About Our Name :: About Us
Many people ask us about our name… what does it mean? Where did we come up with it? Our name has three meanings:
While our business has grown far beyond our initial “mom and pop” beginnings, we did indeed start out as a just that – a mom and pop. The founders, Geoff and Michelle Greenfield, created Third Sun in the midst of raising their two young boys. The creation, nurturing and development of a business was not unlike the work the Michelle and Geoff were engaged in with their first and second sons, and with the change of a vowel a name was coined… the “Third Sun”
Secondly, a historical context plays out in our name. One can argue that all of our energy originally comes from the sun, as Jeremy Rifkin does in his book Entropy. As the last trees were cut in England, coal became the new energy source, and the industrialized world evolved from biomass (our first solar age) to fossil fuel (our second solar age). It is our hope that we are at the tipping point of a transition to direct solar power (our third solar age)… the “Third Sun”
Thirdly, our name reflects the three types of solar power that we help our customers capture: photovoltaic, solar thermal, and wind (indirect solar power). We have a deep well of experience in all three of these technologies, and are happy to offer informed advice on which type of solar power best serves our customers, the first, second of the “Third Sun”.
Today, the name Third Sun is synonymous with quality, integrity and service, and we are proud of the business that we have “raised” over the years.