Congruent Ventures and Silicon Valley Bank introduced their inaugural 50 by 2050 List to highlight companies that have strong potential to drive carbon reduction over the next 25 years. Mosaic is honored to be included, you can find the full list here!

Recheck, a verification platform for the residential solar industry, announced the launch of its industry registry in partnership with the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA) and other solar finance, contractor and technology partners. The first platform of its kind, Recheck offers an industry-wide registry of residential solar salespeople and installers to guarantee the highest standards of customer experience for families nationwide wanting to transition to cheaper, cleaner energy alternatives.

Recheck’s founding partners include nearly every U.S. residential solar financing company, including Dividend Finance, Freedom Forever, GoodLeap, Mosaic, Palmetto, Sungage Financial, Sunlight Financial and Sunrun.

The foundation of the Recheck platform is a Recheck ID, an ID-verified unique identification number that allows contractors, financiers and technology platforms to confirm that their partners meet certification, licensing and training requirements in order to provide the highest-quality customer experience. This unique Recheck ID, in combination with SEIA’s upcoming standards, will also offer each participating sales representative and installer the ability to complete an objective third-party certification, enabling them to differentiate themselves based on validated training and best practices.

Additionally, Recheck will facilitate industry-wide data exchanges across the platform. These data exchanges can be used by industry companies to vet sales partners, prevent poor practices by unregistered salespeople and identify individuals with a history of consumer protection violations who try to move from company to company.

“A healthy solar industry is vital to consumers and the U.S. energy transition. Recheck is proud of its founding partners and is committed to building the tools to ensure long-term trust with consumers,” said Tim Trefren, Recheck co-founder and CEO.

The U.S. residential solar industry has grown by over 500% in the past decade, delivering energy savings, more reliable power, and greater control over their energy future to millions of families nationwide. For years, industry leaders have prioritized consumer protection to forge strong, long-lasting relationships with customers and build a clean energy future together. This innovative partnership helps companies further strengthen these relationships by providing customers with increased understanding and confidence when making residential solar investment decisions.

Before Recheck, there was no national, industry-wide system for finance, contractor and technology partners to track individual salespeople conduct, enforce industry consumer-protection standards, and improve transparency in customer interactions. Industry leaders have united to implement Recheck’s market-driven solution, ensuring the residential solar industry continues to thrive across the country.

“This is a critical partnership as SEIA works to make sure every solar installation in the United States is safe, reliable and meets customer expectations,” said SEIA president and CEO Abigail Ross Hopper. “Solar remains America’s most popular form of energy and will be installed on 10 million homes by 2030. It’s our job to make sure the solar and storage industry is accountable to the millions of families that are putting their trust in us to power their lives.”

Recheck launches with the support of SEIA, the national trade association for the U.S. solar industry and a leader in solar consumer protection policy. Recheck and SEIA have formed a partnership to drive the adoption of SEIA’s upcoming American National Standards Institute (ANSI)-accredited Consumer Protection Standard (SEIA 401) and the Recheck registry.

Recheck founding partners will be part of an ongoing advisory board and have committed to driving the adoption of Recheck IDs within their platforms in 2024 and beyond.

News item from SEIA

Original article posted here.

Despite the benefits of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), a large number of homeowners have not taken advantage of the tax incentives. This presents a unique opportunity for contractors to tie these tax savings into their customer offerings. Educating homeowners on the benefits of the potential tax incentives will drive sales and improve cost savings for consumers interested in electrification products — creating a consumer mindset shift that will positively impact our industry and help us reach our climate goals.

What the IRA offers homeowners

As the single biggest climate policy in history, the IRA includes $370 billion in investments and takes a unique incentive-based approach, a golden opportunity for homeowners to embrace clean energy solutions and start their electrification journey. One of the most monumental parts of the legislation is that the incentives are uncapped and renew every year — meaning the IRA can benefit an unlimited number of qualifying homeowners.

The IRA isn’t limited to solar projects. The legislation provides homeowners with extensive benefits for a wide range of electric products such as solar panels, batteries, HE HVAC, heat pumps, windows/doors, EVs and EV chargers, breaker box upgrades and energy-efficient home appliances.

While tax incentive and rebate programs provide consumer discounts to cover the partial, or in some cases, full cost of home-efficiency projects, home electrification and appliance rebates provide immediate, income-capped discounts to help low- or moderate-income households electrify their homes.

The home efficiency rebates program rewards homeowners who achieve energy savings of at least 20% (modeled) or 15% (measured). This means that the installation of rooftop solar can lead to significant cost savings for families when they reduce their energy output.

The economic benefits of the IRA are extensive, but it’s also important to remind consumers that cost savings and saving the planet can go hand-in-hand. Solar power and utility-scale battery installations are making up a larger part of America’s energy grid, leading to an 8% year-over-year reduction in U.S. power-sector emissions in 2023. This resulted in a growing economy paired with shrinking greenhouse gas emissions — a phenomenon that has not occurred since before the Covid-19 pandemic — and a clear sign for optimism.

How contractors can tie in tax incentives

The structure of the IRA is not only intricate, but the rebate program is also dependent on how states administer funds — making this legislation complex for contractors and installers as well as homeowners. Relevant clean energy stakeholders need to make sure team members understand these intricacies and can market these incentives to homeowners accurately and with confidence.

For most homeowners, the electrification journey begins when consumers seek to replace an existing electric version of a product that no longer works or improve its performance and safety. Electric appliances, high-efficiency HVAC, an electric panel/breaker box or a heat pump are common products that are replaced or upgraded in this stage.

While homeowners look to a variety of places to help them research and make decisions about electric product purchases, general internet searches and customer reviews are the top sources considered. As a result, companies’ customer testimonial programs should not only be found in internet searches and customer reviews, but it’s good to reference authentic examples of customers who have achieved increased savings through IRA initiatives.

As homeowners adopt more complex products — such as solar panels and electric tankless water heaters — contractors have a greater opportunity to refer homeowners to online resources that provide clear, reputable information about the IRA, as well as have personal conversations about the long-term savings the legislation can provide. As rebate programs are expected to enter markets in select states early next year, homeowners should be encouraged to act promptly when opportunities arise.

The challenges of a new approach

Adjusting an existing company’s sales approach is never an easy task. By incorporating tax incentives into the sales and marketing process, companies will be forced to provide more training, a revamped online presence and a new sales strategy. Many contractors and installers, who have operated in the same fashion for most of their careers, may also be resistant to adopting a different sales method.

This education process will also extend beyond basic awareness of available tax incentives; it involves honing the ability to articulate these benefits persuasively to potential clients. This calls for comprehensive training programs that not only impart knowledge about tax structures and incentives but also focus on refining the IRA messaging in contractors’ sales pitch. Recognizing this, companies must be prepared to invest in training initiatives and provide employees with the knowledge and confidence to drive new sales.

The growing adoption of electric products, coupled with the significant tax and rebate benefits offered by the public sector, have ensured clean energy companies have a unique opportunity to educate customers on the cost-saving legislation of the IRA. Contractors will be a significant part of the clean energy movement and while there will be challenges along the way, a new sales approach will help to improve the lives of consumers, drive business growth and protect our planet for future generations to come.

—Billy Parish is the co-founder and executive chair of Mosaic, a leading financing platform for U.S. residential solar and sustainable home improvements.

Original article posted here.

The U.S. is facing energy and climate challenges on multiple fronts. Rising energy costs, extreme weather events, and a transition away from fossil fuels have placed increasing pressure on governments and consumers.

Residential solar is a compelling, multi-purpose solution that continues to experience rapid adoption among Americans. Six GW of home solar was installed in 2022, and about 4 million U.S. homes now have rooftop solar, up from 300,000 a decade ago.

Despite this rapid growth, the solar industry continues to face a rising tide of macroeconomic headwinds and regulatory challenges. Regulators in some states, such as California, have begun to reduce solar power tax credits and payments for non-residential solar energy. With higher interest rates making consumers less willing to finance solar systems, these policies have led to reduced demand in certain markets.

Rising interest rates have had an impact on the sector, as they have had on home sales and virtually every part of the economy, but home solar and storage remains a key pillar of the energy economy, providing households with long-term cost savings and reduced energy bills. The solar industry is creating good-paying jobs, making community energy grids more resilient, and helping the U.S. reach its climate goals.

Significant Cost Savings for Homeowners

As governments offer greater financial incentives for making the switch to renewable energy, more homeowners are turning to solar. Legislation such as the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), signed into law in August 2022, has increased public awareness around how solar energy can lower not only the carbon footprint of homeowners, but their utility bills too, offsetting the impact of higher interest rates.

As the single biggest climate policy in history, the IRA includes $370 billion in investments targeted at lowering energy costs and tackling climate change—offering homeowners a unique opportunity to realize immediate benefits by adopting solar or energy efficient home improvements.

For example, the IRA extends the provisions of the Solar Investment Tax Credit (ITC), through which eligible homeowners can receive a tax credit of up to 30% of the cost of new solar energy systems on their federal income taxes. For homeowners who owe less than that amount in federal taxes for the year they install their solar system, the option exists to carry over any unused credit in future years, as long as the ITC is in effect.

Initial studies, such as Rewiring America’s Pace of Progress report, have demonstrated the significant uptick in investment that could flow to American communities as a result of an uncapped policy. Based on the adoption curves of U.S. households, estimates suggest that IRA investments toward home electrification could hit $567 billion— and reach as many as 65 million households—between now and 2032.

Strengthening Communities Nationwide

The benefits of residential solar power aren’t limited to individuals. When this technology is adopted at scale, communities realize increased job creation and improved energy resilience.

Clean energy incentives created by the IRA have led to a manufacturing boom across the U.S. To meet the growing demand, firms are now investing billions of dollars into new factories and facilities to expand solar manufacturing capacity for solar panels, solar trackers and battery cells.

One of the fastest-growing job categories in the U.S., residential solar positions are expected to triple over the next decade, from 35,000 jobs today to 120,000 by 2033. These high-paying jobs—which won’t be outsourced—will be created in the communities that adopt the most rooftop solar.

Rooftop solar and storage systems that can generate, store, and manage energy locally are also key to making residential solar power accessible for all. Communities can reduce their reliance on centralized power sources, diminish the need for expensive transmission and distribution infrastructure, and lower overall costs during periods when more energy is needed.

Take extreme weather events as an example. In times of grid outages or emergencies, local energy generation can help communities maintain power and enhance grid reliability and resilience, providing citizens with a greater degree of energy independence. In California, 80% of home solar and storage solutions are currently contributing power back to the grid. This helps to offset energy needs during heat waves and periods of limited energy supply.

Lowest-Cost Path to Climate Goals

In 2021, the Biden administration set two lofty new goals for the U.S. in its ongoing energy transition: a 50% reduction from 2005 levels in economy-wide net greenhouse gas pollution by 2030, and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by no later than 2050. While these objectives are achievable, it will require businesses and governments to work together to leverage all of U.S. renewable solutions.

Residential solar power will play an outsized role in this energy transition. Rooftop solar can be quickly deployed on existing buildings, avoiding costly and controversial land use or upgrades to transmission.

Local Solar for All’s study found that developing 247 GW of local rooftop and community solar, and 160 GW of local energy storage, is the most cost-effective way for the U.S. to transition to a clean energy system by 2050. Leveraging home solar and storage for load flexibility could save utilities $35 billion in capacity investments over the next decade, reducing electricity costs for consumers.

Residential solar power may have started out as a little-known technology attractive only to those concerned with their carbon footprint. But it has since evolved into a powerful solution for a host of U.S. energy and climate needs.

As with any rapidly growing industry, there have been and will continue to be bumps in the road as the nation reduces its reliance on fossil fuels and increases its adoption of clean energy.  But the long-term trajectory is clear. From individual households to local communities to the federal government, solar power is delivering significant benefits to Americans across the nation and helping to propel the U.S. into a more sustainable future.

—Billy Parish is co-founder and executive chair at Mosaic, a clean energy technology and finance company.

Original article posted here.

Fifteen years ago, when I sold solar at the kitchen table, I had to convince people that solar power actually worked. That time is over. People now understand the benefits of clean energy, which lets solar professionals today focus on optimizing customer experience and getting more projects energized.

Communication is one of the most important tools for your business. Effective communication can mean the difference between satisfied, referring customers and poor reviews.

No contractor is immune to permit delays and other setbacks. Friction points occur in the solar sales process from the day of signing to the installation to getting permission to operate (PTO). Communication is pivotal at every step along the way.

Here are a few tips for an effective sales process and a successful summer season.

Strategize customer acquisition

Customer acquisition is the starting point of any solar sale. One of the most important conversations you can have is how your business can source potential customers. Your path to acquisition should be a deliberate and consistent strategy.

If you choose the direct-to-consumer approach, or door-to-door, you need to optimize your sales team for that method. Your strategy will change if you intend to buy leads or if you plan on capitalizing on a trade association. Referrals have the highest close rate with the lowest cost of sale, but are not usually abundant enough to rely on as a main tactic.

Every strategy comes with its pros and cons. For door-to-door, contractors have the advantage of site demographics, but you will spend a lot of time and resources on getting refusals. For trade association or buying leads, you may save on labor costs and have a more targeted audience, but the cost per lead can be a barrier.

Once you find an acquisition strategy that works best, you can shape your business around it and best understand your consumers. Building strategy into training programs will set sales teams up for success when it comes time to close.

Meet your customers where they are

Most solar professionals would agree that identifying possible customers is only the beginning of the sales process. It’s best to keep the pitch simple and present the value-propositions that keep customers most engaged. As a salesperson, you need to determine where customers are in their process and deliver a set of solutions that are based on the size of their family, home location and usage needs.

Whatever the scenario, meet customers where they are. Ask questions so you can understand where they are in their solar journey. For example, are they simply at the information-gathering stage? Or do they already have five bids from your competitors? Maybe they considered switching to solar three years ago and decided against it — find out why.

Then, tailor your approach to their current and future needs. We’re lucky that we have more planning abilities today. Perhaps the customer is buying an electric vehicle, which will increase their energy demand. Or maybe they anticipate other family members moving into the home at a later date, like aging parents or adult children, which will raise utility usage. These are the sort of important questions that will inform system sizing. Presently, we can plan for up to 150 to 200 percent usage to meet today’s and future needs of the homeowner.

There’s a delicate balance between tailoring to customers and giving them so many options that they get analysis paralysis.

It can be very compelling for a sales rep to say, “I have three different solar panel options, and four different inverter options and I work with five different financing companies.” But you don’t want to create a situation that makes it impossible for a homeowner to choose. Limit the products you offer, while giving customers an honest representation of their options.

Comparing loans to previous purchases is a great way to overcome a common objection in the sales process. The solar loan seems daunting until customers realize it’s how they pay for most of their big purchases like cars. When customers understand these similarities, they often feel more comfortable taking on solar leases or loans. 

Identify friction points to overcome

One of the most frustrating points in the sales process is cancellations. Back in the early days of solar, installations required a sizable deposit. Today, customers can cancel a project a week before installation with limited repercussions. When this happens, resources are wasted and the cost of installed solar systems has to increase to offset the losses.

Identifying this friction point, and others along the way can help you find solutions to keep the process efficient. The better you can understand why customers cancel, the better you’ll be at preventing cancellations.

The faster a solar company gets from point of signing to meaningful work, the less likely a customer will cancel.

Instead of being discouraged by lack of progress, customers will start to see their future with solar. Conducting site surveys within 48 hours will bolster customer excitement, and increasing realization can boost employee morale, increase sales rep incomes and limit wasted resources.

Keep your customers informed

The most polished sales process is still subject to delays and difficulties. This is especially true during busy summer seasons. Some things like supply shortages or permit approvals will never be within your full control. Regular and consistent communication throughout the installation process will improve customer experiences and retain value for everyone involved.

The most dangerous part of the solar sales cycle is silence.

I recommend being transparent throughout the process — the parts that are going smoothly, and the bumps along the way. Meet with your customers as soon as possible after the contract is signed. This will ensure good expectations were set at sale and will introduce relevant people and processes. Have project coordinators call customers as often as every week to assure them that they are still a priority. Be transparent with customers about relevant regional and seasonal timelines.

In the absence of new information, customers make assumptions or get cold feet, which leads to higher rates of cancellation. That’s why I recommend updating customers regularly: tell them when the design is ready, when the permit is approved and if there are any delays.

Streamline your processes to increase value

The more we can streamline these processes and improve realization rate, the better the margins become for installers. And those successes inform pricing. The objective of seamless sales is to get value back where it belongs — with the customers, lowering install costs and increasing the number of solar powered homes.

Original article posted here.

The additional cost of battery storage for residential solar systems can be a deterrent for some homeowners. The key is to show them how storage is an investment that can help optimize their utility rates, make their homes more resilient against grid outages — both planned and unplanned — and benefit the environment. It’s up to solar professionals to help their customers see the added value battery storage can bring.

Here are a few tips for selling battery storage in three specific scenarios: 1) as part of a solar system package, 2) to augment an existing system or 3) as a standalone system.

Advantages of battery storage

The key to selling storage in any situation is communicating its value proposition, which is not one-size-fits-all. The first thing you should do as a salesperson is to make sure that your customer will actually benefit from adding storage. That means doing a thorough customer needs discovery.

For example, in utility markets that do not have time-of-use rates and rarely have outages, the benefits of storage probably don’t outweigh the cost. On the other hand, in places with volatile weather, or that have variable rates or planned outages, being able to bank solar or grid power during the day to use during peak hours, after sundown, or as backup during outages can be very attractive.

Selling solar + storage at the outset

Making one bigger sale is always easier than making two separate sales, so getting the customer to commit to both solar and storage upfront is the surer bet. Fortunately for installers, a strong case can be made that efficient and effective deployment of storage is always best done in conjunction with the design of the solar system. That means efficiency for the installer and the customer.

The primary consideration for homeowners investing in a solar system is ROI. In the case of storage, that includes the hard to quantify value of resilience against outages. You can help your case for communicating that value by making installing storage as efficient as possible, which means including it in the initial design. Sizing the storage system based on the production value and remaining demand for consumers is best done when taken as a whole. It will also be more costly to add storage later, as the fixed costs of an install will be passed on to the customer. That is not to mention the extra hassle of shopping for batteries later, pulling additional permits and applying for rebates that may no longer be in effect.

Solar system appearance is also an important consideration for most homeowners, and including storage in the system design from the outset has real long-term value for the customer by delivering more streamlined wiring that is both more functional and pleasing to the eye.

These benefits aside, it’s worth noting that it’s a best practice to be upfront with your customer about the realities of supply and demand for storage. Supply chain disruption continues to be an issue, and designing a system and permitting for storage and not being able to install the batteries can leave the project in limbo, affecting both customer satisfaction and your own labor costs. It’s best to offer storage when you have a direct line of sight to your supplier and clear expectations with your customer.

Following up to add storage

Uncoupled from the customer’s initial enthusiasm for going solar, selling storage at a later time can be more of an uphill battle, but it can be done. Since installing their solar system, the customer may have come to realize — or at least be open to hearing about — the benefits of adding storage. Perhaps storage just wasn’t in their initial budget, but they expressed interest in adding it to their system in the future. In each case, a periodic call every six months is a great way to revisit the topic. Begin by following up on how their solar system is performing and listen to their feedback for opportunities where storage would add value for them.

For instance, recent developments in net energy metering might result in the customer receiving less compensation for contributing to the grid. In these markets, it could make more sense to store excess solar energy for personal use.

While it’s possible to size for storage needs for an existing system, few contractors are positioned to efficiently install storage only. Installers tend to use large fleet vehicles for transportation of panels and carry large crew sizes, neither of which lend themselves to being repurposed. Therefore, it is in your best interest (and the customer’s) to encourage storage to be included with the initial solar installment.

However, if you are in a position to offer later installation, it can provide additional benefits beyond revenue. For instance, it can generate further referral opportunities by keeping your customers talking about their solar system, especially if you’ve helped them maximize its value.

Selling standalone storage

For obvious reasons, battery storage is most often paired with a solar system. If you rely on a standalone battery for backup during an outage, you won’t be able to recharge it until the grid is back online. So, if a customer is looking into standalone storage as a solution to outages of more than several hours, you have an opportunity to steer them toward the benefits of pairing storage with a solar system. Aside from the larger sale you’ll be making, as a contractor, it’s also a more efficient use of your resources.

However, there are situations where standalone storage might be desirable. In cases where shorter outages are common, battery storage can provide a more seamless and safer backup than relying on a generator. For instance, during the hottest months of the year when grid strain can cause an outage, being able to run a home’s HVAC system can greatly improve quality of life.

Standalone storage can also help reduce electric bills. If the customer lives in a time-of-use market, they could charge their batteries during less expensive hours and either contribute back to the grid during peak hours to be compensated, or they could switch their personal use to backup to avoid higher rates. This is especially valuable for electric vehicle owners.

There are also incentives specifically for energy storage. Green Mountain Power in Vermont, for example, issues upfront payments to customers who commit to contributing to the grid. In addition, the Inflation Reduction Act expanded the tax credit for adding storage.

There are environmental benefits to storage, even without adding solar. Standalone storage reduces demand during peak usage times, which helps cut emissions and avoid utilities relying on polluting peaker plants.

Whatever the situation in which a customer might be looking to add battery storage, understanding the value it provides for that particular customer is key to making the sale, earning another satisfied customer and helping to spur the growth of sustainable energy solutions.

Original article posted here.

Financing allows customers to make necessary home repairs on a budget. It also helps them tackle larger projects and upgrade to higher-quality products.

According to recent studies, more than half of all American consumers say they’d struggle to write a $1,000 check to cover an emergency home repair. That’s just one of the reasons that making financing options accessible and affordable is so important, especially in today’s economic environment. Financing allows customers to make necessary home repairs on a budget. It also helps them tackle larger projects and upgrade to higher-quality products. We should think about home repairs the same way we do other purchases, whether it’s buying a new car or getting the latest iPhone. Monthly payments make it affordable, without the initial sticker shock.

According to a recent Mosaic survey of 1,600 people, 35% of homeowners said financing options are an important factor in their hiring decision and that they would be unable to take on projects without paying for them over time. Leading with a low monthly payment in your next pitch may also help you land more jobs. If you’re not offering financing options to all of your customers, you may be losing out on projects to your competition.

Here are four signs your business may be ready to offer financing options.

1) You Care About Marketing Your Business

You’re already invested in marketing and promotions and want to expand your business. But to grow your business, you need to close more deals and preferably bigger deals. One way to do that is to offer quick and simple financing options right at the point of sale for all your potential customers. Helping your customers understand how easy it can be to afford their next project can get you to a ‘yes’ faster.

2) You are Actively Using Technology

If you’re already providing digital estimates and using technology to scope your projects, then offering financing options at the point of sale is a logical next step. Make sure you partner with a financing company who easily fits into your current sales process and integrates with your current manufacturer or SaaS partner. It should be simple for you to text or email a credit application to your homeowner where they can complete all of the paperwork from the comfort of their own home. 

3) You Have a Fleet of Vehicles

If you’ve started to operate a fleet of vehicles in your service area, you likely already understand how important it is to outfit this fleet with streamlined and efficient mobile tools. Your team must be able to manage their sales pipeline, offer purchasing options to customers, and track projects while on the road.

Offering financing options is a win-win. It helps your team close more deals on the spot. And it helps your customers understand their true buying power on their next project.

4) Your Fleet of Vehicles are Branded

You understand how important it is to have a consistent presence in your service area and area of specialty. You know that this may be the first impression potential customers have of your company, your work and your team. Believe it or not, offering financing options is also an important part of your customer’s experience with your company. It shows that you are a credible service provider invested in the latest technology — and that you’re dedicated to helping them complete their home improvement project. (Added bonus: This could also lead to some good referrals!)

If you’re not offering financing options to your customers yet, now may be a good time to consider adding it to the mix. Leading with low monthly payments makes it easier for homeowners to take on projects — and for you to close more deals. It also empowers customers to make the decision right now instead of leaving them with a quote and hoping that they’ll follow up with you in the future.

Original article posted here.

Nagaraju Bandaru is CTO for Mosaic, a leading financing platform for U.S. residential solar and energy-efficient home improvements.

With the passing of the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA), the U.S. government is expecting a boom in clean energy jobs. And according to a recent survey conducted by Mosaic, 75% of American adults said they would consider a job in clean energy.

While it’s true that sustainable infrastructure initiatives like the IRA are contributing to the growth of this industry, since becoming the CTO of clean energy fintech, I have experienced a much deeper appeal that clean tech jobs hold. This new perspective has changed the way I think about work, so I wanted to share the top five things I have learned since moving into clean tech.

1. Work With Joy

According to the old cliche, if you do what you love, you’ll never work a day in your life. But I would take that a step further and recommend that if you do work you believe in, the love will follow. People who work in clean tech are often there because of a shared mission to help the environment. That unifying force has positive effects that reach through entire companies. In addition, those drawn to a greater cause tend to be empathetic and supportive team members. The resulting work culture can be very rewarding.

However, you also have to be mindful of the double-edged sword of working with joy—working too much (in this case, out of passion rather than external pressures). Part of the culture of working with joy means protecting it by setting boundaries and helping each other be aware of work-life balance. Protecting that culture also means feeling comfortable with disagreeing, allowing for a free exchange of ideas that encourages stretching the boundaries of creativity and innovation.

2. A Problem Solver’s Playground

Clean tech offers rewarding opportunities for those who are energized by finding strategic solutions to complex problems. Climate change is an existential challenge that affects all of us, and the magnitude of the problem requires one to think of successful outcomes at a micro level and then figure out how to scale that to the global level.

For example, given the various sustainability incentives at the state and federal levels and the wide variation in pricing structure across utility companies, it is very hard for homeowners to determine what products are right for them and how they can benefit from all the available incentives. This is a multi-dimensional fragmentation, segmentation, economic and customer experience problem. If you are a data engineer, the challenges of aggregating structured data from a myriad of sources can be intellectually stimulating. If you’re a data scientist or a risk modeler, the insights from consumer behavior with changing economic circumstances give you the opportunity to interact with senior executives and influence company-level strategies.

3. Diverse Perspectives Come Together

The shared mission and industry potential of clean tech are drawing many recruits from across industries. This has created a melting pot of different perspectives and fresh ideas. So while the clean energy industry ecosystem has its own unique considerations, it also benefits from the experience and thought leadership of other adjacent industry professionals and technologists. The technology to streamline customer acquisition, supplier integrations, and borrower experience is evolving fast, but there remain plenty of opportunities to incorporate from other adjacent industries to help shape clean tech’s maturation. This receptiveness to outside ideas has allowed me to feel that I’m making a genuine contribution to an industry that is new to me, in addition to offering a stimulating environment in which to exchange ideas and grow.

4. Make An Impact

While clean tech is an established industry, the many recent sustainability initiatives and increased focus on renewable energy in general has lent it all the excitement and anticipation of a rapidly growing new sector.

Anyone who has worked for a startup or in an emerging industry can tell you it has a certain charge and unique rewards. Clean tech is no different. No matter where you are in a clean tech organization, you’ll probably have plenty of opportunities to put on your entrepreneurial hat. That means rolling up your sleeves and pitching in where needed. It also means being able to see the impact of your efforts, making a tangible contribution to the company as it grows and the industry matures. Feeling that your day-to-day work matters is essential to being content with your job.

Right now is an exciting time for clean tech, but there might be some tradeoffs that come with the territory, at least for the time being. Job satisfaction isn’t just about total compensation but the whole picture of what we get from our work. In addition, many of my peers in the space believe that getting in with this growth market early can set you up for greater success down the road. A possible step down on the ladder could be a fantastic long-term strategy, given the massive opportunity ahead. Just as the internet birthed a wide range of new careers, so too will clean tech as the green economy becomes firmly established.

5. The Secret To A Good Night’s Sleep

In the course of my career, I’ve held rewarding jobs at companies ranging from startups to large public enterprises and have learned something new with each position. But it wasn’t until moving into clean tech that I discovered the key to getting a good night’s sleep. A job in clean tech means working with joy every day and being able to go to bed every night feeling content that I’m doing something good for the environment and the world.

Original article posted here.

Whether a prospective solar customer is looking to save money on their utility bill or would like to help the planet, as a salesperson, your job is to show them how a solar system will be worth their investment. In many cases, offering products equipped with module-level power electronics (MLPE) could be the difference between making a sale or not.

For a long time, the popular conception about solar panels was that they weren’t ready for prime time and that the technology wasn’t efficient enough for wide adoption. That all changed when MLPE came onto the scene. While MLPE isn’t for every solar system, it remains a top selling point when it comes to convincing consumers that the time is now to go solar. This is especially true of residential solar systems, the vast majority of which utilize MLPE.

What makes MLPE so attractive to homeowners? Both microinverters and dc optimizers solve some of the problems that can arise in solar systems that use regular string inverters. These problems can have a big impact on the value proposition for prospective customers. Here are some of the top benefits MLPE offer that you can use to secure a sale:

Shading and soiling losses

Shading and soiling losses are a major cause of hesitancy in solar customers—and with good reason—but MLPE can go a long way in recapturing some of these losses. A string inverter requires a minimum amount of operating voltage to turn a significant portion of the array on every day. Ideally, the sun rises in a clear sky, and the system soon begins generating electricity. The trouble starts, however, when it’s a cloudy day or modules get dirty or otherwise obstructed.

If one panel in a string is affected by shading or soiling, every panel after it in the sequence will be as well. Conceivably, this could cause the entire string to underperform enough that the inverter could fail to reach operating voltage. This issue is compounded if multiple strings are affected—say, an animal decides to build its nest on the connection between two strings. A customer might go months before realizing that their solar system isn’t saving them any money.

To prevent scenarios like this, the customer has to regularly maintain their system—clearing debris, trimming trees, and other upkeep. That could be an obstacle to going solar at all for many customers. With MLPE systems, though, some of that upkeep anxiety is mitigated because of module-level MPPT functionality, which ensures that each module’s output is maximized, regardless of any panels around it that might be underperforming.

Design flexibility

Increased design flexibility is another way MLPE can help customers maximize their solar systems.

Because every roof is different, the more rigid requirements for strings can sometimes limit the number of modules you’re able to install. This might impact the value proposition enough that you lose a customer. With MLPE, however, if there is a small roof plane that gets good sun, you might be able to fit in another couple of panels there without needing to wire attic runs or come up against firewalls.

If maximizing roof space requires panels to be at different orientations, MLPE will also compensate for orientation mismatch loss.

Monitoring and remote functionality

Another way MLPE maximizes value is in its robust monitoring and remote capabilities, both at the module and fleet levels. For example, in the previous scenario, with the nest knocking out a significant percentage of an array, a customer whose system’s smart monitoring offers performance metrics would be able to quickly detect a problem before it began to significantly raise their electricity bills.
Occasionally, a solar system just needs to be reset, as a laptop or cell phone might. In many MPLE systems, the installer can remotely isolate the problematic panel and restart it. This connectivity also allows for more responsive fleet management for in-person maintenance.

Compliance and safety

Rapid shutdown requirements are in effect in most states and have been steadily gaining traction across municipalities in states that have not yet adopted the relevant NEC. These requirements protect firefighters if they ever have to ventilate your roof during a fire. Module-level shutdown is important because even if a string inverter is turned off, the wires coming off panels will still carry a current and could pose a danger. MLPE, whether a microinverter, optimizer, or dedicated shutdown device, can cut off the power at the individual panel level.

Though a customer’s locality might not currently require rapid shutdown, it could in the future—in which case, they might want to install it upfront. Regardless, the additional safety, as well as the potential to limit the damage of a fire, are both attractive selling points for customers. In those modules with remote functionality, a customer might even be able to shut off power themselves through an app on their phone. This would be particularly useful if a neighbor alerted them to a fire while they were not at home.

Who Is MLPE For?

Module-level power electronics aren’t a one-size-fits-all solution. If a customer wants to install a large array on the roof of a commercial building, opting for microinverters on each panel might not be cost-effective. If they have a maintenance team to keep the system in working order, some of the benefits of MLPE become less important. However, for a homeowner with a 30-panel array who doesn’t want to worry about maintaining their system, MLPE just might be what puts them over the top in committing to going solar.

John Bumgarner is General Manager of Solar and Storage for Mosaic, a leading financing platform for U.S. residential solar and energy-efficient home improvements. Bumgarner is a longtime solar industry professional with nearly 15 years of experience managing new partner development and training, business intelligence and portfolio management.

Original article posted here.