Run on Sun provided a "seamless" solution to Westridge School's need to reduce their electric bills…

Working with clients, not customers, Run on Sun builds long-term relationships.

At Run on Sun we understand that a commercial solar project is a major investment requiring a solid foundation between client and contractor if the projected Return on Investment is to be realized.
As a result, we emphasize the relationship dimension in our projects.

Clients seek advice—counsel, if you will—not just goods and services, and their need for counsel is entirely different from the transactional encounter experienced by customers with vendors.

It is our client relationship emphasis that gives rise to multiple projects for the same client, as demonstrated by our 2014 project for the Lincoln Avenue Water Company, following up on the project we did for them at their Headquarters building in 2011.

Find out how our focus on you, our client, can make all the difference in your solar project.

Reviews for Commercial Solar: Step-by-Step…

A New Solar Sales Bible

Review by Tor Valenza

Commercial Solar: Step-By-Step by Jim Jenal, founder of Run on Sun, a NABCEP solar installer based in Pasadena, California, is a terrific new sales resource for both commercial solar customers — and for commercial solar sales pros.

As its title implies, Step-by Step is meant to be a solar installation guide for potential commercial solar customers. In fact, it's so clear and easy to read that it can also be used as a sales and information template for commercial solar PV sales pros who want to have all of the best practices and customer FAQs at their fingertips.

The book is structured partly as a fictional narrative from the perspective of a fictional California industrial company that wants to decrease its utility bills. The "story" and characters follow a facility manager as he decides to go solar and find a qualified installer for his company.

It would be a two-dimensional promotional pamphlet if Jenal stayed in the fictional world, but Jenal adds the third dimension by following each fictional section with objective non-fiction specific details about the sales and installation process being discussed.

From finding qualified installers to analyzing utility bills, incentives, financing, permitting, and what to look for in terms of PV equipment, Jenal clearly covers each aspect of commercial solar with 100% transparency. From the customer perspective, one of the most valuable sections is where Jenal discusses getting apples-to-apples installer quotes.

Focus on commercial-scale solar - excellent!

Review by “dougout” - Amazon Verified Purchase

To my knowledge, this is the only book that focuses directly on commercial-scale solar. That's enough to make it well worth reading. It's also well organized, well written, and written by a very knowledgeable and experienced solar business owner. Most people in the solar business are familiar with and look forward to the author's excellent Thoughts on Solar newsletter, and I'm sure many of his readers were looking forward to the publication of this book. I was, and it beat my expectations. Good glossary too, and well indexed. Strongly recommended.

Excellent reference.

Review by “Renee W.” - Amazon Verified Purchase

This book is written for the commercial building owner or facilities manager thinking about a Solar Photovoltaic installation. It is very informative and covers all the aspects involved in a commercial solar project. Engaging and humorous read.

A commercial solar power system will always help you reduce your energy usage. The harder question is whether it will reduce your demand charges. We will analyze your billing data and give you an accurate prediction of what your actual savings will be.

The City of Los Angeles has the only viable FiT program in the Run on Sun service area. We have written at length about LA's FiT program on our blog; here are some links to a few of those articles:

• LADWP Board Approves 100 MW FiT Program (1/11/2013)
• LADWP FiT 1st Tranche Report (2/16/2013)
• LADWP FiT 2nd Tranche Report (7/22/2013)
• LADWP FiT 3rd Tranche Report (4/7/2014)

The third, 20 MW tranche in LA's FiT program opened on March 17 and the “large” category was immediately over subscribed. The next available tranche is set to open in Q314—we will post the date when it is made public.

Learn more about LA's FiT program at their website.

Under PACE, there is no personal obligation on behalf of the solar client, so neither corporate nor personal credit is at issue. In theory, PACE has the potential to increase greatly the number of entities that could qualify for solar financing.

Commercial properties in Los Angeles County can take advantage of PACE financing to install solar now with little or no out-of-pocket costs! You can learn more about PACE in LA County by giving us a call or by visiting the LA County PACE website.