Tattoo Shop Goes Solar

When it comes to unorthodox practices, tattoo shops are no strangers to acquiring them. Though solar energy is becoming more and more mainstream, it’s still seen as a somewhat unusual method of getting energy by a lot of people. But to the people at Evolved Body Art in Ohio, green energy was a worthwhile investment that they are grateful they decided to take part in. Not only does it save them money, but using “green” in their advertising is a way to drive up more business - perhaps business that would not usually come in, even.

“It’s a magnet for people,” said Nick Wolak, owner of the shop, calling Evolved, “the only solar-powered tattoo and piercing shop in the world.”

Jane Harf, executive director of Green Energy Ohio, agrees with the assessment that the “green” part of this tattoo shop drives up business. “This is a way to save some money and showcase something that a lot of their customers care about,” she said. “We see this a lot. A lot of the change is driven by something that customers want - their constituency cares about the environment, cares about climate change.”

How this shop went solar.

The idea to go solar came from Wolak, who visited his cousin in California “and her whole house is solar powered,” he said. “We started gathering as much information as we could, and we spent quite a bit of time researching it before we made the decision.”

They installed solar panels that are not visible on their roof, and the have a tablet right in the middle of the shop for all the customers to see that provides daily and weekly energy production reports. This way, anyone walking in can see how much energy they save and be inspired to do the same.

Johnathan Gioffree, owner of Modern Energy who installed Evolved’s system, said, “He is actually able to mitigate a lot of costs. Sometimes during a nice, sunny day, Evolved’s system will produce more power than the building needs.”

This goes into a huge benefit of being on the grid: Evolved is able to net meter and get money back on those nice, sunny days.

Evolved is environmentally conscious in every aspect.

Solar isn’t the only way Evolved is environmentally conscious. From their soundproofing from recycled factory roofs to their handmade doors in each studio, they have found a way to bring clean, green, and renewable resources to every aspect of their shop’s culture.

Wolak added, “If knuckleheads like us can do it, there’s no reason other people cant.”

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