Formal: Chris Kaiser graduated with highest honors from Georgia Tech with a Mechanical Engineering degree. While studying abroad in Oxford in 2004 Chris read Mid-Course Correction by Ray Anderson and it inspired him to pursue a career in sustainability.
After internships at a Duke Energy nuclear power plant and the BMW manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, S.C., Chris graduated in 2006 and sold industrial automation equipment to manufacturers and equipment manufacturers in the Southeast. This allowed him to get an “up close” view at much energy is wasted in traditional manufacturing operations. Before working at Groom Energy from 2011 – 2019 he worked at Radiance Solar designing and selling solar PV and solar thermal systems. He also started a website, Mapawatt.com, focusing on residential energy metering and clean energy solutions.
Chris has worked with all types of business and organizations to help save energy including Flowers Baking Co., Shaw Industries, Hartsfield-Jackson Airport (AATC), Emory Hospital, Performance Food Group, Sysco Foods, Agro Merchants Group, Americold Logistics, Cox Enterprises, and many others.
Personal: I really dislike “About Us” pages that are generic and boilerplate. I feel that the purpose of “About” pages is to learn what drives the organization. Who the people behind the organization are and what gets them up in the morning. With that said, here’s way too much information about me.
I live in Brookhaven with my wife, daughter, son and dog. Aside from family, my passions are:
– Sustainability. This appears first because this is my business website, but I’m a true believer. My title should be “Sustainability Evangelizer”. I get frustrated with the way many organizations treat “Sustainability” as if it is just some box they are checking to appease Walmart (who I have a tremendous amount of respect for in how they have driven the sustainability cause). At the core, sustainability is about everyone/everything being happier. I can wax-poetic on energy policy, strategic energy management, residential energy efficiency (My first business was Mapawatt), how externalities are normally ignored from fossil fuel electricity, etc. I’m an expert on LED lighting and controls and how to correctly design and install them based on the type of space being used. I also focus on EV Charging, Solar PV, Compressed Air, and energy metering and control strategies. Luckily I have good friends/partners who are experts in everything I’m not like HVAC systems, Steam, etc.
– Cycling. I have raced competitively (amateur) and completed several mountain centuries including : Brasstown Baldbuster, Six Gaps, Assault on Mt. Mitchell. My wife and I did Tour de Tucson together in 2007. When I retire I want to give bike tours until I cant pedal anymore. I watch the Tour de France every year and I want to do a cycling vacation in Europe very badly. While I don’t have as much time for group rides these days I can often be seen cycling around North Atlanta. I’m on Strava and constantly trying to get KOMs! If someone asked me what my identity is aside from Husband and Father it would be Cyclist.
– Good food and drink. My wife and I love visiting Michelin restaurants when we travel. I’m a decent home cook and love to use the Big Green Egg as well as the Anova “sous-vide”. I will literally eat any type of food, so please keep that in mind if we meet up for lunch! I love local food and how local farmers are the true embodiment of the “sustainable pyramid“. Good food shared with good people makes me happy.
– Traveling. My Dad was a Delta pilot which is how I ended up in Atlanta area when I was one year old and have never really left. I love Europe, Colorado (or any other ski destination), California, Pacific Northwest, Mexico, Japan, and too many other places.
– Retirement planning. I enjoy making financial models for retirement. I have spent a lot of time on my retirement model complete with “what if” scenarios on market returns and different withdrawal rates and timing. I was turned on to the FIRE (Financially Independent, Retire Early) movement by Mr. Money Mustache and it’s a fascinating concept that ties in concepts of Minimalism, Self-reliance, Community and YES – Sustainability. While I can never be as frugal as Mr. Money Mustache, I love the principals. The ironic part is that I never want to truly retire. I always want to help organizations and people operate more sustainably, I’ll just start ramping up the percentage of time I spend cycling vs. sustainable consulting as I get older 😉