Marketplace: Franchise offering Yes! Solar Solutions

Imagine using the power of the sun to charge an iPod – while it's in your backpack.

Or talking on a cell phone fueled by a portable, solar charger.

Yes! Solar Solutions, a new retail franchise that opened in Roseville last month, specializes in photovoltaic rooftop systems that can power homes and small businesses.

But customers also can walk out with some pretty cool doodads, from solar backpacks to bead necklaces that change color in the sunlight.

Roseville-based Solar Power Inc., which sells and installs solar systems for large commercial, industrial and institutional facilities, is the parent company behind the Yes! Solar Solutions franchise.

"Solar as a technology is something that traditionally hasn't been marketed in a retail concept," Yes! Solar President Jeff Winzeler said. "There's a lot of growth out in Roseville and Rocklin and Lincoln, so there's a lot of homes out there."

With installations throughout California and in Colorado, Solar Power Inc. has plans to open four company Yes! stores in the Sacramento region by the end of 2008, including the Roseville store, said Kirk Uhler, vice president for government relations.

"Whereas it would take us years and years to be able to grow organically, we can do it through franchising in a much more compressed time frame," said Uhler, who is a Placer County supervisor. "This is an industry that is completely demand-driven right now. The acceptance of the technology and embracing the idea that you can be largely energy independent has reached the masses."

Solar Power Inc. manufactures its own photovoltaic panels, which are integrated into home rooftops and resemble skylights while producing energy from the sun and resulting in cheaper electricity bills.

A typical home system can generate 3 to 4 kilowatts and costs $30,000. Rebates and tax credits reduce the price tag to roughly $20,000, Uhler said.

The average return on the investment is eight to 10 years for customers in Pacific Gas and Electric Co. territory, he said.

"Once folks understand the economics behind it and the environmental benefits, the technology pretty well sells itself," Uhler said.

Customers entering the new Roseville store can learn about solar energy and the latest technology through touch-screen monitors at the interactive "solar bar."

Moving farther into the store, customers can get a better idea how a solar system can be installed on their own homes.

"We sit down with you and bring up Google Earth at a very large TV screen, where we can actually view your home, the rooftop and angle of the sun," Winzeler said. "We get a really good idea of what it looks like and how we could go about putting solar on it."

Customers can also look at actual solar panels and finished installations.

"One of the biggest hurdles we face when selling in the residential market is people want it to look nice, so we have to show them what the end product is going to look like," Winzeler said.

Yes! Solar also carries retail items, including education kits for kids and portable solar chargers for cell phones.

Backpacks with flexible solar panels are another handy innovation.

"As you're walking around with your backpack, your cell phone or MP3 player is inside charging," Winzeler said. "For the tech-savvy people whose batteries are always running low, it's a very popular item."

Yes! Solar Solutions, 10100 Fairway Drive, is open from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Saturday and 10 am. to 6 p.m. Sunday.

For more information, call (877) YES-4411 or visit www.yessolarsolutions.com/.

About the writer:

• The Bee's Jennifer K. Morita can be reached at (916) 773-7388.