Kim has always loved being outdoors - running, swimming, biking, boating, hiking, alpine and Nordic skiing, and skating. She started to become aware of the unsustainable way we use limited our natural resources of the earth in her engineering classes and then in the corporate world where the products she designed were not required to have a recycling or reclaiming process - they were expected to go into the landfill. There was very little recycling going on back then.
Over time recycling and energy efficiency became more and more important, but she didn't feel like she could make a difference, until the early 2000's when she purchased a first-generation Toyota Prius. After that the wheels started turning in her head on a business idea to provide products and information to others who, like her, wanted to stop the crazy spiral we were on using up our natural resources, infinitely stuffing our landfills, polluting our air and water, and ruining the earth.
After getting her two sons through college (also engineers), Kim started the Energy Emporium in 2009 with a mission to help people chart their own paths towards more sustainable fossil free homes and businesses. At first she sold composting products and CFL light bulbs (and later LED bulbs), but the business quickly focused on the design, installation and maintenance of solar hot water, solar PV systems, wood/solar systems, heat pumps, and EV charging systems.
Her best teacher was the hands-on renovation project she undertook to convert an 1850's historic building to a zero net-energy building, where all of the heat, hot water, and electricity is provided by the sun. This was the home of Energy Emporium for 9 years.
In early 2019, ReVision Energy, impressed with Energy Emporium's reputation, expertise and shared mission suggested a merger allowing ReVision to expand its presence into the Upper Valley of NH and VT.
Kim is excited to be heading up the office in the Upper Valley! The talent, dedication, expertise, products and services that came with ReVision are outstanding and a great bonus for Energy Emporium customers.
Kim makes an effort to feel the sun on her smiling face every day, to be grateful for the natural energy and beautiful environment, and to preserve a positive attitude throughout this climate crisis.
Kim and her husband, Dick, live above the new ReVision offices, which is a zero energy building, converted from an 1850's historic shell. They have a 4000 gallon seasonal water storage tank, heated by 4 evacuated tube solar collectors. That provides most of the heat and all of the hot water they use all year. There is a Stiebel Eltron electric on-demand water heater to boost the heating temperature when the storage tank gets too cool. A 10kW solar array on the roof net metered to the utility produces all the electricity, hot water and boosted heat needed in the course of the year. Most of the modules are connected to a Pika Energy Inverter with a Harbor Smart battery backup. 8 modules have their own Enphase microinverters.
The office lights are completely "off-grid", powered by their own solar panel or the backup battery for night time use. The house was air-sealed and insulated to zero energy building standards. The stove top uses induction heating and there is good access on the second floor for outdoor clothes drying. The goals for this retro-fit were: Zero Energy Building standards, No combustion (no CO2, no emissions, low chance of fire), LEED-H best practices, and to preserve the embodied energy as much as possible.
