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SUNPUMP SOLAR INC
AT NIGHTSustainable Business Magazine speaks to Bruce Gray, CEO and Founder of SunPump Solar Inc., about a
system which generates energy 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
“WE’VE DEVELOPED A TWO-LAYER PANEL SO
THE TOP IS PV AND THE BOTTOM IS THE PHOTON
THERMAL PANEL, WHICH GIVES OUR DEALERS THE
ABILITY TO OFFER ELECTRICITY ALONGSIDE HEAT,
MEETING ALL DOMESTIC ENERGY NEEDS.”
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tial levels using off-the-shelf HVAC compo-
nents.” The SunPump system can be com-
pared to a geothermal system, but instead
of circulating water for ground source heat,
a new Photon panel directly evaporates
refrigerant on the roof. “Because our fluid is
so cold SunPump can harvest energy from
the wind, rain, snow, or any atmospheric
conditions,” says Mr. Gray. “That heat dif-
ferential can then be transformed by a heat
pump compressor for any application, from
space heating, to domestic hot water, to air
conditioning, to heating a pool.”
Because the SunPump panel draws heat
from the Sun or the ambient environment
allowing it to produce day and night, the
system is extremely cost-effective. “The
downside to solar PV systems and wind
and other renewables is intermittency,”
says Mr. Gray. “In other words, a solar panel
works when the sun is on it, but not on a
cloudy day, and not at all at night. Solar PV
averages about six hours a day, over the
course of a year. The SunPump system is a
game-changer because it can produce solar
thermal on demand and has a built in 10 kW
Thermal Battery, plus an electric backup, to
act as a primary system. The combination
of 24-hour energy and solar storage allows
SunPump to completely replace the need
for a boiler or furnace. Our Vision is a com-
pact and economical SunPump appliance
that provides all the power, heat, cooling,
and hot water for a Net Zero Energy or
Passive Plus building.”
SUSTAINABLY-RUN BUSINESS
In addition to the sustainability benefits of
SunPump’s product, the way the company is
run reflects a long-term approach to doing
business. SunPump is employee-owned and
engineer-driven. “It makes good business
sense, actually,” says Mr. Gray. “We invest in
our people and make sure they’re rewarded
for doing their job well, and then because
they love what they’re doing, their passion
spreads out virally to the customers and con-
tinuous by word-of-mouth. After one system
gets installed, even in a really small town,
pretty soon afterwards the Dealer starts get-
ting calls for estimates. Our goal was to have
100 really, really happy customers.”
SunPump have taken a series of
measures to ensure that its operations are
run with an eye towards environmental
sustainability. The first SunPump office
is located by Mount Arrowsmith, which
is a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. “It’s a
remarkable place,” says Mr. Gray. “It’s has
SUNPUMP SOLAR INC
SunPump Solar Inc., based in Vancouver,
is a manufacturer of renewable heating sys-
tems. Their unique technology is capable of
generating heat during all weather, and even
at night. By circulating a refrigerant at -50°C,
SunPump’s panels remain colder than the
surrounding atmosphere; even if it’s raining
or snowing they attract warmer energy, and
so are able to exchange and produce heat
on demand.
SunPump was founded five years
ago, in 2010. “We started up to make a
sustainable difference in the way people
choose energy,” says Bruce Gray, CEO and
Founder of SunPump. “I was personally
motivated to do something for my kids.
We started small, in a home office, but
we’re growing like a hockey stick at this
point. This previous year we were around
300% growth, and we’re expecting to
maintain around 200% growth per year for
the foreseeable future.”
NASA TECHNOLOGY
In the 1960s, NASA developed the first
Solar Heat Pump for manned space flight.
“They still use that technology,” explains
Mr. Gray. “It was too expensive to com-
mercialize, however we innovated ways to
improve Solar Heat Pumps down to residen-
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SUNPUMP SOLAR INC
old-growth forest, pure water, and clean air.
We conserve power, water, and resources,
and use renewable energy.” SunPump has
taken other practical measures, too. “I don’t
travel as much as I used to,” says Mr. Gray.
“We encourage people to connect online
instead. We’re moving to hybrid electric ve-
hicles. We always make sure we’re looking
at our footprint, and how much carbon is
involved in our operations. Our core value
as a company since the beginning days has
always been to improve the environment
and to run the business sustainably.”
PLANS FOR THE FUTURE
So what’s next for SunPump? One devel-
opment will be the integration of solar PV
into the SunPump panel. “We’ve devel-
oped a two-layer panel so the top is PV
and the bottom is the Photon thermal
panel, which gives our Dealers the ability
to offer electricity alongside heat, meeting
all domestic energy needs,” says Mr. Gray.
SunPump will release Smart models that can
double the performance by using Off-Peak
electric rates, and can use water heating to
produce free cooling. In addition to this,
the company is investigating opportunities
for Partnerships and Joint Ventures with
PV players. “We want bigger teams,” says
Mr. Gray. “A Solar City partnership allows
us to complement their PV with SunPump.
Heating and cooling is a much larger market
than PV”
As for SunPump’s many achievements,
for Mr. Gray, the proudest is the company’s
ability to attract young talent – including his
own children. “My three oldest teenagers
are all aboard,” says Mr. Gray. “My son left
a high-paying job on an Alberta oil pipeline
to come to us. Young people want more
than just pay; they want belonging. They
want to do something that matters. That’s
what we’ve been able to deliver for our em-
ployees. We’re a high growth company that
pays well, while we’re making a difference.
We posted a job a while ago for sales rep,
and within a week we had eight hundred
applicants. We were just flooded; we didn’t
know where to start!”
It’s not just prospective employees
who are clamoring to get involved with
SunPump. “There’s a real pent-up demand
among customers,” says Mr. Gray. “Business
is booming. The perception has been that
you’d have to pay more to get renewables,
so the barrier is front-end cost. We’re able
to cost a third of solar PV or Geo-Exchange,
and less than heating using fossil fuels.
Solar at less than non-renewables is a game
changer. If you’re not paying more for it,
and you could have clean energy instead of
dirty energy, and you could save utility cost
and make your property more valuable, why
wouldn’t you go renewable? We’re trying to
be a little piece of that solution.” c