Friends Of The Sun: Providing Efficient Warmth For Over 30 Years

Friends Of The Sun: A visit from the GovernorPublished in The Message For The Week, December 31, 2008
Friends of The Sun, located on Depot Street in Manchester Center, has been providing the Southern Vermont area with solar and other renewable energy resources and products for 33 years.
Originally opened in dowtown Brattleboro in 1975, current owner Bob Borella began working at Friends Of The Sun in 1982, with he and his wife Jackie, purchasing a franchise from the Brattleboro store owners in1996 and opening their own business in Bondville. The Borella’s then moved their business to Manchester in 1992, and have been at their present location in Manchester Center since 2002. Their showroom offers a complete selection of wood, gas and pellet stoves, as well as fireplaces and inserts.
On display are the complete lines of Jotul and Hearthstone wood and gas stoves, fireplaces, and inserts, Lopi wood, gas and pellet stoves, Quadrafire pellet stoves and inserts, Heatilator wood fireplaces, Fireplace Xtrordinair wood and gas fireplaces and Avalon pellet and gas stoves. However, not only do they offer these quality products, but the Borella’s also offer complete installation and maintainence as well, which means they care about their customers long after they leave the showroom with their purchase.
“We offer complete installation and maintenance services on everything we sell,” Bob Borella stated in a recent interview. “In order to do so requires extensive training of our employees. We hold many state and national certifications that permit us to install our wood, gas, and pellet–burning appliances in people's homes. There are many fire, safety, and building codes that govern the safe installation and operation of these appliances, and we feel we have the best trained sales people and installation crews to do the job properly and safely for our customers.”
Friends Of The Sun also offers a complete line of window treatments, solar hot water, electric, and hot air heating systems, as well as specialized indoor furniture. “Given our country's heightened awareness of the energy crisis we are facing and the recent high cost of heating oil, propane, and gasoline here in Vermont, our most popular product recently has been pellet stoves and inserts,” Borella stated when asked how his products can help during this economic and energy crunch. We spent much of the past spring and summer running a series of free seminars, hoping to educate home owners on both the advantages, and limitations, of this method of home heating,” Borella continued. “We stressed that it has the potential to significantly reduce heating costs, makes a 'green' statement by using a recycled waste material as fuel, and has the ability to heat both a small home and a large one equally well.”
It was also pointed out that pellet appliances are surely not a cure–all and are not for everyone, because they require a lot of hands–on cleaning and a commitment to ongoing periodic maintenance in order to to keep them running efficiently. “We would like to encourage everyone who may consider purchasing a pellet appliance in the future, to make absolutely certain that the business they buy from provides complete support services to help with installation, troubleshooting and maintenance,” Borella concluded.
To learn more about Friends Of The Sun and their products, visit their showroom located at 159 Depot Street in Manchester Center, or visit them online at www.friendsofsun.com.