About Northbeam
A solar company built around saying no
Northbeam started in 2015 with two people, one truck and a rule on the whiteboard: no door-knocking, ever. 640+ installs later, the rule is still there, and so is the habit of telling people when solar isn't worth it.
Our story
Started by an electrician who was tired of the pitch
Our founder spent three years wiring systems for a company that sold them door-to-door. The panels were fine. The promises weren't: bills that would "basically disappear," prices that expired at dinner, and roofs that should have been replaced first.
So Northbeam does the opposite. We measure before we quote, size from your real usage, print every assumption, and publish how each system actually performs. Nobody here is paid on commission, which makes "you don't need this" an easy thing to say.
The ledger, year by year
How we got here
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2015
Two people, one truck, one rule
Northbeam started in a Fort Collins garage with an electrician, a designer and a rule written on the whiteboard: no door-knocking, ever.
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2017
First 'actual vs. estimate' report
We started publishing what each system produced against what we said it would. Some came in under. We posted those too.
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2019
The Mulberry Street shop
A small warehouse for racking and a crew of six. Still no showroom, and still no sales team.
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2021
Service for orphaned systems
Neighbors kept calling about systems whose installer had closed. We started fixing them, whoever put them up.
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2023
Batteries and EV chargers
Customers asked for backup power and home charging, so our electricians added both, quoted the same honest way.
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2026
640+ installs, crew of 11
Same rule on the whiteboard. Same 90-day quotes. Every install's numbers still go on the website.
How we work
Six rules we don't bend
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01
Show the math
Every estimate prints its assumptions: rate, usage and sun hours. If you can't check a number, it isn't worth much.
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02
Say no when it's no
About 1 in 6 assessments ends with 'not this roof' or 'not yet.' Telling you that is part of the job.
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03
Salaried, not commissioned
Nobody here earns more because you bought a bigger system. Our assessors are paid the same whatever you decide.
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04
Own the roof work
Every roof mount is photographed and covered for 10 years. The holes we make are our responsibility.
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05
Publish the results
Each install's first-year production goes on our site next to the estimate, over or under.
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06
Leave it cleaner
Your yard is not our storage lot. We pack up every day and sweep for screws and clips before we go.
By the numbers
Small on purpose, and still here
- Founded
- 2015
- Installs
- 640+
- Crew
- 11 people
- Sales commission
- $0
- Quote valid
- 90 days
- Assessments ending in 'not yet'
- About 1 in 6
The crew
The people who quote it are the people who build it
Meet all 9 →-
Maren Holt
Founder and system designer
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Dev Okafor
Site assessor
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Carla Ruiz
Design and production estimates
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Ben Sorensen
Install crew lead
Where we work
Fort Collins, Loveland, Windsor, Timnath, Wellington and the Northern Front Range. Outside that? We'll say so up front and, when we can, point you to an installer we'd trust with our own roof.
No pressure, literally
See if your roof is worth it
Book the free 90-minute site assessment. The answer might be yes, not yet, or no, and every one of those is free.
Prefer a human? Call (970) 555-0134 during office hours. We never cold-call.