This PHAT Energy structure is outfitted with Sanyo's translucent solar panels. [Photo Credit: PHAT Energy]

California resident Susan Paradise says it’s a great feeling to know she’s not using any coal or oil for her daily activities or her commute to work. In December of 2009, she had a 5.2 kW solar system installed at her residence with PHATport^TM, a product line of PHAT Energy.

PHAT Energy, run by General Manager Philippe Hartley, is a new energy company headquartered in San Luis Obispo, Calif. PHAT Energy focuses on constructing customized solar systems The PHATport^TM, a product line of PHAT, consists of solar carports, solar patios, and other secondary solar structures.

The company started out as a C-10 electrical contractor, doing standard retro-fit installations. Its owners eventually became interested in designing solar system structures.

General Manager Philippe Hartley told Buildaroo.com at the 2009 Dwell on Design event that PHAT Energy is interested in creating structures to support solar panels separate from a main structure like a home or an office building.

Rooftops not always ideal for solar
Hartley says he and his team are dedicated to creating aesthetically and architecturally interesting structures that are also effective at producing power.

PHATport^TM is a solution to the real estate issue that Hartley and his team have come across in their years of installing solar structures on California rooftops. There are often structural issues or issues of fragility that arise with installing polar structures on clients’ rooftops. Hartley and his team search for other places where they could install solar in order to avoid this problem.

Renewable power can change your world, and we want to help you optimize it.
--PHAT Energy General Manager Phillipe Hartley

The PHATport^TM 1000, which was introduced at Dwell on Design 2009, “is a structure that can be used as a long-standing commercial carport, or it can be used on rooftops to bridge or span a lot of rooftop-based hardware such as air conditioning,” explains Hartley.

On the structure are translucent solar panels made by Sanyo that both let light through and recapture light on the bottom. According to Hartley, these panels generate an additional 15 to 20 percent of energy.

PHAT Energy also sells and installs ChargePoint^TM electric vehicle stations in California. According to its web site, the company was the first Coulomb Technology ChargePoint^TM dealer in the state.

Hartley says the PHAT’s primary goal is to make new energy work for his clients in the best way possible.

“Renewable power can change your world, and we want to help you optimize it,” he explains.

To watch a video of Philippe Hartley interviewed at Buildaroo.com, visit http://buildaroo.com/news/article/phat-energy-solar-carports-pretty-hot-and-tempting

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