7 Ways to Create Green Revenue

It might be the ultimate irony.

Custom integrators who are best known for installing monstrous power-sapping big screen TVs and audio components also have an opportunity to be leaders in the area of energy savings.

Without a doubt, "green building" has a big buzz among builders. Since homebuilders don't do anything unless it is rooted in consumer demand, this green-building momentum is certainly being driven by the buying public. And builders are responding by constructing homes in an environmentally friendly way.

The National Association of Home Builders has developed its Model Green Home Building guidelines covering lot design, water efficiency, indoor air quality and energy efficiency. Because it is the most quantifiable aspect of green building, energy efficiency is getting the most attention within the guidelines.

A builder can reduce long-term utility bills and increase the comfort for the homeowner by constructing a better home envelope and incorporating more energy-efficient mechanical systems, appliances and lighting.

Here are seven ways you can present your integration company as "green."

1. Make sure you offer lighting control.
This highly profitable product category is not just about aesthetics any more; it can act as the basis for a strong sales presentation to customers about saving energy through timed scenes connected via an astronomic clock, automatic on/off light switches linked to a motion sensor and the use of lower-consumption fluorescents or LEDs.

2. Look at selling lighting fixtures designed for LEDs or fluorescents.
The entire country of Australia just banned incandescent lights after 2010. I predict it will happen here also. Many existing fixtures in homes cannot accommodate larger fluorescent bulbs or are not designed at all for LEDs, so be prepared.

3. Offer integrated HVAC management systems.
Products like programmable thermostats that connect to the Internet are proven to reduce heating and cooling costs.

4. Sell automatic drapery/shade controls.
These systems work hand-in-hand with lighting control by controlling the amount of light streaming into the room. Again, learn how to link them with an astronomic clock.

5. Use indoor air quality as the basis for a discussion about central vacuum systems, which remove air particulates from inside the home versus just recycling bad air like a traditional vacuum cleaner.

6. Look at the various technologies in regards to their future compatibility with appliances and fixtures in the home.
Hybrid powerline/wireless protocols like Insteon are gaining acceptance among the manufacturers of exhaust fans and other appliances, making it easier to connect those devices with a whole-house integration system in the future.

7. Don't be shy about telling customers how you recycle old front projectors, re-use bubble-wrap/packing peanuts in your warehouse, or drive fuel-efficient vehicles in your fleet.

Does green building mean that consumers want smaller flat-panel displays, less-capable home networks or fewer electronic components in general? No.

But it does mean that homeowners want to feel like their integrator has done whatever he can to minimize energy consumption while they watch Al Gore's Academy Award winning "An Inconvenient Truth" on their giant, watt-burning plasma TV.

What are you doing to make your company green?