. However, long discussions on technical matters related to equipment selection, wire sizing, overcurrent protection, safety switches, code compliance, etc., etc., etc., really cross the line into what should be part of a Project Consultation meeting.
A Site Evaluation is appropriate where Renovus will carry out the entire project from design through commissioning whereas a Project Consultation is often helpful to do-it-yourselfers who need a little (or a lot) more information to successfully complete a renewable energy project by themselves. Again, please contact us who will help clarify what is appropriate and get you on our schedule.
Our 100% solar-powered building is located on Cherry St. which runs alongside the Cayuga Lake inlet in the southwest industrial park neighborhood of Ithaca. Cherry St. is accessible at the west end of Cecile A. Malone Dr. which is the first street north of Wegmans Supermarket off of Meadow St. (Rt. 13). Cherry St. can also be reached from W. State St. (Rt. 79) by turning on Brindley St. (running between Trombley Tire and Ithaca Grain & Pet), across the one-lane bridge to become Taber St. (sharp right), which turns into Cherry St. (sharp left). Our building is on the inlet (west) side of Cherry St. with shiny silver siding and solar modules covering the south-sloping roof.
People
These links to personal webpages are provided for those curious to see what sort of individuals have come to work and grow along with this company. Our names and titles are intentionally listed alphabetically and in lowercase to discourage the heirarchical, self-centered, self-reflective, self-important thinking which is far too prevalent today.
All labor that uplifts humanity has dignity and
importance and should be undertaken with painstaking excellence.
~ martin luther king jr.
Employment
We receive many inquiries from people seeking employment or training in the field of renewable energy. Start by reading this document, which describes internships, training programs and academic courses - some of which are available locally or regionally. We hope that this helps people learn how and where to start.
Statement of Principles
We intend that Renovus Energy be an exemplary business with projects and policies which move us toward environmental and social regeneration. Achieving sustainability is only a first step toward regenerating a natural world which, in our ignorance, has been largely destroyed. Our essential and intimate connection with the Earth has been long forgotten. This must change.
The people who work here endeavor to live their lives according to their deepest principles without making too many compromises to the dysfunctional social systems in which we find ourselves. With this awareness, we recognize that we are all connected - to each other and to everything - all is one. We have to work hard to make the world a better place - starting with ourselves.
While the company is currently organized as a for-profit corporation, financial gain it is not our primary aim. On the contrary, we wish to be an example of a sustainable business or authentic business in the fullest sense of these terms. First of all, this means paying our employees a living wage - our company is a Certified Living Wage Employer through the Tompkins County Workers Center. This also means that, as a company, we think before we act; we think about the Earth which sustains us and how best to care for it and all its life, not just ourselves. But, when we act, we understand what Martin Luther King Jr. termed "the fierce urgency of now":
"We must rapidly begin the transition from a thing oriented society to a person oriented society. When machines and computers, profit motives and property rights are considered more important than people, the giant triplets of racism, militarism, and economic exploitation are incapable of being conquered. A nation can flounder as readily in the face of moral and spiritual bankruptcy as it can through financial bankruptcy." ~ martin luther king jr.
The main motivation for our work is our objective judgment as well as our intuitive sense that our world is not doing well, that humans are responsible for the present social and environmental problems, and, above all, that we are each personally responsible for doing something about it.
"You must be the change you wish to see in the world." ~ m k gandhi