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Run on Sun Monthly Newsletter

Looking Forward to 2020

As 2019 draws to a rapid close, we find ourselves eying 2020 with great anticipation.

This year started off really tough - with an historically soft January - but ended up with a bang with an historically busy December. (Isn't variability fun?) Along the way we did our first ever off-grid install to power a pilot compost project for the world-famous Rose Bowl right here in Pasadena. We learned a lot from that endeavor, and look forward to doing more off-grid projects in the future.

But next year will bring a couple of major developments that have us really excited: the long-awaited roll-out of the Enphase Ensemble Storage Solution, and the start of California's New Home Solar Mandate.

• Anyone who follows this blog has seen a great deal about Ensemble, as we have been writing about it since we first saw it a year ago July at InterSolar, and then again here, here, and here! But with the New Year comes the first availability of Ensemble. We will be traveling to Fremont mid-January for two days of intensive training on the entire Ensemble system. Shortly after that, we will become one of a handful of installation companies to actually be able to begin installing systems with our first two installs signed up and ready to go. We will provide an update on what we learned after we get back from the training session.
  If you want to get in our queue, now's the time to give us a shout!


• California's New Home Solar Mandate means that nearly every new home built in the state starting January 1 will be required to have at least a minimal amount of solar installed. While this may not have a significant impact on our work - we haven't worked on that many new home constructions in the past - it is certainly great for the state and for those new home buyers. Hopefully other states will follow California's lead and we can grow the industry across the country.

So let's go roaring into the '20's (hoping they end better than their previous incarnation) and here's to a New Year filled with lots of work for everyone, and installers up to the challenge of providing solar consumers with the quality work that they deserve.

And finally, thank you to all of our clients. You are the reason we do this and we are so grateful for your confidence in us to meet your solar needs. Happy New Year!

Now You See It... Cool New Product from Everest!

Some product announcements make a big splash - think the whole Enphase Ensemble product line which is sure to be a game changer.  But other products are far more subtle in their impact.  They are, in this case literally, invisible to our clients, but we love them because they make a part of the process so much better.  Such a product is the "Yeti" end-clamp from our friends over at Everest Solar.  Let's look closely at a small but important product that you will never see!

First off, what even is and end-clamp?  When solar panels are mounted on a pitched roof, as most of them are, we put attachments down that lag into the rafters and are flashed.  On top of that go the rails, with the panels sitting on the rails.  Mid-clamps go between the panels to anchor them to the rails, and end-clamps mount at the end of the rail to secure that last panel.  The design of end-clamps is far tricker than that of mids since the mid-clamp rests evenly on the two panels. But the end-clamp only has one panel to grab, making it tricky to get the alignment just right.  Indeed, it is so hard to get it right, that when Unirac phased out their wonderful Solarmount Evolution line with its awesome end-clamp, we penned an open letter to Unirac management, begging them to reconsider.  (Alas, to no avail.)

Most end-clamps hold the panel by pushing down from the top of the panel.  However there is one major drawback with that approach - an overzealous installer can blow past the torque wrench setting and end up shattering the panel!  Ouch.  But check this out: The Yeti clamp is highlighted in the circle callout, and you see it in red, sitting in the rail channel, and gripping the lip of the panel frame pressing it against the rail.  (You can see a quick install video here.)

The resulting grip is super-strong, and the clamp is completely invisible, allowing you to cut the rails right to the edge of the panel frame.  This gives you a secure, super-clean looking install.

We got our first chance to use these on an install last week and we are really pleased with how things turned out!  (This was an unusual install for us in that the second half of the panels got installed in the rain - an everyday occurrence for our installer friends up in Oregon, but a rarity down here in sunny SoCal!)

Here's how the array turned out:

So first, notice the water drops on the panels!!!  But the second thing to notice is just how clean a line we have at the edge of the array.  (You can see the mid-clamp in the small gap between the panels.)

Here's another view, right down the edge:

Doesn't get much cleaner than that! So we are convinced! For an extra 20¢ a piece, we can have a better gripping clamp that is completely invisible and allows you to trim the rails right to the edge of the panels, giving you the cleanest possible look! Let's hear it for those small, incremental improvements that make the solar industry such a great place to work.  Big or small, invisible or super flashy, the innovative minds out there are continually striving to make our systems better for our clients.  And that's as it should be! Nice job, Everest!