During our executive interview with Ervin Cash, president and CEO of Bosch Thermotechnologies Corp., (see the July 2011 issue, page 22) the conversation turned to the use of hybrid technologies and how they can help reduce energy use, solve customer comfort issues cost effectively, and have low impact on the environment.

As a company, Bosch manufactures and supports not only gas technology, but electric and solar as well. Cash says this really provides a portfolio of products that offers comprehensive solutions.

“This is a strategic way for us to go to market and help contractors and end users,” he says.

He adds that from a customer perspective, the focus typically centers around cost versus return on investment. “Americans have always been very clever at finding cost effective ownership solutions,” he says. “At Bosch, our approach is to provide a combination of options that are cost effective and make sense even at the residential level.”

So how does Bosch do this? Cash says it’s through examining the individual products and figuring out the complimentary aspects of the equipment. For example, the combination of geothermal and photovoltaic technologies offers the opportunity to generate electricity and actually buy down the cost of the electricity it costs to run a geothermal system.

“Understanding what the application needs are and then looking at what makes sense for the combination of technology is what it’s all about. With Bosch’s wide array of technology and products, we have a menu of combinations that could make sense for virtually any solution,” he concludes.