California is the world’s eighth-largest economy, and a trend setter in the green sector, whether it’s a matter of purchasing, energy, green technology or policy. If you want a big footprint as a green company, you can’t ignore this market.

John A. Quelch, professor of Business Administration at Harvard Business School, writing about marketing strategies for the current economy, has this to say:

“This is not the time to cut advertising. It is well documented that brands that increase advertising during a recession, when competitors are cutting back, can improve market share and return on investment at lower cost than during good economic times.”

We’re on pace for the biggest event yet – the savings potential from green products and services, the state’s new green building code, its push for green building and greenhouse gas reductions, and financial incentives from the state, utilities and federal stimulus funds are clearly keeping the green movement alive.

Here’s what one senior purchaser said last year about the Lounge: “I was surprised at the number of amazing ‘green’ products that are out there; many that I had never even heard of before. Next year, I plan on bringing more staff with me so that our department can better take advantage of the opportunities that are available to buyers.”

The International Green Build Conference, November 10-14, 2009 drew 1200 exhibitors and 25000 attendees. The show has grown to be among among the biggest sustainable/renewable conferences, and was Graced by Al Gore, Sheryl Crow and other public figures.

Many Fortune 100 companies have taken permanent places. Whether exhibitors were truly sustainable, or just working hard to look that way, it’s becoming clear that “green building” will not be a differentiator, but a requirement within the next few years.

The show drew a diverse crowd, from the ruddy-faced battalions of sales reps at Johnson Controls, to their younger counterparts with innovative niche specialty products (with natural hair and bearded chins). Also present were the hosts of government agencies and associations supporting commerce, labor and trade. College students and young professionals comprised a significant segment of the gathering.

Notwithstanding the sluggish economy, attendees and exhibitors were eager to share and to learn. Challenges of the all-too-slow emergence of sustainable and renewable business have given green business veterans the patience of the ages.

We were fortunate to meet a great number of important participants, more evidence that the “real deal” is thriving on green. Some of the meetings we had:

The creative people of Rubicon Seven, led by Principal J. Tedrowe Bonner, who boast achievements such as raising a $180 million fund to develop land use projects that serve the “triple bottom line” (people, planet, profit).

Also at Rubicon Seven’s booth, the architects of 7group, including Bill Reed, Bohn Boecker, and Marcus Sheffer, signed my copy of their new book: “The Integrative Design Guide To Green Building,” an authoritative text for the field, which redefines the practice of sustainable architectural design.

Featured on the cover is their recently completed project, the new home of the Syracuse Center of Excellence in Environmental and Energy Systems. The Executive Director of Syracuse CoE, Ed Bogucz, shared his vision for the program with me: fostering the convergence of academic study and business commercialization. We discussed Torque’s notion of brand talent, and how the ‘brand tribe’ can determine the competitive advantage of a business and shapes its value proposition. Intrigued, Ed invited us to their private reception that evening.

At the reception, S. Richard Fedrizzi, President, CEO & Founding Chair US Green Building Council (also a board member of the Syracuse CoE) spoke to the attending guests, and recognized accomplishments of the Center and the breathless success of the Green Build show.

Orchestrating behind the scenes of all this was Jan McAdams of The McAdams Group. Jan has been at the forefront of helping sustainable business raise grant, loan and donated money for 30 years, and knows all the public, private and governmental players of substance. Jan is also an advisor to Unique Solar Solutions.

In addition to supporting all of the above individuals, Jan was at Green Build in collaboration with Jenni Peterman, President and CEO of Global Green Grants and Consulting, currently involved in construction of a series of six LEED certified health care facilities in Texas and other Southwest markets.

This type of solar panel typically consists of 3/4″ copper tubes (10 to 12) running vertically between a header and a footer pipe. The fittings connecting the tubes are braised in place in a vertical orientation, forming a 4′ x 8′ panel. Fluid flows into the header at the top corner and out through the footer in the opposite corner. Any number of variations of a reflective sunlight concentrator is used to focus as much sunlight as possible on the tube. This type of panel is the most common in the marketplace today. A 4’ X 8’ panel delivers approximately 20,000 BTUs per day. This is based on a six-hour solar day average for a one-year period. Approximately 3400 BTUs per hour times six hours equals 20,400. This is also known as a 1 kW panel, because 3412 BTUs per hour equals 1 kW.

One of the leading manufacturers of this type of panel, in this marketplace is Solargenix.

This panel design requires as many as 30 braised connections. Which costs between $10 and $20 per braise, including testing. This brazing in the manufacturing process is one of the most expensive factors of this panel design.

High-end panels designed this way achieve better solar concentration by employing increasingly more sophisticated and expensive mirrored reflectors. Special surfaces usually come from outside suppliers who manufacture materials for agencies of the federal government like NASA. Although increasingly, many cloning efforts have come to the marketplace, these reflectors add great expense to the panel.

2) Non-Concentrated Sunlight, copper tube, with special coating

Panels of this type are similar in many ways to the solar concentrated panels above with the distinguishing feature being a coating applied to the solar elements. This coating usually black, is often described in such a way that the coating is somehow a magnet for solar energy. Over the years, a lot of dollars have been spent in designing better and better films and coatings to increase solar absorption. Many of these coatings actually fail colossally, because although the sun’s rays do saturate into the coating, sometimes the coatings are so thick that they impede conduction of heat from the coating to the copper. The thickness sometimes actually reduces the efficiency of the coating. A lot of engineering has been applied to this concept and the resulting highest benefit has come from the simplest solution — the thinner and the duller the coating, the better the results. This is because the highest efficiency comes from the prevention of photon bounce or ricochet. Photons give some of their energy into the tubing and then of course subsequently into the fluid, through the process of convection.

3) Non-concentrated Sunlight, copper tube, without special coating

This panel is usually considered to be the high end of the low-end of the market. It is usually less then a half a kilowatt per hour for a 4 X 8 panel. The cost of production is far less than the previously mentioned panels, although it is only marginally less in retail costs. This is part of the market where gouging is most prevalent. We see these panels used most often to heat swimming pools and out buildings.

4) Non-concentrated Sunlight, copper plate, solar element

This type of panel is the newest addition in perceived mix of technical solutions and attempts improve efficiency by increasing the area of solar element. Theoretically quite simple, the tubing through which the fluid flows is sandwiched between a pressure fit solid plate material. While conceptually a good idea, in practical application this design has not delivered to its potential. The “envelope,” to be effective must be pressure tight, requiring exacting engineering and production standards to create a good bond between the tubing and the plate material. At USS we consider this to be the latest in “me to” thinking. This solution is characterized by unstable and insecure attachment of the plate to the tube. Expansion and contraction tend to cause breakaway issues, because the plate can be as low as 40 below zero and the water coming in can be 70° above zero as it enters. Separation, deterioration and subsequent malfunction have plagued this type of panel.