Watts Up Solar Podcast

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Watts Up Solar Podcast

Emmitt Muckles

27 episodes

5 days ago

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt sits down withWilson Matthew Betances — electrician, inspector, and trade-school builder — for a real talk on the trades, solar, and what it’s going to take to build a workforce that lasts. We get into: Why the “30 years in the trade” line isn’t proof you’re doing it rightHazing, gatekeeping, and toxic jobsite cultureLongevity: protecting your body and building a career, not just a paycheckWhy sola...

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Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt sits down withWilson Matthew Betances — electrician, inspector, and trade-school builder — for a real talk on the trades, solar, and what it’s going to take to build a workforce that lasts. We get into: Why the “30 years in the trade” line isn’t proof you’re doing it rightHazing, gatekeeping, and toxic jobsite cultureLongevity: protecting your body and building a career, not just a paycheckWhy sola...

Show more...

Episodes (20/27)

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Wilson Matthew Betances: Trades Culture, Solar Truths, and Why License Comes First

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt sits down withWilson Matthew Betances — electrician, inspector, and trade-school builder — for a real talk on the trades, solar, and what it’s going to take to build a workforce that lasts. We get into: Why the “30 years in the trade” line isn’t proof you’re doing it rightHazing, gatekeeping, and toxic jobsite cultureLongevity: protecting your body and building a career, not just a paycheckWhy sola...

5 days ago

36 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Eat4Life – Holistic Nutrition for Solar Workers with Katharina Burger-Holzer

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode, I step slightly off the roof and into the kitchen. I’m joined by Katharina Burger-Holzer, a holistic nutrition coach based in Austria and founder of Eat4Life (eat4life.at). We talk about how food, sleep, stress and movement impact your ability to show up and do demanding work in the solar industry – and why the sun isn’t just hitting your panels, it’s also feeding your body. Conversation How Katharina’s journey started with yoga, Ayur...

1 month ago

34 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

From DIYer/RV solar to whole-home backup — EG4’s glow-up explained

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! At InterSolar Texas 2025, I caught up with John Tostanoski from EG4, and we went deep on where the brand is headed next. EG4 built its name on making solar accessible – RVs, off-grid cabins, and DIY systems that regular people could actually understand and install. Now they’re stepping into a much bigger arena: FlexBoss 21 whole-home backup inverter (21 kW DC input, 16 kW continuous with PV)GridBoss microgrid interconnection device (MID) with sma...

1 month ago

15 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Wildfires, Microgrids & Troubleshooting the Grid – Piper Wilder of 60Hertz

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt sits down with Piper Wilder, founder & CEO of 60Hertz, to talk about the messy, beautiful reality of keeping renewable assets alive and performing in the real world. The conversation starts with microgrids in remote Alaska, indigenous operators running million-dollar systems, and a legit grizzly bear outside the tent… and then climbs all the way up the stack to utility-scale asset management, w...

1 month ago

55 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

OB3 Aftershock & the Solar Comeback: Service, VPPs, and Real Careers Beyond the Roof (w/ Kate Collardson

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Emmitt sits down with Kate Collardson, a 20-year PV pro from Denver, to unpack life after OB3: layoffs, the “overqualified” trap, and the massive opportunity in orphaned residential systems. They dig into why U.S. residential solar still carries heavy soft costs (dealer fees, sales stacks), how VPPs beat peaker plants on speed, and where the next wave of jobs lives—project management, design, interconnection, tech support, and O&M. Plus: why parki...

2 months ago

42 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Intentional Marketing, Real Impact: Brittany Boyette on Voice, Events & Community

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Brittany Boyette Services LLC Brittany Boyette left corporate success to build a business around intentional, aligned marketing, the kind that sounds like you, serves your audience, and converts. We dig into her why (family, inclusion, and community), how to find your authentic voice, and the practical systems that make growth feel human: CRMs, onboarding, event planning, meeting-booking at conferences, and consistent follow-up. You’ll hear: How to sp...

2 months ago

41 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

From East to Vienna to the USA: Lorrak Labbafi's Path in European Solar, Storage, O&M, and the Rise of VPPs

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Emmitt visit Vienna Austria and has a laid back socail conersation with Laarak Labbafi a PV engineer who jumped from physics to hands-on and technical support in solar, launching her career in Iran before moving to Austria. They unpack: How gender dynamics can shape early career experiences, and how to push throughIran’s solar story: sunshine abundance vs. sanctions, FiTs, and ROI whiplashWhy Europe is all-in on batteries and self-consumptionWhat O&am...

2 months ago

32 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Turning Alerts into Revenue: Alert Hub’s Service-First Playbook (Jill & Logan)

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Emmitt welcomes Jill and Logan from AlertHub, a platform built to help residential solar companies pivot from installs to service. They aggregate inverter alerts across major brands, layer in a homeowner portal and payments, and streamline RMAs—so small teams can manage bigger fleets with fewer truck rolls. We unpack the origin story (from edtech to solar), policy headwinds, pricing and onboarding, and a live case where proactive alerting led to a fas...

2 months ago

30 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Electrifying America: EV Load, Smart Grids, and The VPP Future | with Mats Larsson (GET Institute)

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! America’s energy story is mid-pivot. Incentives shifted, EVs are scaling, and the grid is creaking like it’s still 1947. In this episode, Emmitt chops it up with Mats Larsson of the Global Energy Transformation Institute about what full electrification really takes: winter EV range hits, smart-grid load control, VPPs (virtual power plants), and why planning this transition like Apollo—not vibes—is the move. Highlights Why the U.S. is already “highly e...

3 months ago

43 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Thad of Chicago’s Westside Bee Boyz on Honey, Soil, and Saving Ecosystems

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Honey isn’t just something you stir into tea; it’s a reflection of soil, flowers, and the ecosystems that sustain us. In this episode of the What’s Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt Muckles sits down with Thad of Chicago’s Westside Bee Boyz, a true “bee entrepreneur,” to explore how local honey connects us to nature in ways most people never realize. Thad shares why Chicago is full of unexpected beekeepers, how soil health changes the taste of honey, and why ...

4 months ago

14 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Off-Grid Truths with Rebekah Carpenter: 25 Years of Solar, DIY Myths & Battery Reality

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Rebekah Carpenter didn’t just “get into” solar—she jumped on a plane to Mali to install an off-grid system after teaching herself the trade. Two decades later, she’s still providing results and calling BS where needed. We cover the early net-metering era, 48V throwbacks, the DIY wave, when batteries are smart (and when they’re just expensive), and the uncomfortable art of telling customers “this site won’t pencil.” What We Cover The Mali leap: learnin...

4 months ago

50 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Startups, Soft Hands & Solar: Ziwen Deng on Training the Next Energy Workforce with SureStep

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, I sit down with Ziwen Deng, a startup founder, innovator, and renewable energy trailblazer. We get real about the challenges of immigrant grit, the future of skilled trades, and why the renewable industry desperately needs fresh hands in the field. Ziwen shares how his journey from micro-loan projects in North Carolina farms to cutting-edge AI solutions in solar taught him the power of technology to chang...

4 months ago

43 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Cesar Barbosa: Building an Elite Solar Workforce Reinventing Solar

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt Muckles sits down with Cesar Barbosa, founder of New Life Power, for an unfiltered conversation about leadership, grit, and the evolving landscape of solar energy. From pulling panels in the field to leading multi-million-dollar repowering projects, Cesar shares the truth about what it takes to stay relevant in the solar industry, why America needs to reinvest in its trades, and how he’s mentoring...

5 months ago

37 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Codes, Standards & Solar Passion: David Compaan on Quality, Training & PV Growth

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, Emmitt Muckles sits down with solar veteran and quality engineering manager David Compaan of IGS Solar. David has inspected over 3,000 PV systems and holds NABCEP PVIP and PV System Inspector certifications. Together, they dive deep into the importance of code compliance, equipment standards, and the growing need for hands-on training in the solar industry. They discuss: Why torquing matters in every inst...

5 months ago

41 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Clayton Hanks C. H. Eletrical

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this honest and wide-ranging episode, solar installer Clayton Hanks of CH Electrical joins host Emmitt Muckles to reveal what it’s really like installing solar in Southern Illinois. From fighting misleading PPA contracts and educating coal miners about solar to experimenting with agrivoltaics in his own garden, Clayton doesn’t hold back. Together, Emmitt and Clayton explore real-life challenges, the broken promises of solar sales bros, the burden o...

5 months ago

38 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Solar, Surfing & Storytelling: Aaron Nichols on Changing the Industry One Truth at a Time

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Aaron Nichols' solar story is unlike anything you’ve heard. From Peace Corps dreams cut short to meeting circus girls on an Ecuadorian beach, Aaron’s path into clean energy is fueled by passion, missteps, and purpose. Join host Emmitt Muckles as he and Aaron unpack the real solar story—from the ground-level door-knocking grind to creating nationally recognized solar content. In this honest and funny episode: Why solar messaging still misses the markHo...

5 months ago

52 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Residential Clean Energy Credit Abrupt Termination and Impact

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! The "One Big Beautiful Bill Act," enacted on July 4, 2025, has dramatically and abruptly eliminated the Residential Clean Energy Credit (RCEC) for homeowner-owned systems after December 31, 2025. This legislative action starkly contrasts with the Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) of 2022, which had extended the RCEC (a 30% federal tax credit with no lifetime limit for qualified clean energy generation and storage systems) through 2032, with a gradual phas...

5 months ago

15 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Brick Maier on AI, LMS Tools & Empowering Solar Learners at HeatSpring

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! Join Emmitt Muckles on the Watts Up Solar Podcast as he talks with Brick Maier of HeatSpring, a media-savvy L&D expert revolutionizing solar education. They dive deep into how AI and LMS platforms are transforming training for solar professionals and consumers alike. From the future of voice narration to the importance of consumer solar education, this episode is packed with insight and energy. 🔦 Highlights: The rise of AI in course creationWhy LM...

6 months ago

54 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Digital Twins & Solar Truths: How Wattch.io is Redefining Monitoring with Alex Heller

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this episode of the Watts Up Solar Podcast, host Emmitt Muckles sits down with Alex Heller, Head of Sales and Business Development at Wattch, to explore how data and digital twin technology are transforming the way we monitor, manage, and maintain solar and storage systems. Alex shares his personal journey into renewables, what sets Wattch apart from legacy monitoring platforms, and how intelligent analytics are shaping the future of O&M. From ...

6 months ago

48 minutes

Watts Up Solar Podcast

Solar Generators, Second-Life Panels & Building Solar-Powered Communities w/ Adam C. Powers

Send us a Text to Watts Up Solar Podcast! In this inspiring episode, Emmitt Muckles interviews Adam C. Powers, solar educator, data management expert, and community leader, about how to bring solar equity and sustainability to under-resourced communities. Adam shares his journey from Omnidian to founding KEK Tech Labs, building microgrids from second-life solar panels, and launching the 100% off-grid Solar Punk Festival in Washington state. Discover how he created a solar-powered podcast stud...

6 months ago

31 minutes