Power Of The Urban Wind: Mariah Power CEO Mike Hess (Part 2)

SM: When did you start Mariah Power? MH: It was started in August 2005. Ken Rogers and Chris Gabrys had invented a motor that was very efficient. As we looked at the markets to determine where to use the motor, it became clear that we could not compete with the Chinese motors because their cost

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Power Of The Urban Wind: Mariah Power CEO Mike Hess (Part 1)

Mike Hess is a serial entrepreneur, having started multiple companies since the late 1970s. He has also held senior leadership positions at Raychem and Raynet. He has a BS in mathematics and later studied design engineering at Stanford and network engineering at UC Santa Cruz. He is the CEO and a co-founder of Mariah Power,

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Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 7)

SM: Is there a way your company could grow faster? Your product is ready, your channel is ramping well. Is capital an issue for growth? NR: It is the lengthy sales cycle. When we go into a building, we get in at the building operator level or the CFO level.

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 6)

SM: Let’s look at this from a strategic business perspective. You have 110,000 buildings in the United States to which your technology applies. If the average selling price is $100,000, then you have a very big market opportunity. NR: It is enormous.

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 5)

SM: Based on your technology, what is your estimate of an overall energy impact? What percentage of energy reduction could you provide? NR: If our technology were to be implemented in half of the buildings in the United States which it is capable of working on, we would take the equivalent of 145 million cars

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Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 4)

SM: Are all of the disjointed HVAC systems even designed to interface with your technology? NR: Yes. The chillers, pumps, and cooling towers all feed back to the building automation systems. Those systems turn everything on and off. The thermostats give feedback to the system during the day if the system itself is on.

Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 3)

SM: What exactly was the technology that you licensed? NR: Large buildings that are 100,000 square feet or greater have boilers in their basements that produce hot water, which is circulated around the building. There are radiators and fans that use the hot water to heat the air. That is how those buildings are heated.

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Another Take At Zero-Energy Buildings: Optimum Energy’s Nathan Rothman (Part 2)

SM: What did you do after you closed down that business? NR: I took some time to recalibrate what I wanted to do next. As a sailor and hiker, I have always been interested in the environment. I saw oil prices going through the roof.