If you’ve been wondering what I’ve been up to recently, look no further! Here’s the latest scoop:
Two weeks ago, I shadowed Chase Kauf (one of our awesome site analysts) for the day and joined him on 2 site surveys in the Bay Area. We met up bright and early at 8:15a.m. at our first customer’s house for my first ever site survey! My job there was to pay close attention to conversations and observe how Chase and our customers interacted with each other.
They talked for over an hour, going over various things including solar feasibility, panel and financing options, array layout, microinverters vs single inverters, why Clean Solar, and much more. Afterwards, we checked the main service panel and took a quick look at the roof. Normally, we would get up on the roof and take measurements, but due to the customer’s time restrictions, we were not able to do that this time around. Then, we went back in the house and Chase used a wireless printer to print out several estimates of different solar systems. They proceeded to talk about numbers for awhile and after Chase answered all their questions, we hit the road. A couple of things that I learned:
- A single site survey in its entirety lasts 3 hours!
- Customers were pleasantly surprised to hear that Clean Solar donates $150 to the customer’s charity of choice with each solar installation. You could say that I’m proud to be interning at a B Corp(:
- Everyone got along very well. No wonder customers refer to Clean Solar associates on a first name basis
After the first site survey, Chase and I made our way back to the office in time for our Thanksgiving lunch. Eating with a group of people–some 2x my elder–definitely gives off a different vibe from eating with a high school crowd, but was a refreshing change to my normal routine. It doesn’t hurt that the Clean Solar family is so welcoming too!
After lunch, I accompanied Chase to our second site survey of the day. Thankfully, we had time to get on not one, but two roofs this time! I don’t remember the last time I climbed up on a ladder, and I’m positive that I’ve never been on top a roof before, so this was definitely the highlight of my day! There, I helped Chase take pictures of the azimuth with a Solmetric SunEye. Afterwards, we went through the same procedure with this customer as we did with the first and said our farewell.
This is where my exciting day of learning and shadowing my new favorite site analyst ends. Stay tuned for my next blog!
~Eugenia