Internship - Makello Blog

March 25, 2020October 14, 2021

Makello Research Assistant in UCSD ESYS Capstone

AuroraSolar solar design model energy analysis irridiance

I was going into my last quarter of undergrad at UCSD when I started interning at Makello. The internship was part of my Senior Project, and I enjoyed working with a diversely skilled team. I worked with people with experience in many fields including software/electrical engineering, solar installation, non-profit organizations, management experience, and GIS systems all united by a common goal: clean energy.

I recently completed my B.S. in Environmental Systems and Earth Sciences with a minor in Marine Sciences. I am pursuing a career to combat climate change to preserve our planet as we know it, but there is also a part of me that feels a societal obligation to help elevate the standard of living (if they want it) for people who do not have equal access to opportunities such as education, community resources, healthy foods, etc. I believe we live in a society to take care of each other, and generally, disadvantaged communities could use additional resources, so I was excited to work with a company that works closely with non-profit organizations, especially non-profits in disadvantaged communities, such as Groundwork San Diego. I am thrilled to be in a position, right out of college, where I can help combat both social and environmental justice.

Makello Team City Heights 5k run — The Makello Team (left to right) Agustin, Ola, Linda, Charlie

During my internship, we attended many events as both attendees and presenters, sometimes with Groundwork San Diego or our solar installation team. Examples of events were community activities, such as organized runs or home and garden shows, where we would provide information about electric vehicles and solar. We also attended car shows and electric vehicle focused events to stay current with new electric vehicle technology and to help explain their benefits to the public.

Click here to see how I discovered Makello.

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Part of my initial training was how to use solar design and cash flow analysis software, the site survey measurements and the customer’s goals to determine the Optimal System Size. I grew up doing home remodels and renovations during summers, so I enjoyed visiting different homes and seeing different styles of architecture and landscaping throughout San Diego. It was cool to see some existing solar arrays that customers had already installed too. It was also nice to be able to put a face to the customers whose proposals we were working on.

Working on customer proposals and site surveys was my favorite part of the internship because it was a combination of computer design and modeling, hands on physical labor, and critical and analytical thinking. I still enjoy the same work, but now my Research Assistant position is 100% remote because we follow CDC guidelines to keep ourselves and our community safe. We used Makello’s software model to create the custom trade-off study proposals for each customer and automatically generate the correct price, ethically, without sales gimmicks.

Makello’s honesty and knowledge of energy efficiency, utility rates, solar power, electric vehicles, and battery storage, as well as assessing the needs of individual customers and their families, is what drives the high win rate with customer proposals. On more than one occasion, customers wanted to purchase more solar than they needed, or wanted a battery because they believed it would increase cost savings. Using Makello’s model, our team showed that, in fact, a smaller solar system is needed if replacing inefficient appliances, or changing the times the appliances are in use.

solar installation San Diego — It was cool to meet customers and see awesome, unique solar arrays while on site surveys. We took measurements of the site area and roof slopes and evaluated the integrity of the roof, electric panel, and other necessary requirements to install solar. We also observed appliances and lighting and would make suggestions for appliance or behavioral changes to reduce energy consumption and costs.

rooftop solar San Diego — It was cool to meet customers and see awesome, unique solar arrays while on site surveys. We took measurements of the site area and roof slopes and evaluated the integrity of the roof, electric panel, and other necessary requirements to install solar. We also observed appliances and lighting and would make suggestions for appliance or behavioral changes to reduce energy consumption and costs.

I was excited to work on a diversely skilled team to create community pages for our website. We ended up creating a valuable tool with important information and graphics for San Diego communities. The pages had GIS Maps that displayed information on a variety of issues such as air quality, electric vehicle charging station locations, rebate eligibility, etc. We also included a list of different rebates and incentives for solar, electric vehicles and battery storage as well as information as to why they are beneficial to the environment and how they can save money. Click here to view the community pages.

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September 26, 2019October 15, 2021

Makello Aids NPOs & NGOs in Environmental Justice

EV Association of SD at Groundwork San Diego’s EarthLab

I met Charlie, the CEO and founder of Makello, during the summer while I was interning at Groundwork San Diego’s EarthLab in partnership with UC San Diego’s Center on Global Justice. While at the EarthLab, I was a college mentor for Groundwork’s High School Green Team. We were learning about electric vehicles, and Charlie was one of the guests who volunteered his time to come speak to us about the benefits, technology, and affordability of Plug-In Vehicles.

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The fee for the Ethical Energy Savings Report is refundable (less the 3rd-Party $15 utility data access charge) or credited towards our installation services, after you attend the presentation meeting and complete a 5 minute survey after permission to operate.

Includes up to 5 hours research by the Makello team, and 1 hour Q&A, by Makello’s Ethical Energy Efficiency Expert.

The first time I met him was with the Electric Vehicle Association of San Diego. Charlie and other members of the EV Association came to the EarthLab and spoke to us about electric vehicles, their experiences with them, why they loved them, and allowed us to ride along in their vehicles!

Charlie volunteered his time on four occasions during the four week program. The second time I met him, he and Songxuan came to the EarthLab to do a solar and electric vehicle demonstration. We used solar ovens, metal sheets that reflect sunlight into a concentrated location, to heat up solar chili and cornbread. It was so good! He also gave us a quick presentation on “What to Know About Plug-In Vehicles”. The presentation was really cool because he demonstrated how the car, a MINI Countryman Plug-In Hybrid, could be used as a battery bank, using it to power the laptops and monitor, and explained how solar could charge up the car. We also got to look at the battery packs for his converted Plug-In Prius.

You don’t need a ton of solar to save money.

During his presentations to us, he acknowledged that he was a small business owner, but never tried to sell us on his products. Instead he explained how the technology worked, why the technology is more environmentally and community friendly, and how the technology could, in fact, be made affordable to families in disadvantaged communities. Solar and electric vehicle adoption contributes to safer, cleaner communities. Less greenhouse gases and smog are emitted from cars and power plants, leading to better air quality in communities.

Northgate Market Public EV Charging Stations grand opening — Makello, Groundwork San Diego, and EVgo grand opening at Northgate Market at 1410 S 43rd St, San Diego, CA 92113; 4 CCS/SAE 50kW and 5 CHAdeMO 50kW EV Chargers.

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Charlie was also at the grand opening of the EVgo public charging stations at Northgate Market in the Chollas Creek Community that Groundwork helped sponsor and EarthLab’s Green Team attended.

Groundwork San Diego EarthLab presentation UCSD internship — The final presentation for my Groundwork San Diego/EarthLab internship that Charlie attended. Also in attendance were UCSD professors, Groundwork San Diego staff, EVgo staff, and Chollas Creek Community members.

Charlie also attended the final presentation for my summer internship at Groundwork San Diego. I appreciated how Charlie volunteered so much of his time to EarthLab and the Green Team, and I could see myself working for someone whose business motivation does not come from maximizing profits, but is rooted in education, conservation, and community well being. I exchanged contact information and soon had an internship with Makello! More information about my Makello internship is available here.

March 26, 2018April 2, 2024

My UCSD Internship in Software Engineering

Research Intern Bhavna Gupta w/ Makello CEO Charlie Johnson

I first saw Makello at the Triton Career fair, where their colorful booth, binders full of pictures of the work they’ve done, and my would-be boss’s passionate pitch immediately captured my attention and made me want to work there.

As an energy efficiency and renewable energy company, Makello is in a field that I was initially unfamiliar with. Thus, being an intern there made the summer very educational for me because I was assigned to perform various tasks that really expanded my skill set. I learned about the field of sustainability and alternative energy, developed new skills in various computer programs such as Microsoft Excel and Zoho CRM, and practiced communication from working with both customers and other interns. It broadened my horizons and my mindset in a way I didn’t know I needed, and made me appreciate the value of learning outside the classroom.
The most exciting aspect of interning for Makello was that no two days were exactly the same; we were constantly learning new skills and given different assignments. Below are just a small handful of the tasks that I got to complete.

Customer Proposals
One of the main focuses of the summer was creating customer proposals. The first task was to update the company’s already existing business model with the most recent data for energy usage in San Diego. This required me to research prices and formulas about gas and electricity, and then input the data into Microsoft Excel. Once the model was up-to-date, we would enter the customer’s electric and gas usage and it would automatically generate a proposal for their solar needs. If the customer was interested, we followed a similar process to create proposals for replacing their most commonly used lighting around the house with LED light bulbs, which would ultimately save them more money.

Database/Computer Programs
Over the course of the summer, I was given a variety of tasks that required me to use different computer programs, some which I had no experience with. For example, we used Zoho CRM to manage the customer database. I previously had never been exposed to any database software, but it was very easy to learn and we were able to input lots of new customer data and easily access it when necessary. We also used Microsoft Excel for the business model; although it had already been created, I had to update formulas for some cells based on up-to-date rates, as well as add features to the model so we could create more accurate and adaptable customer proposals. Ever since learning the basics of Excel that summer, it has proven to be a very helpful skill because Excel is so frequently used. At the end of the summer, I was also tasked with using Adobe Photoshop for a new marketing campaign trial.

Client Interaction
Because Makello’s leading focus is sales, the business heavily relies on the satisfaction of its customers, so keeping positive relations with clients was an important part of the summer. We interacted with these customers both via email and in person at their business or home, so I spent a large portion of the summer building my communication skills. We created their proposal prior to our first meeting with them, so we were prepared with data and tangible numbers in the first meeting. We presented our proposal, performed a Site Survey to obtain details about their roof, and performed and Energy Audit to potentially save them more money. Because this usually involved being in someone’s home, we had to be very respectful to their time and space. The actual meetings were often very rewarding because the customers were so surprised and pleased by how prepared we were.
Aside from being exposed to the exciting field of renewable energy, the field of the future, my summer at Makello allowed me to develop and grow numerous personal skills. It was so much fun getting to do new things everyday, and was incredibly beneficial to have such a variety of tasks. Although I was working in a field that I had no experience in, with just an open mind and a desire to learn I was able to succeed and develop useful skills for the future. – by Bhavna Gupta

March 23, 2018April 2, 2024

My UC Davis Environmental Engineer Internship

Energy Efficiency Research Intern Ashiq Syed with Makello

I first heard about Makello from a friend who was attending the UCSD Spring Job Fair. At the time, I was a fresh graduate in Environmental Engineering from UC Davis exploring companies that were as passionate about renewable energy as I was. From my friend’s vivid explanation of Makello’s job booth, displaying their countless solar installations and home energy improvements, I knew this was one opportunity I couldn’t miss out on.

I went onto Makello’s website and read more about the company goals and beliefs regarding solar and electric vehicles, and found that it matched my interests perfectly. After submitting my resume and getting scheduled for an interview with the lead Energy Efficiency Analyst, I was eventually offered the Energy Efficiency Research Position by the CEO himself, Charlie Johnson.

Solar Energy is Makello’s primary focus when it comes to the company’s purpose. In a very profitable position within the market, Makello establishes its own leads, assesses a homeowner’s electricity consumption, designs an adequate solar array to meet those needs, and then hands off the design to any solar installation company of their choice. During my time as a lead solar array designer on the Makello solar design team, Green Energy EPC was the primary solar installation company Makello worked with, considering the two company owners had developed a very strong partnership over the years.
In addition to being a solar design firm, Makello stood out from the competition by seeking alternative techniques to reduce a homeowner’s electric bill before assessing the electricity needs. To make it simple, by essentially spending $200-$300 swapping out a houses incandescent lightbulbs and excessive energy consuming appliances, a homeowner could potentially cut down the cost of their solar array by $2,000-$3,000. Such cost savings took many customers by pleasant surprise.
Lastly, Charlie Johnson is firm believer of energy independence, which is why he believes that an all-electric future of vehicles is much closer and more affordable than society thinks. With every customer, Charlie carefully sits down and explains what long term cost savings can mean for each respective homeowner. In more cases than not, the average homeowner is capable of purchasing a brand-new Tesla within a matter of 5-6 years if they were to go solar today.
Charlie’s heart and soul are truly and deeply ingrained in renewable energy and electric vehicles. And although it was time for me to move on and explore other opportunities closer to home, Charlie’s drive and passion will surely open up a whole new frontier to the next generation of renewable energy connoisseurs. -by Ashiq Syed

January 20, 2016April 2, 2024

My UCSD Internship at Wipomo

Tatiana Freinn Von Rheinbaben, Wipomo Research Intern

In the summer of 2015, I worked full-time for the San Diego based energy efficiency company Wipomo. Overall, I had a great and very rewarding learning experience, especially since this was the first internship that I completed in the sustainability and alternative energy sector, an area I would like to work in after graduation.

Research Intern Tatiana assisting on a solar installation — Wipomo Research Intern Tatiana Freinn Von Rheinbaben helping out in a solar installation

As a fourth-year U.C. San Diego student and molecular biology major, my background, aside from a membership of the UCSD organization Engineers for a Sustainable World, did not provide engineering or computer science classes prior to her internship at Wipomo. Thus, basically all the tasks I performed at Wipomo were new to me, but through hard work, dedication and love for nature, conservation, and sustainable development, I was able to contribute to the development of the company and complete my assignments.

My part-time work with Wipomo began in May 2015, and continues until graduation in June 2016. As a social media administrator, I post interesting articles, pictures and/or videos of our work in the field on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Yelp and Youtube. I also helped to staff the Wipomo booth at events, like EcoFest (9th year, formerly Encinitas Environment Day), where Wipomo organized the Energy Ecosystem Pavilion and Electric Vehicle Showcase, or similar to events at UCSD where ESW & Wipomo demonstrated a mobile electric vehicle charging station to commercial business owners.

My full-time work with Wipomo, from July – September, I helped Charlie Johnson, the CEO, to create proposals for customers: we would input a costumers personal, electricity and gas usage information in our model and analyze the house/property with Google Earth to estimate the amount of solar modules the costumer would need to bring the electricity bill close to $0.

During the site survey appointment, we would inspect the roof, measure the roof dimensions, the angle of tilt and azimuth, and record a shading analysis. In some cases, if agreed so by the customer, we also performed an Energy Audit. We record power and use characteristics for appliances, light bulbs, pumps and motors, in our software tools, to analyze the potential cost savings from energy efficiency upgrades like LEDs or Energy Star appliances.

At the office, we interact with the Wipomo team, electrical engineers, mechanical engineers, software engineers, energy efficiency experts, suppliers, distributors and construction industry personnel, to discover the trade-offs in equipment, site and installation techniques for a particular customer. Often we inquire with Sam Syed, owner of Green Energy EPC, before finalizing the solar photovoltaic system proposal. Sam’s team is the one that actually accomplishes the solar array installation. Sam is a NABCEP certified solar installer. He teaches the PV Installation classes at Cuyamaca College and Mira Costa College (Oceanside). I had the chance of watching various Green Energy EPC installations and even assisting at one installation as a volunteer. For a non-engineering person such as myself, the solar installation was an incredibly rewarding experience under the guidance of Green Energy EPC’s trained installers – drilling on the roof, positioning solar modules, connecting the modules to inverters and helping out with various other small tasks was a lot of fun. Overall, I truly enjoyed being outside, in the field and interacting with the customers directly and not only via phone or email. Oh yes- and the view from the roof is usually beautiful!

Another great part of my internship was the fact that I attended the Intersolar North American Conference in San Francisco, a yearly conference where various international companies present their technologies- solar panels, installation equipment, batteries, inverters, and the list goes on and on. And since we were already in Northern California, we also met with a few commercial and residential customers in the Bay Area that are installing in 2016.

Now, after my internship, I can definitely say that I would like to keep working in the field of renewable energy and sustainable development. I might not always work in the solar industry, but I do realize how this field is currently booming and can definitely benefit people and the environment at the same time.
So, my conclusion: after all, anyone can excel in a field that might seem foreign at first- it is up to you to put heart and passion into your work to create the reality you are looking for.

By Tatiana Freinn Von Rheinbaben, Wipomo Research Intern