HIGHLAND – GRID Solar is excited for another month of helping customers secure savings. Jason Mitchell, co-owner of GRID, recently stopped by “Our Daily Show!” with C.J. Nasello to talk about new battery products on the market and how GRID operates in the solar field. He shared that GRID works with customers to help them find the right solar system for their homes. The company is focused on helping the customer, not hawking a product. “When we show up to your house, we’re not there to sell you solar. We’re there to explain how it works, and then if you decide this is what works for you, we help you sign the papers and get the project going,” he explained. “Basically what we’ll do is we’ll just ask a bunch of questions to figure out what your goals are. We’re going to design a system based on the answers to those questions. We’re not just here to sell you a particular product. We’re going to sell you the one that’s actually going to work for you. Mitchell said PointGuard recently released a new hybrid inverter with stackable batteries. This allows customers to decide how big they want their battery to be; do they want it to be big enough to power the entire house, or just big enough to cover critical loads? He added that each battery in the PointGuard inverter has its own battery management system, so it’s “future-proof,” allowing you to mix and match batteries as new technologies are developed. Additionally, instead of buying an entire new battery when you want to add to your system, you can now buy a smaller battery to add to your inverter. Mitchell touched on the benefits of battery backups. The batteries allow people to power their homes through power outages, a benefit that GRID Solar has discovered since they began installing batteries with every solar system last year following changes in Ameren’s net metering policy. He pointed out that while the net metering policy changes are still disappointing to GRID, the end result has been a lot less upsetting than predicted. “Everyone was upset because we lost net metering last year,” he remembered. “But now, especially with this new battery plus several others that are coming out with new generations of batteries, honestly, it almost changed nothing for us. Now people have power outage prevention whereas before it was just solar and they were saving money that way. I still think they probably saved more money, but there are still savings to be had.” GRID Solar can answer questions about the inverter and more. Mitchell encouraged people to “do your due diligence” when choosing a solar company to work with. He pointed out that all of these companies are looking to sell something. But unlike other solar companies, GRID is committed to the Riverbend area. They often service systems they didn’t install when these other companies leave town or close. Mitchell emphasized that solar is a complicated business, but GRID makes it as straightforward as possible for their customers. “It’s kind of the Wild West in this industry with the door-knockers,” he said. “When you have that and all these people trying to make money off this particular industry, they flare up and then leave town. That’s what happens. They make a bunch of money and then they’re gone. We’re here for the long haul. We’re going to be here for a long time and we’re going to support these people. We’re going to be the company who stays here and fixes everything that they left in their path.” Mitchell reiterated that GRID is always eager to talk with people about their options and help them make the decision that is right for them. For more information about GRID Solar and the solar industry, visit their official website at GRIDSolarLLC.com.
