Our first employee spotlight is with our Service Manager Paul Gilbert. You may have spoken with Paul if you ever had a question during or after your solar installation. Paul is exceedingly patient and willing to help anyone on our team. He is a dedicated team player who has seen and helped Wells grow over the past few years.
Q. What’s your name and where are you from?
A. My name is Paul Gilbert. I’m from right here in Austin. I grew up in Oak Hill.
Q. How long have you worked with Wells Solar?
A. I’ve been an electrician since I was 19. I wired about 100 homes and worked on a few big commercial jobs until I joined the Army in Feb 2009. When I got out of the Army in 2012, I ended up working for Revolve Solar. It was a fun company but they shut their doors in 2016. Luckily, my dude, Matt Bice had the hook up on this sweet gig. I’ve been working as a Designer/Technician for Wells Solar since December of 2016. I’ve been here at Wells for a little over 2 years now and I gotta say it’s a great place to work.
Q. What do you do for Wells Solar?
A. When I started, I was making designs and electrical diagrams. Since then I’ve transitioned to a service management role scheduling our stellar technicians to fix customer systems if they go down.
Q. What do you think is the best benefit of having solar power?
A. Probably the best part is when I turn on a solar system and watch the customer’s electrical utility meter spin backward. That part never gets old.
Q. What is a solar myth you’d like to dispel? A. That “West is best” simply isn’t true. When determining which side of a roof to install solar panels, some people claim that the west face is the best location. Unfortunately for people who believe this, West facing systems produce less than South and East facing systems would annually. The term “West is best” came from California’s PG&E time-of-use tier billing where PG&E would charge more per kilowatt in the evenings. In this situation, if you had a west facing system then yes, you would benefit because your peak solar hours would be later in the afternoon when most people get home from work. However, utilities in Texas use net-metering and do not charge more during evening hours.
Q. Which do you prefer, salsa, guacamole or queso?
A. All three at once with a little ground beef.
Q. What is the best part of being part of the Wells Solar Family?
A. I really enjoy that the Wells Staff is mostly Millennials and Gen-X’ers. It’s nice that we’re all disproving the idea that millennials are lazy. We work hard and ‘We get the work done’.
Related Readings:
Residential Solar Power Solutions in Texas
Texas Solar Programs, Financing, Leases and PPAs
Solar Panel Service, Maintenance and Repair
About Wells Solar
Founded in 2014 in Austin, Wells Solar & Electrical Services is a family-owned establishment committed to installing high-quality solar power solutions that everyone can afford. The company also offers a full suite of solar panel service, maintenance and repair to ensure your solar investment provides the maximum return over its 25-year life. Find out why Wells Does Solar Better™ by visiting wellssolar.com.
