In a world grappling with environmental degradation and resource scarcity, solar energy isn’t just a sustainable option, it’s a necessary transformation of our energy infrastructure. However, the transition to sustainable energy options requires awareness and understanding, so people can make informed decisions and wise choices. Prioritizing educating people on solar, ReNew Solar Solutions fosters trust and confidence in this renewable resource.
Unlike traditional companies prioritizing quick sales, ReNew Solar’s customized approach ensures homeowners get a system that truly meets their needs. The company is spearheaded by Owner & CEO John Hrudicka, a purpose-driven and niche leader in the solar industry. Guided by his vision, ReNew Solar Solutions positions itself as a trustworthy partner in this energy transition, helping to create a more sustainable future, one homeowner at a time, one business at a time. Thanks to its contribution towards sustainability, The Enterprise World has featured the company as the “Most Recommended Solar Tech Company in 2024.”
The History Behind its Establishment
Motivated by their shared values and a desire for meaningful impact, John & Krista decided to leave their corporate careers and start their own company. They aimed to create a business with “purpose” and “positive impact”. John’s deep concern for climate change significantly influenced their decision. While many choose to make climate change a political issue, he chooses to pay close attention to the “science” behind climate change and the catastrophic consequences to follow if not addressed.
There is a native American proverb that has stuck with both John & Krista… “we do not inherit the Earth from our Ancestors we borrow it from our children”. Their company was formed to reflect these values, focusing on sustainability and making a difference, even if their actions are just a small part of a larger effort. John acknowledges that while their impact might be just a small contribution… “the entire ocean is affected by a single pebble”. This belief drives their business philosophy, how they treat customers and the emphasis on providing information & education to help homeowners and businesses make the decision to Go Solar!
From the outset, John and his wife committed to a long-term approach, even if it meant leaving money on the table. They refused to adopt the predatory practices common in the solar industry for the sake of profit, where many companies chase the quick dollar through aggressive, deceptive sales tactics and subpar service. Instead, they built their business on the foundation of honesty, transparency and integrity. They do not employ traditional salespeople, rather, they have consultants and highly skilled professionals, including a master electrician, licensed electricians, commercial general contractor and NABCEP certified staff.
The company’s design philosophy centers on excellence and customization. They use the most accurate and sophisticated software in the industry, ensuring that systems are designed by licensed electricians rather than a salesperson focused on making their commission. This focus on custom solutions with the customer at the center, meeting their personal objectives sets them apart from almost any other solar company. Each solar system they design is tailored to their customers’ unique needs and objectives, ensuring optimal performance, value proposition and satisfaction after the “last check is written”.
ReNew Solar Solutions is both strategic and purposeful to provide not just a “product” but a comprehensive solution that addresses the specific “energy management” objectives of each homeowner. The company recognizes and identifies various factors to deliver a personalized and high performing system, such as the individual’s specific backup needs and property characteristics. This meticulous approach ensures every customer receives a solution that is optimized to meet their specific goals and investment in solar.
ReNew Solar has emerged as a leader in the solar industry, driven by its commitment to long-term strategy, customer satisfaction, and environmental responsibility. By prioritizing these values over short-term gains, John and his wife have built a business that is positioned to prioritize the customer and contribute positively to the planet. Moreover, their journey from corporate executives to purpose-driven entrepreneurs emphasizes the impact of aligning business practices with personal values and long-term vision.
A Company and Culture of Action & Words
John is renowned as a niche leader in the solar industry. He firmly believes in the importance of culture within his company and often says, “Words don’t carry a culture; actions do.” This belief guides his leadership and the management of the company. John & Krista fully understand, if they don’t practice and demonstrate “actions” in support of the desired culture then it is certain that nobody will follow. This is not just about employees, but their partners as well, as they view their manufacturers, distributors, marketing agency, etc. as an extension of ReNew Solar Solutions.
ReNew Solar operates on a simple yet powerful tagline: “We treat you, the way we want to be treated.” This means treating the customers’ investment in solar as if they were their own. He further highlights, “We treat our customer’s investment in Solar as if it were our own, as if it were our house we were putting Solar on and our money we were spending”. This principle is applied rigorously at ReNew Solar, even if it means advising customers against solar, turning away customers whose homes and/or investment are unsuitable for solar.
John further explains that while the solar industry has thrived on “cheap money”, that comes at a significant cost to the homeowner. ReNew Solar Solutions takes a very different approach that literally results in the loss of sales. While the industry standard involves financing with hidden dealer fees, which can be substantial,
ReNew has been diligent to practice transparency. For example, a 4.99% rate over 25 years can result in a dealer fee as high as 35%. Because the solar contractor absorbs this cost for the benefit of providing low interest/long term financing, many contractors bury this cost within the overall system price… and do not inform the customer! John refuses to “go along” with this deceptive practice, as simply put… this is not how he would like to be treated. He and his team explain the dealer fee to customers and even advise against this type of financing. John acknowledges, “We influence our customers to avoid this type of financing.”
ReNew fully understands the consequence that it will be a common occurrence that a customer will not choose to invest in solar armed with this knowledge and understanding, and a sale will be lost. John is content with this, as he will tell you that upholding their culture, brand, reputation and personal integrity is a far better outcome than duping a customer for the sake of making a sale. This is the ultimate example of ReNew staying steadfast in avoiding short-term decision-making at the sacrifice of long-term culture and integrity.
ReNew Solar Solutions is dedicated to providing customers with as much information and education as needed in order that their customers are equipped to make the best decision for themselves and their families. ReNew believes that whatever decision the customer makes is the “right one” if that informed decision aligns with their personal objectives and considers all the information and data available to them. There is a hint of selfish intent on the part of ReNew… they know if they “treat customers the right way”, they will tell other people; even if they, themselves, did not elect to Go Solar.
Another important aspect of John’s leadership is his emphasis on teamwork. He often shares his philosophy: “It is never the case or possible for the leader to always be the smartest person in the room, to know everything and be in all places at all times. The team always, always trumps any individual.” As a sports enthusiast, he believes that business, much like in sports; that winning and sustained success is a function of being the best team.
He likes to cite that in sports, the scoreboard is binary in telling you whether your team won or lost… even if Michael Jordan scored 50 points and the scoreboard shows the Chicago Bulls lost, something broke down within the team that resulted in suboptimal performance.John has always been an advocate and firm believer of regularly involving his team in decision-making and ideation processes, because he knows collaborative efforts will yield better results.
He states, “I commonly bring my team into the fold of decision-making, creativity, all these things. Because I firmly believe I am going to yield a better result, and two, I know they’ll own it more passionately if they were part of or perhaps drove the solution.” This fosters a sense of ownership and commitment among team members, which ultimately drives motivation, engagement and collaboration/alignment – core pillars of a great team.
In summary, John’s leadership is defined by a strong belief in culture, transparency, and teamwork. His dedication to treating customers with honesty and respect, providing thorough education, and fostering a collaborative team environment sets his company apart in the solar industry. This commitment to core values ensures that every decision made by the company is in the best interest of both the customers and the team, ultimately driving long-term success and growth.
At the Forefront of Tech Advancements
ReNew Solar Solutions is always at the forefront of technological advancements. Recognizing the swift pace of technology, the company has adapted numerous times to stay ahead, but more importantly, provide the very best technology and equipment to their customers. John strongly believes in differentiation: “If you’re not differentiated, then you’re relegated to compete on price. I don’t want to compete on price.” Most companies in the solar industry focus on just throwing up racking and panels and moving on to the next job. In contrast,
ReNew Solar Solutions invests significant time in “consultation” with the specific intent to understand their customer’s needs and deliver a unique, optimal design. This customer centric and comprehensive approach ensures the best value proposition is delivered to the Homeowner.
John explains that knowledge and expertise of Tennessee’s self-consumption solar program and the implied inclusion of batteries is a critical foundation for accurate design and delivering on their customer’s objectives. “Self-consumption” simply means that the power generated by solar is used directly by the customer. Therefore, batteries are essential as approximately 75% of a homeowner’s power consumption occurs outside of “core sun-hours” for solar production.
Batteries not only contribute significantly to utility bill reduction, but also provide energy independence through backup, and less or elimination of reliance on their utility. Ironically, ReNew will tell you that most of their customers pursue solar to achieve “energy independence” to protect their home and family. A classic phrase ReNew likes to use… “if you OWN YOUR HOME; why not OWN YOUR POWER”!
Design with batteries is the core competency of ReNew and the most important foundation for delivering a solar system solution that does what the customer wants! Many companies overlook this, as this is the hard part, as batteries bring increased complexity to both design and installation, tenfold that of a solar-only system.
ReNew Solar Solutions dedicates extensive resources and training to this skill. For example, five team members of the ReNew team have attended a 5-day school dedicated to battery design and installation. ReNew’s design and crew teams are certified in all the major battery offerings. The company employs both a master electrician and licensed electricians, as this skillset aligns most closely with the complexity batteries introduced to a holistic solar system.
ReNew doesn’t stop at batteries in providing you with the industry’s most comprehensive energy management system. The production of solar is only one side of the equation; consumption of power at the home is the other side. To that end, ReNew installs a Sense Solar Home Monitoring device with every system. This device not only tracks your solar production via an app, but also your home power consumption… down to the individual discrete appliance and device level. This comprehensive data and information enable the customer to more effectively manage their energy,
reducing their utility bill further and optimizing backup in a grid down situation. ReNew Solar Solutions also provides EMP Shields, protecting against electromagnetic pulses strikes (EMP and lightning strikes, with a $25,000 insurance policy for lightning strikes. More and more customers are educating themselves and are growing increasingly concerned over both grid frailty and vulnerability, causing them to more aggressively seek energy independence solutions.
ReNew Solar Solutions is also a partner with Pearl Certification, which selects and works only with top-tier companies that contribute to energy efficiency at the home. At present, Pearl only partners with less than 1% of all Solar contractors nationwide – ReNew Solar Solutions is proud to be one of them. Pearl will not only certify your solar system but provide a professional appraisal of the solar system’s added value to your home, differentiating ReNew Solar Solutions further.
Another distinct area of differentiation is ReNew’s new partnership with SolarInsure, backed by Zurich, an AM Best A+-rated company. SolarInsure offers a 30-year warranty on all PV components and doubles the battery warranty to 20 years! If a battery drops below 50% capacity or becomes defective even upon the 19th year, they replace it for FREE with no deductible. Even if ReNew and/or the manufacturer goes out of business, you are still covered! ReNew Solar Solutions is the only company in Tennessee authorized to provide this insurance policy.
This leads us to perhaps the most compelling aspect of ReNew’s business model and putting the customer at the core – Service! Yes, the system design is critical, the installation is important… but equally important is the company that stands behind their product after the last check is written! ReNew Solar Solutions provides the industry’s best LIFETIME Craftsmanship Warranty, while other companies only have 1-5 years. They have a dedicated service department led by their former, best crew leader, ensuring prompt and effective resolution of any issues. ReNew’s LIFETIME Craftsmanship Warranty, combined with SolarInsure and dedicated Service brings their Homeowners the ultimate “Peace of Mind” that they have a life-long trusted partner in their renewable energy journey.
Commitment to Team Culture and Excellence
ReNew Solar Solutions deeply understands the importance of building a cohesive team. John firmly believes that the solar industry, while challenging for recruitment, thrives on the synergy and fit of its members. He advocates a comprehensive recruitment approach, extending beyond core competencies, knowledge, and experience. He emphasizes that candidates’ technical skills become secondary if they do not align with the company’s culture. During recruitment, the company ensures that every candidate meets a minimum threshold of competency and experience.
However, the emphasis is placed equally on their cultural fit, in fact, it is the “ante in the game”. New hires at ReNew Solar are introduced to the company’s ethos and operational principles. This introduction is pivotal as it reflects how the company interacts with customers and conducts business. If a candidate fails to resonate with these values, it likely indicates a mismatch with the company’s culture.
John recognizes that recruits that come from other companies could possess “bad habits” that may cause risk to the ReNew way of doing things. While ReNew Solar Solutions will give a chance to a well vetted candidate of this nature, their philosophy historically has been that it often requires more effort to break down those bad habits than it would to train someone new. The harmony within the team at ReNew Solar Solutions is intentional and highly valued.
The company selects individuals who work well together, understanding that teamwork is essential for successful installations and great customer outcomes. John instills in his team the importance of mutual responsibility and accountability. He encourages his crew to consider the welfare of their colleagues and their families, fostering a family-oriented atmosphere within the company.
This family-oriented approach, how they treat both customer and employee, is the essential foundation to their belief system and culture. They believe in creating an environment where employees feel valued and will likely stay long-term, enjoying their work and contributing positively to the company culture. Occasionally, the company brings in individuals who seem to fit initially but later prove otherwise. In such cases, this is dealt with swiftly that is in the best interest of the company and the individual. The company has a strong belief that individuals can be either cancerous to the “team” through negative behavior or motivate/energize the team’s alignment and performance… They want the former!
John & Krista take immense pride in their team, particularly when customers mention team members by name in their reviews or feedback they provide. This is a testament that they are choosing the right people, building a strong team and driving a sustainable culture. Make no mistake, ReNew believes to their core that their culture is more important than technology, design, installation, etc. to ensure “long-term” success. Culture trumps strategy, every time!
