# FAFCO

CoolPV® can deliver up to 4x the power of stand alone solar panels

## Elevator pitch
CoolPV is an enhanced solar electric panel that generates electricity and heats water from one panel using the same valuable roof space. Because CoolPV cools the solar electric module, it increases the output of the PV module by up to 20%. Including thermal energy, CoolPV can generate up to 4x the power of PV alone. CoolPV lets customers save money, increase their home value, and be environmentally friendly all at the same time. Made in the USA, CoolPV generated $570K in sales in 2016.

- Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/fafco
- Entity ID: wefunder:company:14417
- Last updated: 2026-06-11T05:00:05Z
- Generated at: 2026-06-11T17:41:26Z

## Quick facts
- One of the oldest and largest solar thermal manufacturers in the U.S.—founded in 1969 and incorporated in 1972.
- Generated $6.9 million in revenue in 2015 (fiscal year)
- CoolPV is a commercially viable combined solar thermal and solar electric system. CoolPV can generate up to 4x the power of a regular PV system
- CoolPV can decrease energy bills by 50% or more
- 20 issued or pending patents (CoolPV) in the U.S. and global markets over 47 years
- FAFCO's products have been installed on approximately 200,000 customer's homes since its inception
- Founder has been inducted into International Solar Hall of Fame
- FAFCO's vertically integrated United States manufacturing facility was designed and built to make engineered polymer heat exchangers for solar thermal, thermal batteries, and CoolPV applications for their respective global markets.

## Active fundraises
- wefunder:fundraise:9918: 4(a)(6) successful (USD)

## FAQ
1. **1)In your offering statement you write "In 2014, after two profitable years it became clear that our solar water heating business segment was coming to an end..." what were the main reasons why you did not drop totally off this segment and decided still to drag along in you pr...**
   - Dear Kristaps – Sorry for the slow response. We ran into a few technical difficulties with the Q&A that I believe we’ve ironed out. CoolPV needs a water source to cool the PV module and increase its electrical output. Whether the heat from the PV module is used to heat a pool or heat domestic water, it’s a load for the heat that makes CoolPV what it is. Further, the power produced by CoolPV is up to 4x greater than the electrical power produced by standard solar alone, and the increase is...
2. **To point 3 of Kristaps Soms' comment, for me I'd be investing a lot more in general if valuations were in line with performance and risk. Too many start-ups...or going concerns... just think they're worth more than the market says they are. I'd like to hear from the company wh...**
   - Barnaby – I agree that setting the proper valuation for a business is very difficult. CoolPV sales grew exponentially from 2015 to 2016. Since we believe we are selling into a $221M US solar pool heating market, we believe there is tremendous room for growth. A good rule of thumb is to value a rapidly growing manufacturing business at some multiple of sales. Therefore, combining a $221M market with our exponential sales growth leads us to believe the valuation is fair for both FAFCO and our i...
3. **I love the idea of coupling solar PV with thermal. However, I would imaging the market is very limited since probably only a small fraction of households can take advantage of all the excess thermal energy when its most plentiful. Any plans to couple the thermal aspect of the ...**
   - Sajad – Thank you for the question. We believe the opportunity for CoolPV in the US solar pool heating market could be as large as $221M per year in sales. There are 5.1M in ground pools in the US, and many of these pool owners are potential CoolPV customers. I would call this a very large market. We are focusing our sales and marketing efforts here first. There are many other potential applications for CoolPV. Large, day-time users of heated water for applications like food processing, bottl...
4. **You show 6.9 mil in revenue for 2015, then 500+K the following year. That's a huge drop. Am I missing something?**
   - Tammy – The $6.9M figure is gross sales for the entire business for 2015. In 2016, gross sales for the entire business are estimated to be $5.9M (final reviewed figures will be available at the end of April). CoolPV sales were $57K in 2015 and $570K in 2016.
5. **Do you have any plans to expand into the UK?**
   - CoolPV has applications in markets around the world. We intend to unlock the value of CoolPV by licensing the technology regionally, selling components made by FAFCO in United States to the licensee, and collecting royalties. We will sign our first license agreement with a company in South Korea shortly. At this point, we do not have plans to expand to the UK.

## Team
- Robert Leckinger (President & CEO)
- Terra Ayers (Vice President of Operations)
- Phil DelNegro (VP of Sales and Marketing)
- Freeman Ford (Founder & Chairman)

## Q&A
- Q: 1)In your offering statement you write "In 2014, after two profitable years it became clear that our solar water heating business segment was coming to an end..." what were the main reasons why you did not drop totally off this segment and decided still to drag along in you product this feature and not only focus on electrical part of panels? 2) What are your solar panel advantages against other competitors, except water heating part, compared e.g. say Rayton Solar? 3) Don't you think that share price is little bit to high even with the early bird discount as you still have "exit wounds" from previous business focus and as you wrote that this year is more or less pivotal year? Thank you for your answers.
  - A: Dear Kristaps – Sorry for the slow response. We ran into a few technical difficulties with the Q&A that I believe we’ve ironed out. CoolPV needs a water source to cool the PV module and increase its electrical output. Whether the heat from the PV module is used to heat a pool or heat domestic water, it’s a load for the heat that makes CoolPV what it is. Further, the power produced by CoolPV is up to 4x greater than the electrical power produced by standard solar alone, and the increase is all due to thermal energy. We have no current plans to reenter the domestic water heating market, but if a value proposition develops for domestic water heating, we would consider combining CoolPV with our water heating technology and introducing a product for that segment of the market. We decided to launch CoolPV with Solarworld’s Protect module because the j-box on the panel allowed the greatest contact surface area for the thermal heat exchanger. We also viewed the glass back sheet of the Protect module as a lower initial risk for launch. Further, we found Solarworld to be a very willing partner at a time when everyone else in the PV industry was busy and had no time for us. I also really like the thirty-year performance guarantee Solarworld offers on Protect. In theory, any PV module with enough contact surface area for our polymer heat exchanger would work well. We are conducting tests with a polymer backed PV module and looking at 72 cell modules for future product extensions. I really appreciate your concern over our valuation. CoolPV sales grew exponentially from 2015 to 2016. Since we believe we are selling into a $221M US solar pool heating market, we believe there is tremendous room for growth. A good rule of thumb is to value a rapidly growing manufacturing business at some multiple of sales. Therefore, combining a $221M market with our exponential sales growth leads us to believe the valuation is fair for both FAFCO and our investors.
- Q: Any updates?
- Q: Hi, Bob. I'm trying to reply to your email, but it says that your email system is blocking my response.
- Q: Can we get an update on the business?
- Q: Hello. I'm an early Wefunder investor. I love the product and your mission. Do you have any updates on if or when there would be a liquidity event? Have any companies approached you about an acquisition? I'd like to know more about how you're thinking about your exit strategy. Thanks!
- Q: Any updates on this?
- Q: How can I close my account
- Q: Why can't I invest?
- Q: Do you intend to pay dividends?
- Q: Is the CoolPV approved and certified for Florida installation?
- Q: Is it to late to invest and receive the CoolPV coupon incentive?
  - A: Hi Rob, It is too late as the fund closed. If you are an accredited investor and wish to invest please give our president, Bob Leckinger a call at 530 332 2190
- Q: What is the return on investment?
- Q: Do you have any updates on when the repurchase clause will be removed from the investor agreement?
  - A: As you can see, we are closing the fund in less than ten days. While we have not changed the subscription agreement yet, rest assured that we intend to treat all equity investors the same.
- Q: The investment contract specifies a repurchase clause which the company can use to buy back stock for just 5% /year extra cost — which makes this investment look like a loan with quite unfavorable terms. Am I right in assuming that then the maximum ROI I could seek here really is 5% per year before taxes, while there's also a fairly high risk of ending up booking losses? Or am I missing something here?
  - A: Thanks for pointing this out. We are working on an update to the subscription agreement that will allow all investors to share equally in what we hope will be substantial value appreciation. We plan to eliminate this clause in the new agreement. I expect the update will be completed shortly, but certainly before escrow.
- Q: Hello, I'm Gregory Brazer; A private investor. I opted for the funding of project projects in order to help financially the serious people with projections. If you need funding contact me. This is my mail:braziergregory001@Outlook.fr