Joel Berntsen

Most installers include some type of monitoring system and application/online portal. This works well enough for individual locations like a home or business. However, many larger enterprises and municipalities that invest in solar across multiple sites end up dealing with several portals with different logins and no way to easily consolidate into an aggregate view, so the systems are not proactively monitored or maintained. In these cases it may make sense to make a relatively nominal investment in a standardized monitoring solution for all sites. Companies such as Sense and Vutility make standalone monitoring products that can be retrofitted to any site.

Many homeowners are interested in solar + battery solutions as a backup power source during utility outages. If that is a goal, one important consideration is to spend the extra $$ to get a hybrid inverter. The key differentiator is that a standard inverter will send the solar energy produced to the grid and your battery will be charging from the grid. This means when power is lost, the solar panels cannot recharge the battery. A hybrid inverter allows your system to operate independently from the grid and lets your solar panels recharge the battery directly and the battery to deliver the balance your loads if it is overcast or at night.

You can’t change what you don’t understand and you can’t understand what you don’t see. Sensors deliver the ongoing visibility and data that are the foundational inputs of solutions to complex challenges. You don’t want to stop there, but if that’s not where you start, you’re flying blind.

In Simon Sinek's famous Ted Talk, he asked a simple yet provocative question, "What is your 'Why'?" Having been around the block a couple times, I don't take for granted that some organizations struggle with alignment and communication on what their "what' is. Assuming for a moment that your team knows 'what' they're supposed to do, the 'why' provides the clear, shared vision and values of a common purpose that lead to the next level of execution. Sustainability and decarbonization naturally support a compelling 'why', but the most powerful 'whys' have actionable 'hows'. Leaders should master the art of articulating 'what' and 'how' and 'why' in a cohesive and inspiring way that fosters ownership and agency for their teams.

I got exposure to the strength-based development theory a number of years ago and it has been tremendously valuable to helping me maximize my career potential. It's easy to take feedback from an annual review and focus on fixing your shortcomings, and in some cases there may be significant things you need to address to they will derail your ambitions. That said, a "weakness" will never become a strength and working to pull up your weakest areas is significantly harder and less effective than exercising and developing the areas you naturally gravitate towards. We're not interchangeable widgets. Some jobs are like forcing a square peg into a round hole. To maximize your success, find what comes naturally to you and lean into that!