A husband-and-wife team that’s an electrical engineer managing a power plant and a registered nurse, respectively, has taken energy efficiency into their own hands in Central and Eastern PA. Karen and Lamar Erdman, who founded Maximus Solar when they couldn’t find a local distributor for a solar hot water heater they wanted to purchase, have turned their organic entrepreneurship into a success story that’s as educational as it is successful.

The company, which serves residential and commercial customers and also contracts with installers, started by selling (retail and wholesale) solar hot water heaters that received the highest efficiency rating in its class from the Solar Rating and Certification Corporation. Quick payback comes to customers in the form of 25 percent reduction in energy bills and government incentives of to 55 percent of the total cost within a year.

In 2009, the company added photovoltaic roof panels that offer long-term (25-40 years) energy savings and similar incentives. The result has been 200 percent growth and the Erdmans are scrambling to keep up with orders. They’ve also set out to educate potential customers and contractors by making available a number of resources.

The company started with a warehouse and operations in Sacramento, Schuylkill County, before opening an office at the Murata Business Center in Carlisle. The couple expects to add office staff and full-time contractors during 2010.