Our Philosophy
A message from Founder and President, Dave Bonta
Our philosophy, tied to our mission, recognizes that the environmental harm created to date has already degraded the life experience for our fellows and our fellow creatures, both environmentally, economically and socially.
We can do better than this.
We are intelligent enough to make this world a paradise, but we’ve got to apply ourselves to the job. The challenges are daunting, at USA Solar Store, we’re trying to build a whole new model of doing business–a model of cooperation and collaboration, going way beyond what we ever thought it could do. We are reinventing the way household energy is viewed, offered, distributed and understood. We are trying to rework the “Me first” mentality and promote a “We first.”
The “We first” option for change is one that can happen in time. Everybody can help, either as USA Solar Store owners, customers or supporters.
Whether you visit and shop at our stores or open one of your own, be energy conscious—start changing your lifestyle by being more responsible with your energy usage. Know what’s turned on or off. And whether you start with a $3 light bulb or a $5,000 solar hot water system, you can make the switch to sustainable living in increments. Not everyone should or could be off-grid, but most homes can produce most of the power they need and cut at least 50% off their utility bill.
I take great pride it what the USA Solar Stores are accomplishing and look forward to our new stores launching this year.
Please consider opening one of your own.
Dave Bonta
Founder & President, USA Solar Store
Visit my author's blog for ramblings and thoughts on the issues of sustainability and renewable energy.
Getting Started in VT,
the first USA Solar Store
Nearly a decade ago my wife and I decided to rededicate our livelihoods by breaking our energy dependence. We established the first USA Solar Store in Vermont with dreams for a 100-store National Chain.
Opon opening our first store and completing some early solar projects, we commissioned local artist Carmen Bywater to recreate the style of our favorite magazine, BackHome. We really loved the folksy look, and she really nailed it. Every element of the painting relates to something we have accomplished or believe in. (Click the painting above to enlarge)
The Blue house is one of our first clients that we converted to solar back in 2001.
The log cabin in the foreground is our own totally off-the-grid home in Weathersfield, Vermont, with a friend installing a compact fluorescent bulb by the front door.
In the truck is Dave himself, making one of the first deliveries from the original CET Solar Store.
The yellow house in the background is one of the first large scale solar projects that we worked on.
The man on the motorized bike is riding past Thoreau’s cabin.
When we got started in this business, we wanted to be the most responsive to customers’ inquiries - more than anybody else had ever dared to do - a mixture of Mom & Pop service with Big Box prices. It’s a challenging mission, but our customers tell us that we’re doing it!
