Brian Bartel

Brian Bartel, Chief Executive Officer / Owner

As president for 17 years, Brian grew his small Phoenix based office equipment company into a multi-million dollar enterprise.  During his residency in the “Valley of the Sun” for over 20 years, Brian has been a proponent and user of solar technology, where the sun can be harnessed for energy an average of 300 days each year.  His interest in renewable energy expanded in 2002 as he developed reverse hydrogen fuel cell technology that has since been patented for use in small engines as a substitute for natural gas or propane.  In 2007, Brian formed a manufacturing company, Big Solar, Inc.  Big Solar manufactures solar thermal collectors and large commercial grade ASME water storage tanks.

In June of 2008, Easy Energy was opened to develop and install residential and commercial solar projects.  Brian holds the contractor license for solar installation and planned most of the system designs.   By the end of 2010, Easy Energy will have installed more than 2 MW of solar power in the Phoenix metropolitan area.

BHE Financial was incorporated in January 2009 to finance solar projects.  Brian realized the big reason why solar had not been adopted in the United States and the rest of the world early on; with the global recession of 2008 and the paralyzed global banking industry, customers were forced to buy their solar projects instead of being able to take advantage of bank financing.  Financing solar installations gives customers the ability to purchase solar energy over a period of time.  This concept is the driving force behind the success of Easy Energy and Big Solar. 

In 2010, a hybrid solar electric/thermal collector was designed by Big Solar and is in production.  This collector has the ability to produce electricity and heat from the same collector.  This collector is marketed to larger residential homes with a hot water heating demand such as a spa or pool and commercial customers such as laundries, hospitals, apartments, hotels and resorts.  The electricity is distributed to the electrical grid and the heat produced from the panels is stored in water.  When installed in places with high solar isolation, this panel is less expensive and much more reliable than a comparable wind turbine.  

In 2011, Big Solar will begin marketing a new technology that will help bring about rapid change in generating electricity worldwide.  As of 2010, 80% of the world’s electricity is generated by heat engines.  Most of the heat engines have a heat rejection temperature of 210°f or higher.  Big Solar is manufacturing an Organic Rankin Cycle Turbine that can turn any waste heat of 165°f or higher to electricity.  This system is environmentally friendly, has a 20 year warranty and will have an average return on investment time of three years.