Thoughts on Solar

Our friends over at Solar Power World are once again out with their Top Solar Contractors list, and for the sixth time in the past seven years, Run on Sun has made the cut!

Of course, Run on Sun is a very small operation, so to consistently make the list is a testament to the hard work of our team, particularly Projects Coordinator, Victoria Villalobos.  

Here’s how Solar Power World describes the significance of this list:

The Top Solar Contractors list is developed by Solar Power World to recognize the work completed by solar contractors across the United States. Produced annually, the Top Solar Contractors list celebrates the achievements of U.S. solar developers, subcontractors and installers within the utility, commercial and residential markets, and ranks contractors by kilowatts installed in the previous year.

“Solar Power World enjoys assembling the Top Solar Contractors list each year, and our 2019 edition features hundreds of companies making big impacts in local energy markets,” said Kelly Pickerel, editor in chief of Solar Power World. "Solar power is becoming competitive with traditional electricity sources in more markets, and cities and states are demanding more renewable energy options. It’s a great time to be a solar installer, and we’re happy to highlight the best installation companies in the country on our list.”

To all the hardworking folks who join us on the list, congratulations and we will look forward to seeing you at the Gala in Salt Lake City come SPI in September.

Run on Sun has been doing Pasadena Solar for more than 10 years, but only now have we gotten around to dedicating a webpage just to Pasadena Solar! 

Who loves Pasadena Solar?

I know, kinda silly (and foolish from an SEO perspective) but we figured we were fine as we were.  But then I looked at the search results on Google for “Pasadena Solar” and it was really depressing.  I mean seriously - read some of those reviews and you know that they are fake - but still their related websites were getting better rankings than ours!  Not acceptable!!!

So now, if you want to see a webpage that proudly proclaims its love for Pasadena Solar, we’ve got you covered - complete with this iconic image!

Oh, and because we do so much work in neighboring Altadena we are hoping to do a shout-out page for them too but we need an idea for the quintessential Altadena image - if you have ideas, please let us know!

As Run on Sun rings in the new year and looks forward to a great 2017, we have some big news of changes taking place on our team. Our Projects Coordinator / Solar Ninja, Laurel, has moved to Oregon to spread the joys of solar power  in her home state. She wanted to share some final thoughts with her Run on Sun solar family…

Just over two years ago I made a flash decision that would change my career trajectory in a bigger way than I ever could have imagined. I came to Los Angeles after earning my Masters in Global Public Health. While I’ve always been passionate about solutions to environment and health, I hadn’t ever thought about working in the solar industry for perhaps obvious reasons (EVERYONE asks me how I started in solar with a public health background). After a few months living in LA without finding health work, I met someone at a green event who worked for a solar company. That encounter got me thinking about the fact that there is so much sun in Los Angeles but the air pollution is literally in your face every day. I realized that PV Solar provides an incredible opportunity to work towards something of real value for people, the environment, and for broader global health reducing the impacts of burning fossil fuels. So I took a chance and after doing a little research into who was working in my nearby vicinity (avoiding commuting in LA was a big priority) and who was doing solar for the right reasons… I contacted Jim Jenal at Run on Sun. I told Jim I was happy to schlep materials around the county, handle paperwork, answer phones, and do whatever it took to get more solar into our community if he would just teach me all about the industry. I didn’t realize quite how far that deal would go. You see, one of Jim’s past lives was as a high school teacher and despite the small size of his company he is considered one of the thought leaders in the solar industry, largely through this blog.

Over the next two years he taught me everything there is to know about running a solar installation company. Its not very often that one is given the opportunity to learn every aspect of an industry with an employer who gives you the confidence and tools you need to grow exponentially in a short period of time. I ate it all up! After a year I was wearing as many hats as one can imagine in a solar installation business… Inside Sales, Lead Developer, Site Assessor, Project Designer, Project Coordinator, Safety and Health Officer, Marketing Manager, Solar Blog Writer, Boom Lift Operator and of course Solar Installer. That’s when I made my own business cards with my new self-proclaimed title - “Solar Ninja". 

Working with Velvet, Ralph, Josh, Robert, and Jim on Run on Sun’s team was more empowering and satisfying than I ever imagined working in a for-profit field could be. I was helping people to reduce their impact on the environment, lower their costs, and show their neighbors that renewable energy is a real solution everyone can be a part of. I learned that, counter to popular belief, a sales person could be honest, forthright, and down to earth. I learned that we could run our business with integrity and give people quality 20+ year products they could trust. I learned that people who want to go solar are some of the coolest people and really makes sales work a joy. And more than anything else, I learned that I wanted to stay in this exciting industry that was growing and improving exponentially before my eyes. 

It was with the support of Jim Jenal and all the know-how he bestowed upon me that I was able to earn my PV Solar Technical Sales Professional certification through NABCEP. And I was offered an exciting position managing a new solar installation branch in Bend, Oregon for a forward-thinking solar company, Elemental Energy. Elemental even has a non-profit arm called Twende, installing off-grid systems in developing countries around the world! So this truly is a dream job combining my Global Health and Solar Ninja skills into one awesome adventure!  

I am sad to be saying goodbye both to the Run on Sun team and all the wonderful clients I worked with over my tenure which we fondly refer to as our Run on Sun family. Though the sun is setting on my time in Southern California, the sun is shining bright (everything is literally whitewashed with snow currently) in Bend! I look forward to hearing how things continue to grow with Run on Sun. If ever you or someone you know finds yourself with property that needs to be solarized in Central Oregon I’d love to hear from you! 

Thank you for reading my humble Thoughts on Solar! Much love and sunshine for all — Laurel

Solar Power World, which recently quoted Run on Sun Founder & CEO Jim Jenal at length in a news article, has just announced their annual listing of the Top 250 Solar Contractors in the United States and Run on Sun made the list, coming in at number 234.

From Solar Power World’s editorial announcing the list:

These companies have the vision to succeed in an industry dismissed by so many around the world. These companies — these visionaries — are poised to take full advantage of the near-term solar boom that none other than researcher Shayle Kann has predicted for the U.S. industry.

It is these businesses that have fueled the three-year growth of this industry of 227%. The Solar Power World’s Top 250 employ 73,068 people and installed 3 GW in 2012 alone. They have installed 7.8 GW overall. They represent the best across all three segments — utility, commercial and residential — that make this industry so vibrant. In an industry now valued at $11.5 billion, these are the companies that have built it.

For a small, regional company like Run on Sun, it is a great honor to be listed among the biggest and best known solar companies in the country.  We are proud of our role in building this industry, and proud to be a voice for making the industry live up to its vision.  After all, you cannot claim to be part of building a sustainable future if you engage in shoddy business practices or stoop to unsavory marketing tricks.

So congrats to all our colleagues who made the list - here’s to continuing to grow an industry we all love!

We have written at some length about Enphase micro-inverters in the past, but today Enphase returned the favor.  Here was the lead story in their Summer 2012 Newsletter that just went out this morning:

That is Run on Sun Founder & CEO, Jim Jenal, posing amidst our solar installation at the Westridge School for Girls here in Pasadena.  The article quoted Jim and provided a link back to our video highlighting the Westridge installation.  Pretty cool.

Even cooler, however, was the meeting that we had this week with Mark Abrams, the Director of Product Management for Enphase.  We met with Mark to provide him with feedback about their existing products and to offer our insights about their next generation product that is still in prototype. This was a great exchange - we told Mark what we loved about their products - but also important ways in which the product could be improved, at least in the eyes of an installer!  Mark listened intently, took notes, and promised to see what he could do to incorporate our feedback.

It is hard to over estimate the value of such interactions between manufacturers and installers, yet it doesn’t seem to happen as often as it should.  So here’s a note to the rest of the manufacturers out there - if you really want to improve your products, start spending (more) time with installers, and I don’t mean your sales people.  (Trust me, we already get more than enough contact from your sales reps.)  You might not like everything that you hear, but learning first hand what our problems are is the best way to build a long-lasting relationship with the folks who are the most important to your long-term success.

After all, that might be Jim’s face that you see in that photo, but it’s Enphase’s products that made that project a reality.