In tight economic times, energy firms are helping customers find creative ways to pay for installations that can save them money over the long run.

Metrus Energy develops and finances energy efficiency retrofits at commercial, industrial, and institutional facilities.

Metrus, a startup based in San Francisco established in 2009, has developed an innovative way to finance the retrofits by paying the capital costs of the energy efficiency project, but recovering their costs from savings on the client’s energy bill.

Metrus was selected last month as a financial partner under the White House’s Better Buildings Challenge and as a Clinton Global Initiative Commitment to Action participant.

Bob Hinkle is the chief executive officer at Metrus which has scored some big successes to date, including large-scale financing deals with BAE Systems and Siemens.

In this podcast, Bob tells Breaking Energy about the Metrus financing model which effectively converts energy savings into revenue for companies and why businesses in the US are now waking up to energy efficiency.

For more on creative solutions to financing for energy installations, read: Sunlight Synergies.

Listen to it here: