A1 Sun Inc Company Profile

ascination with solar energy started very early for Larry Giustino, co-owner of A1 Sun Inc, in Berkeley CA. When he was a young boy in San Diego, Larry's schoolroom was visited by a physicist from Bell Labs who brought the students an ingot of pure silicon. With a diamond hacksaw the physicist provided, Larry and his classmates sliced, polished, baked, and soldered their own silicon chips, added electrical leads, and watched as their tiny solar cells sat in the sun and produced half a volt of electricity each. Larry remembers thinking excitedly, "Wow! You can get energy from the sun!"

They Were Solar Before it Was Hot
Since then, Larry has been part of the design and installation team at Solar Station—a North Oakland gas station that was completely off the grid—and he designed all the solar thermal systems at the UC Berkeley Co-op for students (those systems are still running strong after 24 years). He and his family have always been environmentally focused, and after he designed and built a solar electric system for his own home, his wife Kathleen Giustino suggested that they create a solar installation firm with their original Solar Station partner, Paul Cooper. In 2007, A1 Sun, Inc. of Berkeley was born, and they've already made a name for themselves in a very competitive field.

Paul Cooper and Larry Giustino bring lifelong solar electric and building experience to A1 Sun, and have distinguished themselves as superior craftsmen. As Larry explains, "All solar contractors have access to similar equipment, but it's how you install it that matters. When we design and install a photovoltaic system for a single home or business, we don't cost-cut or try to get by with doing less because the job is small. We use the same materials we'd use on large installations, like heavy duty rail and large gauge wire, because we want these systems to last for decades." In fact, the inspectors for the Cal Solar Initiative consistently find that A1 Sun's solar installations exceed performance specifications. As Larry says, "We can design perfect small systems by bringing our large systems design skills to bear, and create a design horizon that's 30 to 50 years at the very least." As lifelong environmentalists, A1 Sun doesn't want to see their systems going into landfills; they are built to last.

Choosing the Best Solar Contractor
Recently, many contractors and business people have started solar companies as homeowners and businesses rush to take advantage of solar rebates. This means that a person seeking out a solar contractor could become overwhelmed with choices. Larry Giustino suggests that people should focus on solar companies who work within their local communities, and then go visit some of the installations. There are many high volume contractors, but some tend to see single homes or small businesses as "small potatoes." A1 Sun takes a different approach; they're a local company, which means they can focus on quality and stay closer to the customer and closer to the ground, "We don't treat homeowners or small businesses as less important than larger customers. We truly support homeowners who want to do something about global warming. This is such a heartening market—these are people who are really putting their money into the good of the earth and the good of their community. These are people we want to support in every way." A part of that support is going the extra mile in customer service: A 1 Sun revisits each of their solar installations in 6 months for a free service appointment: They clean the panels, check out the entire system and make sure their system is supporting the needs of its owner.

A1 Sun also supports the community with solar. Kathleen Giustino, an elementary school teacher, takes the A1 Sun booth to fairs and school events, and delights kids and adults with solar experiments and toys. The A1 Sun offices are powered by a solar electric system Paul Cooper and Larry Giustino designed and built, the company recycles everything possible, and their company car is an electric Zenn, which is powered by a small solar array next to their offices. As solar consumers themselves, the team at A1 Sun, Inc. in Berkeley understands that people want a smart, fairly-priced project. As Larry Giustino says, "We've got an old-fashioned sense of business ethics; we're in this for the long run, so we design and build systems that will last."

---Karla Rutherford
Staff Writer
The Prime Buyer's Report