I (Mike Bishop) started PV work in 2007. From then thru 2021, I was mostly on the software side. Energy and financial modeling.
My long-time aspiration is to make adequate income thru my own little company. No bosses, no employees. Full responsibility. Freedom and stuff.
I'm bad at getting software to market. Overzealous with details. Massive scope creep. Besides, software feels better when it's free and open source.
A more practical way to earn income is selling and installing energy equipment. PV, batteries, EV plugs, and beyond. Job scopes are relatively specific... one week instead of forever (big software is never done).
Also, I've felt inadequate about being in the PV industry but not actually knowing how to install PV. Pigeon on the windowsill. I want to know how to work with tools and materials in the physical world.
In early 2022, an electrician friend took me on (thanks Pete). Since then, I've solo installed six PV systems and three EV plugs. ...Slooowly, but the quality is good and the owners are happy. For three months, I helped with a big commercial PV job (thanks David). I've also done some residential PV maintenance work (thanks Sean). I'm working to set up a proper licensed install company: Oakstead.
I'm still painfully green, and I make a lot of mistakes. I need to get better organized. Slow Power is the place where I share things I learn. Some scraps of wisdom from "was-dumb" (thanks Stan). Maybe this will help you skip those mistakes. I also write about electrical-code changes and technologies that I'm excited about. ...I'm into local-first data access and system control.
Whether you're with an established company, or you're on the Company of One solo route... I'd get some fulfillment out of helping you succeed. ...However you're involved in this wild energy transition.
The blog is here.
The work-in-progress online class is here.
Maybe subscribe to Slow Power's monthly email here.
(unsubscribe here)
I'll outro with the official Slow Power photo (found somewhere on the internet):