Thoughts on Solar

When you create a website, and beyond that, a blog, you sometime wonder - who is reading this? (Assuming that *someone* is reading it at all!) Capturing site visit data provides you a rough insight into who those folks might be, if you are willing to slog through the data. But heck, you know we love digging into data, so come along and let’s see who is out there!

The raw data, courtesy of Google Analytics, lists the service provider for every visit to the website (including this blog).  For this analysis we looked at data for the first 100 days of this year, a total of 9,983 visits from 7,398 distinct visitors who collectively looked at 12,607 pages.  Some 1,372 different service providers are listed in that data, but they are not categorized in any way - that is a process that must be done manually (ouch!).  The vast majority of the service providers are either not identified at all (39% of the total) or appear to be generic ISPs, such as “time warner cable internet llc".  Without anyway to get behind that lack of information, there is little to be learned from those entries, so we will exclude them and see what we can glean from the rest.

Filtered in that way leaves us with 526 different sources that accounted for roughly half of our visits, 4,845.  Our analysis broke these out into five categories: Company, School, Government, Non-Profit, and Other.  Here’s what that looked like:

Far and away the largest category of sources are visits from other companies, making up 49% of our sources.  That is encouraging since we provide solar installations to companies, it is nice to know that they are coming to our site!

The next largest source is schools - again, a major target for our marketing efforts - although we were surprised at the number of schools, particularly colleges, that visited.  (We always felt that we had a very educated readership and that would tend to prove that out!)

We have to admit that we were surprised at the large number of government sources, and frankly some of them have us a bit creeped out!  (More on that in a moment.)

The non-profit category was surprisingly small, given the number of phone calls and emails that we get from non-profits across the country.  Apparently there is very little on the internet about solar for non-profits, so lots of folks from far-flung corners of the country find their way to our solar for non-profits page.  Unfortunately we have to tell them that we are a local company and really cannot help them install solar on their church in Peoria!  (But we do point them to the NABCEP website!)

Let’s dig into these categories a bit more and see what we find!

The Company We Keep

There are all manner of companies represented in the data, from 3 Day Blinds to Amazon, Bloomberg, Facebook, Hubspot, Intel, Kaiser, Microsoft, Navigant, NBC Universal, Paramount Pictures, Rolls-Royce (I don’t think they make an EV!), to Yogurtland - and dozens and dozens more in between.

There are two interesting sub-categories: Utilities and other Solar companies.  First utilities - there are 15 of them represented in the data including LADWP, SCE and SoCal Gas.  But there are also utilities from across the country including Duke Energy, Dominion (Virginia) Power, and even the Electric Power Research Institute, which is the think tank for the electric utility industry.

But there are even more solar companies checking us out - certainly a complement of sorts - 16 in all.  Some of these are manufacturers, including Canadian Solar, Hanwha, and even SolarEdge!  Some are distributors, like Krannich, but most are competitors, ranging from nationals like Vivint to regional players like Sullivan Solar Power.  Hey guys, don’t be shy, feel free to leave a comment!

Somebody’s Watching Me…

Remember that song?  Looking into the Government category turned up a few, kinda creepy, surprises.  For example, we got visits from a number of military-affiliated sources like the 754th Electronic Systems Group which is located at the Hanscom AFB in Massachusetts, and has the following mission statement:

Deliver integrated information driving war winning decisions by shaping, acquiring, and sustaining warfighting IT capabilities through responsive, adaptive and cost-effective logistics, enterprise services and infrastructure solutions—to fly and fight in air, space and cyberspace.

Yikes!  Not sure what that has to do with a website about PV in SoCal, but they visited three different times! Or there is the DoD Network Information Center (four visits, Google them if you are into conspiracy theories!), the Navy Network Information Center (five visits), and the Headquarters USAISC (two visits).

There were also some really cool government sites including CERN, NREL, NASA (though NASA’s may have been my daughter!), Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory - even one hit from the U.S. Senate (welcome to D.C., Senator Harris!).

The largest government category, however are various municipalities, with 27 different towns, cities and counties dropping by, including locals like Pasadena, LA (city and county), Santa Monica, Anaheim, etc.  But also some from far away like Boston, San Francisco, and Westchester County. 

Various states stopped by as well, including: Washington, D.C. (I know, it’s not a state, but it should be, so there), Maine, Maryland, New York, New Mexico, and Utah, to name a few.  Fun!

No Profit Here

The non-profit category was very small, but interesting.  While there were a handful of churches, including my favorite, Yosemite Church - the setting alone should be inspiring! - the more interesting fact was that the largest sub-category was related to medicals services, including six hospitals!  Hey we’ve never put solar on a hospital, but we would love to help you out!

School Me

Which brings us to our final category, schools.  99 of our sources were categorized as school related, with sub-categories of school districts, elementary schools, and colleges.  There was only one elementary school in the mix, our client, Chandler School.  Interestingly, there were 27 school districts in the data from all over the country ranging from LAUSD to the Cambridge Public Schools.

Our connection to colleges, however, was truly amazing with 70 different schools showing up.  Lots of famous names in this list including our neighbor Caltech, USC, UCLA (along with roughly half of the overall UC system!), Stanford, American University (Go Eagles!), Duke, Johns Hopkins, LMU (my alma mater), NYU, Princeton, Rutgers, Notre Dame, University of Utah (my second alma mater!), even Oxford!  Wow, I feel smarter already.

Most of these sources provided just one visit - they hit a given page and then left.  But some sources were more, shall we say, studious.  For example, we only got one hit from Azusa Pacific University (located at the very end of the Gold Line), but they looked at 11 different pages in the three minutes that they were on the site.  (Average duration on the site overall was 55 seconds.)  The winners for most time on site were Notre Dame (one visit, seven pages, more than 20 minutes) and Colorado State (one visit, five pages, 18 minutes).  It is quite rewarding to see that the resource that we have created can have real value for people, especially (we presume here) students. 

So that’s it - thanks to all who visit this site, we appreciate your time and interest.  We hope we will continue to provide a resource that brings you back - well, except for the creepy ones!

Its not every day that we get to unveil a beautifully crafted video showcasing just what it is that makes Run on Sun tick. Happily today is different! Our fabulous distributor, Baywa r.e., has partnered with us to create our very own professional marketing video:

Baywa r.e. has been more than just a products distributor for Run on Sun. We began our partnership with Baywa, formerly Focused Energy, back in 2009 when we found them to be a much more detail oriented operation than their competitors. They proved to us they could translate what happens on the roof to ensuring we got all the pieces necessary to make installations run smoothly. Now, our primary reason for continuing to partner with Baywa r.e. has evolved. Their management and staff all share our vision for a solar industry that is better. One that operates with the highest degree of ethics and transparency and a mission to help consumers save money while reducing our impact on the environment. They have supported us, and other small installers, in many ways far beyond the normal functions of a distributor. Case in point is this video which they produced to help us share our message with our community.

I’d also like to point out a few details on the installations featured in this video: 

Lincoln Avenue Water Company Reservoir Project: 

This was our second project with Lincoln Avenue after helping their administrative office go solar in 2011. The 2015 Reservoir project was in partnership with Baja Construction building the ground mount structure to support the 246 LG280 watt panels and Enphase M250 microinverters. Run on Sun installed the solar system to utilize otherwise unused land below the reservoir offsetting nearly 50% of the energy required to run their pumphouse.  

Westridge School for Girls:

While we didn’t end up shooting video at Westridge we really wanted to be sure to include this project as it is near and dear to our hearts. As Run on Sun’s first school installation and Jim Jenal’s (Founder and CEO) daughter’s alma mater we really enjoyed helping them go solar. In 2012 we installed a solar array on their Performing Arts Center consisting of 216 LG250 watt solar panels which were the cream of the crop back then! Working with Westridge School for Girls was a wonderful experience which included our very own Jim Jenal leading a science class tracking a solar eclipse using the Enphase microinverter data! We believe solar at schools offer such great added benefits providing a resource for students to learn about renewable energy as well as math, engineering, environmental issues and more! 

Chandler School:

In the Fall of 2015 we completed the installation of 147 LG300 watt solar panels on the gym at Chandler School. Chandler was also a fantastic partner to work with partially because we share their values in environmental stewardship. We hope that growing up in an educational environment where solar power is the norm will help students navigate a future where sustainable clean solutions will be the only way forward. We would also like to give a huge shout out to the amazing Trevor Spicer, Director of Operations and Information Technology, for the off-the-cuff cameo and kind words in the video. 

Residential 14kW Project:

This was the most recent Run on Sun installation featured in the video, where a lot of the dialogue with Jim Jenal takes place. This is the second home these particular clients have installed solar with Run on Sun as they recently moved into this beautiful Altadena mid-century modern home. Their roof was a perfect slate for a solar array, and we wouldn’t be surprised if this particular feature was one reason they chose the property! Owning electric vehicles and wanting to offset as much of their electricity as possible we maxed out the space with 44 LG320’s, top of the line panels today! It didn’t hurt that the view from the roof was one to die for, spanning much of the valley with Los Angeles skyscrapers in the distance. Of course, as evidenced by one of the shots in the video, we could also see the smog levels each day we worked at this site further enhancing our resolve to continue to get more solar out there!

Thanks for reading as we share some of the projects we are most proud of. And of course, let us know if you’d like to get a free quote today and share in our commitment towards the belief that the world can be better one roof at a time!

When you are fortunate enough to work in the Solar Industry you really should be thankful everyday.  After all, we are a part of doing something wonderfully important at work, and how many people can honestly say that?  We provide genuine value to our clients by bringing them clean, affordable solar energy, and we get to make our living at the same time – pretty cool!

But with the holidays upon us, starting with Thanksgiving tomorrow, we wanted to take a look back on this year and highlight some of the things for which we are especially thankful, today and all year around. 
So, in no particular order, here is our list for 2015…

• Solar Power World - for selecting Run on Sun as one of their Top Solar Contractors in 2015 - our third win in a row!
• Inspired political leadership from Governor Brown - his call for California to derive 50% of its electricity from renewable sources by 2030 is the type of bold action we need to see from all levels of government, both in the US and the world, if we are to rein in the threat of Climate Change.
• California Public Utilities Commission - for resisting (we hope) calls from Investor Owned Utilities like SCE to gut net metering (83% of Californians back net metering).
• California’s Courts and the Legislature - if the CPUC betrays that hope!
• Elon Musk (seriously!) - for getting the conversation started about the role of intelligent storage in conjunction with solar (whoppers notwithstanding!).
• WISE - Women in Solar Energy - for advancing the cause of intelligent, dedicated women in the solar industry - such as those supremely talented women in solar: Velvet Dallesandro and Laurel Hamilton.
• Solar Impulse - for providing an amazing window into what solar can do, even if there are setbacks along the way.
• CALSEIA, Vote Solar, national SEIA and the other solar advocacy groups - for bringing the message of solar to legislatures and the public alike.
• Two of our biggest clients ever - Lincoln Avenue Water Company and Chandler School - for helping to make 2015 our biggest year ever!

Of course, at the end of the day, it is all of our clients for whom we are the most thankful! From the first to the latest, from the smallest to the largest, and everyone in between - you are why we do what we do, and we never for a moment take for granted the trust you have placed in us. 

May your holidays be filled with peace and joy and love!

We don’t often announce our latest projects, but one this week really stands out, and that is our upcoming project for Chandler School here in Pasadena. (Indeed, it is just down the street from where I once lived!)  The 44.8 kW system will be installed this summer, in time for the 2015-16 school year.

Chandler is a special place that puts great emphasis on challenging its students.  As they note in their Mission Statement:

Chandler students gain a love of learning, a means of thinking independently and an ability to work collaboratively. A Chandler education seeks to develop good character, self-reliance and a commitment to community in students as a foundation for academic and personal success.

What a lovely roof for solar!

It will come as no surprise to readers of this blog that we at Run on Sun have a soft spot for non-profits, and we take great pride in working with schools and churches to expand their mission while making the world a greener, cleaner place.  We understand the process involved, with its many twists and turns, and we have found that our collaborative, information-intensive brand of “selling” solar meshes well with the non-profit world.

In the case of Chandler School, the process actually moved quite quickly - spurred on, at least in part, by the rebate step down announced by Pasadena Water and Power for May 1.  Once the decision was made, the design team at Run on Sun was able to move quickly and get the rebate application completed and filed in time to meet the deadline.

As noted by John Finch, Chandler’s Head of School:

As an independent school in Pasadena we have a public purpose to make our environment cleaner by reducing our dependency on fossil fuels and limiting our carbon footprint.

If we want our students to be stewards of the environment in the future, schools need to be examples of best practices. The  installation of solar panels on our gym roof is a best practice. I am looking forward to the learning opportunities that the project will give to our students.

We are excited to be working with this renowned Pasadena institution, and we look forward to providing the Chandler community with a wonderful asset that will both save money, and enhance the educational experience of its 450 students.