Over the last several years, Nadine Sullivan and her brother Bruce Gage have narrowed the focus of Eco Depot Inc.’s environmentally friendly building products to concentrate mostly on selling and installing solar-electric systems.

Sullivan, who founded Eco Depot in 1994 with Gage, says solar energy systems and installations make up 75 percent of the company’s revenue today.

Eco Depot, which occupies a two-story, 3,800 square-foot building at 1326 E Sprague, is among some 10 businesses in the Spokane-Coeur d’Alene area that design, sell, or install solar energy systems, and others have come and gone, she says.

Gage says, “It’s been a solar coaster ride.”

Eco Depot sold its first residential system in 1999. The following year, the business installed its first commercial system on the Community Building, at 35 W. Main. Eco Depot also designed and installed the systems for the Saranac Building, at 25 W. Main and for the Main Market at 44 W. Main.

Eco Depot’s largest solar electric system installation to date is a 122-panel, 32-kilowatt system at the Columbia Basin Technical Skills Center, in Moses Lake.

That system, valued at $128,500, contributed to Eco Depot’s record annual revenue of close to $1 million in 2013.

“We hope to break $1 million this year,” Sullivan says, adding that Eco Depot installed five systems last month and currently has 12 system installations in its pipeline.

In all, Eco Depot has sold more than 150 solar-electric systems.

About 85 percent of the systems Eco Depot sells and installs are residential systems.

Gage says the median residential system these days costs about $20,000 to $25,000, although a small expandable residential system can start at around $3,000.

Gage, a licensed electrician and certified solar-electric system installer, says he installs most of the systems Eco Depot sells, and about 10 percent of solar system buyers install them themselves.

Referring to do-it-yourselfers, Sullivan says, “We design their systems and sell all of the parts and pieces, diagrams, and everything they need to do it correctly.”

With federal, state, and utility incentives, the return on investment is five years or less, Gage claims.

A federal tax incentive allows an income tax credit of up 30 percent of the cost of a solar system. Solar-electric system buyers who don’t have enough tax liability to use the whole credit in one year can forward the balance to subsequent years. 

Washington state exempts sales tax on parts and labor for any system up to a generating capacity of 10 kilowatts hours. A kilowatt hour is a unit of energy measurement equivalent to producing 1,000 watts for an hour.

Also in Washington, the state’s net metering law requires utilities to allow homes and businesses to connect to the electric grid and to receive full retail credit for all of the power generated. That credit is then subtracted on a monthly basis from the utility customer’s power bill.

Washington state renewable energy production incentives authorize utilities to issue annual payments for every kilowatt hour of energy a solar-electric system produces—including the energy consumed by the system user—up to $5,000 yearly. The payment rates range from 15 cents per kilowatt hour for a system with components manufactured outside of the state to 54 cents per kilowatt hour for a system in which the solar panels and inverters are manufactured in Washington.

Gage says system owners have the ability to monitor their systems electronically via the Internet to track output. 

“You want to see how much power you’re producing and make sure everything is working fine,” he says.

Eco Depot has been reducing its utilities consumption with a four-panel, 1,000-watt system.

A typical panel today that’s rated at 280 watts measures roughly 6 feet by 3 feet in height and width and is less than 2 inches thick.

Sullivan says systems produce electricity at the highest rates under direct sunlight, but they also will produce at least some electricity in all but the darkest and drizzliest daylight hours.

The panels have a 25-year performance warranty, meaning at 25 years of use, they will still perform at 80 percent or more of their original capacity.

The solar-electric components also have a 10-year workmanship warranty.

Gage says he’s only had to replace one inverter and one solar panel since he started installing them more than 15 years ago.

“They’re all still cranking out electricity,” Gage says.

Besides the owners, Eco Depot has no other employees.

The company hires electrical subcontractors to help with installations, which generally take two days for residential systems. Gage says it takes at least three to five people to install a system on an existing home.

Installing a system in conjunction with new construction usually involves more people, he says.

Other products in the company’s inventory include natural lighting products such as solar tubes, which reflect and diffuse natural light through a skylight tube.

Eco Depot’s inventory also includes alcohol-fueled fireplaces, recycled and natural finishes, and energy-conserving lighting systems and devices.

Eco Depot is one of two Spokane outlets for MetroPaint, a brand of recycled paint that sells in five-gallon buckets for $50. The paint comes pre-mixed in 20 standard colors, and customers can blend them into their own custom colors.

“On Friday, I sold 15 five-gallon pails,” Sullivan says.

American Clay is another finish that Eco Depot stocks. Clay can be tinted and applied like stucco, Gage says.

“Some people consider it healthier than paint,” he says.

The all-natural clay finish is free of volatile organic compounds, aids in temperature control, and has humidity-buffering qualities, he says.

Sullivan says Eco Depot has discontinued selling floorings and countertops, because similar products are widely available at other stores.

The company also has gotten out of wind power.

“So many ancillary things need to go with wind-power generation, and solar outperforms wind in our area,” she asserts.