About Us
Carl Donovan, Founder and Managing Member
HHP, GPA, ASHRAE, BA, RW Born into a “real estate and rocket science family”, Carl’s carpenter’s-apprenticeship was complete by age eleven, when he fell through a roof during a shingling job. Carl got his “MBA” before age ten, selling hand-made trinkets to tourists on the streets of the French Quarter in New Orleans. Though he went on to take a Bachelor’s Degree in art from Eckerd College in St Petersburg, Florida, Carl was never able to get far from the “trades” and has spent the bulk of his adult life renovating and remodeling houses. In 2005, Carl developed the idea that would become Conservation Pros. The concept was a simple one; retrofit the existing housing and light commercial stock with a focus on Comfort, Durability, Safety and Energy-Efficiency. He set about learning everything there was to know about energy efficiency in houses and light commercial structures as he began employing what he was learning in traditional renovation work. In April of 2007, Conservation Pros, LLC was officially formed. Every year since has produced triple-digit growth. More importantly, in those years, Conservation Pros has reduced greenhouse gas emissions by approximately 700 metric tons, and saved North Carolina’s residents nearly $90,000 in annual energy costs. Carl lives in West Asheville with his wife, Samantha and their two sons Dexter and Lucas.
Robert Price, Project Manager
Robert has spent the past 5 years in Asheville’s growing green building scene. He has experience in several aspects of high performance home construction. Including working on NC Healthy Built homes, as well as insulating and rating them as a HERS ( Home Energy Rating System) rater. He has advanced his knowledgee of building science with classes from The Southface Institute in Atlanta, the Green Building Council, FLIR, and the Energy Office of NC.
Holding a degree in Fish and Wildlife management he has long worked to preserve both the natural and built environment as a research assistant and private land manager. Robert is also finishing a degree in environment ethics. He has also managed several of his own remodels as a homeowner, and understands the need for contractors to respect the needs of those who live in the homes they work on. Robert is an assistant Scout Master, a member of the WNC Green Building Council, The Wildlife Society, and the Appalachain Trail Conservancy. As the project manager at Conservation Pros, Robert will be your primary point of contact throughout the duration of your home performance upgrade. He will ensure that your home or building receives the personal attention it deserves.
Marcus Renner, Building Analyst
LEED AP, NCGC, GPA, MA, RWE
Marcus has positioned himself to be the leading regional expert on sustainable building.
With a decade of experience as a green building general contractor, four years as a sustainability consultant, and five years as an instructor for the WNC Green Building Council, Marcus has an unrivaled understanding of hands-on, applied building science and he offers exceptional knowledge transfer.
He’s been published in National and Regional magazines, presented countless presentations and workshops, and conducted scientific research in the field of Building Science.
Marcus is the regional builder trainer for the NC Healthy Built Homes Program.
Marcus’s approach to design and construction is not only sustainable but artistic as well. He has been recognized for his innovative design techniques as he uses materials in ways that are aesthetically and structurally creative. He has been the project and design manager for over twenty homes, four of which have been featured on the National Sustainable Home Tour. His own personal residential home is an exemplary green remodel which has also been highlighted on the tour.
Marcus has the real world experience to solve real world problems with sound, unbiased opinion and tested solutions.
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“This was a superlative experience. I’ve become rather jaded about contractors, but Conservation Pros has gone a long way towards restoring my faith in service providers. They were punctual, extremely knowledgeable, professional, meticulous with their work, and very careful to contain all dust, debris, trash, etc. The attention to detail was impressive: I watched the mechanical room sealing basically from start to finish: I didn’t think some parts of the area could be sealed at all, but they accomplished it effectively. The air sealing made a noticeable difference after the first day of work. To reiterate: I was very impressed, in particular, with the extreme attention to detail. They took great care to seek out the smallest crack, etc., attacking it with expanding foam. I had paid another contractor about 2 years ago to do some air sealing of "can" style ceiling lights. This work was not done correctly, and I was not aware of that at the time. They showed me what had not been done right the first time, and showed me (patiently) the process they used to rectify the problem. I like to watch at least part of work being done, largely to learn about what a contractor does, and why they do it. Watching these guys was a pleasant experience. I’m only rather sad that they don’t do other types of work. I’d put them on retainer.” Victor D
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