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Most successful heat pump contractors simplify ruthlessly. They pick one thing — e.g., ductless installs, etc — and execute flawlessly. It's a proven path to profitability that we've seen work again and again.

Robert Hamerly took the opposite approach. And amazingly, it's working brilliantly.

The CEO of GreenSavers has built a 70-person operation across Oregon that tackles everything from heat pumps and insulation to seismic retrofits and EV chargers. His mission? Turn homes from financial liabilities into energy-positive assets that produce enough power to cover transportation needs.

It sounds chaotic. It probably should be chaotic. But Robert's contrarian bet on complexity reveals something fascinating about building a business around truly solving customer problems.

The Problem with Simple Solutions

"If we could change our mission, we could adopt a simpler framework," Robert admits. "But if we are pursuing this mission of buildings that are beyond net zero, it's hard for us to figure out a different way to come at it."

Here's the thing: Robert discovered that you can't install an effective heat pump system in a house with uninsulated walls and leaky ducts. You can tell customers to call someone else for that work, but then you're handing off leads you worked hard to generate.

So GreenSavers learned to handle the entire sequence. Envelope first, then mechanical systems, then electrical upgrades, then solar. Each service emerged organically from customer needs, not from a business plan.

The result? Homes that actually hit net-zero or better. Transportation included.

When Macro Forces Attack

Robert's biggest concerns: tariffs that could spike heat pump costs 145%, utility rate increases that change project economics overnight, and infrastructure costs getting passed to residential customers to subsidize AI data centers.

"How do you plan when you put all this time and energy into a certain kind of product, and then that one product gets a 145% tariff applied to it?" he asks. "All the planning you've done goes out the window."

Timestamps

[00:00] - Homes as assets: the GreenSavers vision

[03:53] - Evolving from energy audits to whole-home electrification

[06:33] - Robert’s origin story: hay bale homes and cold Vermont winters

[19:25] - Sales strategy shifts based on political geography

[26:08] - How did Robert manage the complexity of the business?

[35:37] - Internal training and onboarding at GreenSavers

[40:10] - What keeps Robert up at night? Uncontrollable macro trends

Follow the Guest & the Company:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/robert-hamerly-2ab87aa/

Company’s Website: https://greensavers.com/

Company’s Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GreenSaversUSA#

Company’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/greensavers-usa/

Company’s Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/greensavers/#

Company’s Twitter: https://x.com/GreenSaversUSA

Follow the Hosts:

Ed Smith: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ed-smith-5aa8716

Eric Fitz: https://www.linkedin.com/in/ehfitz/

Amply Energy Website: https://www.amply.energy/

Amply Energy YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@amplyenergy

Amply Energy Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/amplyenergy

Amply Energy Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/amply_energy/