Mr. Skinner, owner and founder of Earth Environmental Group, LLC. (E2G Solar),
designs, installs, repairs, researches and teaches about residential and commercial solar thermal
systems and their integration with a full range of HVAC and geothermal systems. These systems
have been integrated with existing or new space, hot water and pool heating systems in New
York and neighboring states. Mr. Skinner previously worked for the NYS Attorney General’s
Environmental Protection Bureau supervising a team of scientists who participated in a wide
array of environmental litigation, legislation and policy development for 33 years. Mr. Skinner
is a NYS registered professional engineer and has worked as an engineer, educator and
legislative and policy advocate in the environmental field for the past 45 years.
Experience in Solar Thermal design, installation, research and education
After a three plus decade career in academia, environmental science and energy systems
advocacy, Mr. Skinner turned his attention in 2004 to residential building performance analysis
and solar thermal system design and installation. Mr. Skinner has designed and guided
installation of dozens of solar thermal domestic hot water and space and pool heating
applications customized for both residential and commercial clients. His designs illustrate
innovative applications of state of the art equipment and controls whose designs optimize
performance. He designed NYSERDA supported solar thermal panel testing sites at SunDog
Solar’s facility in Chatham, NY, Syracuse University’s Center of Excellence and a SHW combi-
system and phase change material and heat exchanger testing facility at Ulster County
Community College near Kingston, NY. He is a NYSERDA accepted SHW contractor and
NABCEP certified installer. He is presently lead consultant and installer for the SHW system
installation at a 13 building net-zero apartment complex being built near Schenectady, New York.
All 26 drainback systems are now operational and exceeding performance expectations.
He has been called upon to evaluate the designs of large commercial and residential thermal
systems from the northeast to California. Recently, he diagnosed design flaws and repaired
several very large flat plate commercial systems and a poorly designed commercial grade HVAC
system consisting of radiant floors, air handlers, cooling tower, absorption chiller, cogenerator,
boiler and 180 tube solar thermal array. He is presently collaborating on design and installation
of cost competitive solar thermal and PV fired geo-exchange/heat pump hybrid designs for
commercial and multifamily slab/frost wall projects.
Mr. Skinner drew on his experience designing and building these systems while a member of the
NABCEP team that developed the national solar thermal installer certification test over several
years. In 2011, he co-authored and then updated a major new solar thermal textbook for installer
education used across the nation, Solar Hot Water Fundamentals – ESCO Press 2nd Edition.
Mr. Skinner has prepared a full range of solar thermal instructional curricula and mobile and
fixed teaching aid equipment. SunDog Solar manufactures and helps sell some of these “Rovers”
to colleges across the nation. Mr. Skinner also teaches entry level to advanced solar thermal
courses at conferences and colleges across the USA. His teaching programs at Bronx
Community College and Ulster County Community College have been IREC accredited. He
also makes presentations at conferences across the US and in October hosted a poster session at
Eurosun in Mallorca about solar/geo/HP hybrid systems.