An Irresistible Urge to Make Things Better

It bothers Robert Jensen when cost interferes with the adoption of economically and environmentally beneficial technology. And when something bothers him, Jensen’s creative juices start to flow.

“I’m an engineer, an entrepreneur, and a creative person when it comes to mechanisms and machinery and the functionality of things,” said Jensen. “I get much of my inspiration from my engineering background, my desire to make things better, more efficient.”

Jensen’s creativity, combined with his entrepreneurial spirit and advanced degrees in engineering, led him to found Agreenability, which is located at the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Business Accelerator in Lyndhurst. Agreenability is an alternative energy business that is developing innovative components for Geothermal Heat Pumps.

Making use of existing geothermal technology, every homeowner in New Jersey could save up to 70 percent on energy bills, or around three to four thousand dollars every year. This technology uses an underground loop of pipes filled with refrigerant that are installed around the building. As the refrigerant circulates, it picks up heat from the ground, which it then takes back to the heat pump, which uses electricity to extract the heat from the fluid. The cooler fluid is then sent back through the loop to repeat the cycle. For air-conditioning, the heat pump expands the refrigerant, which cools it, and then expels the cold air into the home.

“This is incredibly more efficient than other air-conditioning systems that use outside air of about 95 degrees, whereas the earth is about 55 degrees. When you could cool the air-conditioner with the earth instead of the air, you triple the efficiency of the system.”

However, despite its efficiency and cost-saving potential, geothermal technology is used in only about three percent of buildings across the country. There is a good reason for this: the cost to install the system is prohibitively expensive.

“Using conventional methods, the average home in New Jersey might require around six to 800 feet vertical loop of pipe to connect to one of these systems,” says Jensen. “I’m hoping to bring that down to three to 500 feet of pipe, which could be a significant savings of around 50 percent. Instead of $15,000, it might cost $7,000 or $8,000 to install.”

Savings plus the reduced cost of installation will make the payback time and overall cost very attractive to the consumer. By significantly reducing the cost of installation of the ground loop, Jensen hopes that he can accelerate the growth of the market and the popularity of the system, eventually leading to the mainstream adoption of this technology.

Jensen attributes a good portion of his success in developing this idea for market to the New Jersey Meadowlands Commission Business Accelerator. Initially, Jensen looked into the incubator just because he needed office space for his new business. But after incubator director Michel Bitritto explained the advantages of being here, it was clear to him that he wanted to be among the group of peers at the incubator that are seeking to become successful businesses in various creative entrepreneurial ways and, in this particular incubator, in a green way. “I felt that this was a great place for me, and it has proven to be that since I’ve been here,” he said.

Agreenability has been headquartered in the incubator since June 2010. In that time, Jensen completed the initial design of the product and manufactured, installed, and tested the first full-size prototype. In addition to reaching milestones in his business, Jensen has been exposed to people and agencies that he would not have known about if he were working on his own. Through the incubator, he has met people from investment companies who meet with the incubator companies, listen to their pitches, and give feedback. The incubator has also introduced Jensen to business consultants, people from the DEP, and to organizations such as the New Jersey Technology Council, Small Business Development Centers, and the New Jersey Economic Development Authority. “All of this is invaluable. You can’t anywhere else pay $260 dollars a month and get that type of exposure.”

Jensen strongly recommends incubators for budding entrepreneurs. “New entrepreneurs can get exposed to people that have been through this type of thing many times before. They may think it’s a daunting task to start a business, and in many ways it is, but if you have people around you to show you the way and make things simpler, it’s not such a big deal to be an entrepreneur. If they have the opportunity to do it, what they need is just somebody to show the way. Incubation is probably the best way I can think of to be a successful entrepreneur.”

The National Business Incubation Association (NBIA) is the world’s leading organization advancing business incubation and entrepreneurship. Each year, it provides thousands of professionals with information, education, advocacy and networking resources to bring excellence to the process of assisting early-stage companies. An elected, voting board of directors representing the world's leading incubators governs the association.

The New Jersey Business Incubation Network (NJBIN) is a collaborative state-wide community of business experts, resources and facilities dedicated to enhancing the commercial success of early-stage entrepreneurial companies, growing higher paying jobs in New Jersey and supporting the Economic Growth Strategy for the State.