About Us

Why We Are

Energy Circle is dedicated to demystifying the common problems in building science, and providing real, actionable insights for homeowners and apartment dwellers looking to increase the energy efficiency of their homes. 

Our CEO, Peter Troast, conceived the idea for Energy Circle after having a home energy audit conducted on his 1980's cape in South Freeport, Maine. A reasonably new house, he was shocked to find during the energy audit that the small air leaks throughout his home added up to the equivalent of leaving a window open year-round, and that a relatively low-cost air sealing and insulation upgrade would work wonders for his home's comfort and energy efficiency. After attending a building science class to get up to speed on this fascinating industry, he created Energy Circle in order to help educate homeowners about the "whole-house approach" to building performance championed in today's Home Performance industry, and to facilitate do-it-yourself, cost-effective solutions that are consistent with that approach.

Throughout our website, you'll find information about air sealing, insulation, indoor air quality, and home energy audits, as well as product reviews and information about the latest in energy efficient lighting, energy monitoring, and other tools designed to help you stay more comfortable while saving money. 

Meet the Team:

Peter Troast, Founder/CEO. 

Peter Troast leads the Energy Circle team, is a passionate advocate for energy efficiency and drives innovation for both Energy Circle PRO and the growing selection of hand picked products within the Energy Circle store. He contributes to the popular Energy Circle blog for home performance professionals nationally, maintains the EnergyCircle presence on twitter, and is a frequent presenter at national conferences on topics of energy efficiency marketing and communication, use of social media and energy monitoring. He currently serves on the marketing and/or communications committees of the Maine Association of Building Efficiency Professionals (MABEP), Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA) and Efficiency First. Angered by profligate 765KV powerlines in upstate NY, he dropped out of college at 19 to work for Friends of the Earth in Washington, where he had the amazing experience of sharing an office with Amory Lovins. It's taken a while, but thanks to mentors like Amory, David Brower and others along the way, he's ecstatic to be back working exclusively on energy issues. In prior business life he was: co-founder/Managing Director of Moulded Fibre Technology (recycled packaging startup acquired in simultaneous IPO by UFP Technologies, Nasdaq: UFPT), Strategic Principal, VIA Group (professional services, marketing consulting), VP Marketing & Brand Strategy, American Skiing Company (a resort consortium sold at historic multiples), and a cofounder/head of internet of FetchDog.com (a VC backed ecommerce site for dog products and information.) He is a graduate of the Resource Economics program at UC Berkeley where he studied in the Energy and Resources Group.

Connect with Peter on LinkedIn and Twitter.

Lisa Fahay, Director of  Customer Service.

Cutting plastic 6-pack rings to spare marine animal life since she was 10, Lisa's environmental values have always been paired with practical application.  She founded Reternity, a full-service recycling service for small businesses and restaurants in the Portland, Maine area.  Later, as a Recycling Specialist at Waste Management of Maine, her persona as resident treehugger was quickly dispelled when she proved to management that recycling could be profitable.  They bought her a truck.  As Deputy Director of GrowSmart Maine, Lisa spearheaded the outreach efforts and drove the van that led the Brookings Institution road trip in 2007.  That road trip, consisting of public 'listening sessions,' informed the research and writing of "Charting Maine's Future:  An Action Plan for Creating Sustainable Future and Quality Places," also known as The Brookings Report.  The Report's release had a significant impact on Maine people and policy-makers.  Its policy recommendations continue to be borne out at the legislative and local levels.  Lisa was trained in the art of Customer Service at L.L. Bean.  Dedication to extremely high standards in customer service drives Lisa's work at Energy Circle.  She is a graduate of the University of Maine, where her love of the state created deep roots.  She has a secret passion for foaming & caulking.

Connect with Lisa on Twitter.

Sage Friedman, Director of eCommerce & Finance.

Sage Friedman: Originally from Weld Maine (in the Western Mountains), Sage is the child of rusticating hippies. After a spending several years working in technology, corporate social responsibility, home furnishings, and luxury chocolates, Sage discovered a passion for energy efficiency while helping to rebuild a traditional family owned contracting company by focusing on weatherization and home performance.  Since joining Energy Circle in 2010, Sage has become our in-house energy monitoring guru and is passionate about helping people understand and control their energy usage.  Sage now serves as Energy Circle’s Director of eCommerce & Finance.  He has a BA in Economics from Vassar College and an MBA from the Yale University School of Management.  In addition to his passion for efficiency, Sage is an aspirational gourmand, mixologist, and policy wonk.  He lives with his partner, Meagan.

Johnny Ritzo, Energy Circle PRO Marketing Advisor.  

Johnny Ritzo graduated from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine in 2006, where he majored in philosophy in between ski races (he was an Academic All-American on the Bates ski team in 2004). After graduating cum laude from the University of Maine School of Law, where he was a member of the Maine Law Review, Johnny worked as a Labor and Employment Attorney for a Portland, Maine law firm for one long year before joining Energy Circle. Excited by the prospect of entering the residential energy space -- both for its growth potential and for its unique position as an industry that can do well while doing good -- Johnny joined the Energy Circle PRO team as a Marketing Advisor; a decision that’s left all interested parties quite thrilled. When he’s not helping home performance contractors and energy auditors market their businesses, Johnny is an avid skier, surfer, and home brewer. 

Connect with Johnny on Twitter.

Alex Eaton, SEO/PPC and Internet Strategist.

A native of Portland, Maine, Alex Eaton attended Skidmore College in Saratoga Springs, New York, where he majored in Government and minored in Classics. After a brief stint as a campaign staffer that lasted approximately 30 days, it wasn’t long until Alex realized that government wasn’t the career he was looking for. He entered the internet marketing industry in 2008, where he discovered a passion for helping companies driving business using both organic search (SEO) and pay-per-click (PPC) advertising campaigns. After roughly 3 years in the industry in an agency setting, Alex joined the Energy Circle team in 2011, where he is passionate about using his marketing skills to drive the energy efficiency industry forward.

In addition to the technical expertise that Alex brings to the team, he also brings his dog, Lucy, to the Yarmouth office every day, where she is a favorite among the Energy Circle staff and visitors alike.  

Dylan Riordan, Senior Web Developer.

A lifelong tinkerer, it was a natural progression for Dylan Riordan to get into web development while still just a lad. He used to take apart anything he could get his hands on -- toys, gadgets -- just to see what make them tick. (Occasionally he would put them back together, but more often the guts would be repurposed into some crazy machine.) From this background, programming computers was a natural transition.

Dylan started college at the University of Connecticut as a Computer Science major, but wound up with a BFA in Photography after becoming fascinated with filmmaking, photography, sculpture and design. While his academic focus shifted to the arts, his passion for problem-solving drove him to continue his computer development work. After a brief stint working for a web-based company that sold over-priced home furnishings, he joined the Energy Circle team in 2009.

In his spare time, Dylan is renovating an old Victorian house and incorporating energy efficiency improvements wherever possible. 

Will Mallett, Web Content Writer.

Will Mallett: Will Mallett is Energy Circle’s lead writer, writing custom and premium content for the Energy Circle PRO marketing platform while contributing to the popular Energy Circle blog, where his articles focus on bridging the gap between home performance contractors and homeowners by a) demystifying building science for homeowners, and b) providing marketing insights for home energy professionals, with a focus on new media and web marketing.

A 2008 graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont, where he majored in History and graduated with honors after writing a thesis on Ralph Waldo Emerson’s influence on the major European philosophical movements of the 20th century, Will worked as a residential construction laborer in Northern Maine before relocating to Portland (Maine’s cultural epicenter) to start a country/rock band with his older brother. If he’s not at the Energy Circle office in Yarmouth, Maine’s historic Sparhawk Mill, it’s a safe bet that he’s on the road with The Mallett Brothers Band in their (almost equally historic) Ford van.