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About
Dayspring

Paul Hartley Dayspring Solar
Hi there. I’m Paul Hartley and I started Dayspring Solar in order to directly support Solar Installers and Homeowners in the pursuit of their solar energy goals. Equipping people to be successful is what motivates me each day.

You can read my full story below, but here are few facts about my experience:

  • 25 years of engineering experience (the last 12 in Solar)
  • Licensed as a Professional Engineer (PE)
  • Certified as a PV Installation Professional, since 2011, through NABCEP (North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners)
  • I installed (with a little help from my friends) a Solar array on my home in 2017.

2008 was a big year. I had been doing civil and land-development engineering for 15 years and grew increasingly uncomfortable with my part in turning woodlands into housing developments. I have always had a love for the land and a belief that we are here to be stewards of this amazing creation. I sensed that only through sustainable development could we ensure our planet would still be beautiful to future generations. With the knowledge that Energy is one of our basic needs, along with food and water, I began a new journey to become trained in renewable energy technologies.


Over the next few years, I took courses, networked, and read all I could about the most viable options for a harnessing renewable energy. My focus settled on Solar Electric (Photovoltaic, or PV) technology as a vehicle for harvesting clean energy. I met many other like-minded people in those early years, all with a shared vision of being part of the energy transformation that our world needed. Each of us came into this industry with diverse skillsets, and abilities. For those who overcame the learning curve, there would be opportunities to shape a new career path in this exciting and ever-changing world of renewable energy.


For me, the new path brought a fresh combination of technical challenges and relational rewards. Rather than mapping areas of tree removal I was now helping the environment. Rather than just putting designs to paper, I was now building solar arrays that would harvest clean energy. I have always enjoyed and embraced the human side of engineering. This quality was put to use as I helped one family at a time become educated on the technology, overcome their doubts and climb onto the “Solar Wagon.”


Fast forward to present day and Solar PV has indeed become mainstream. Solar arrays can be seen on homes in many neighborhoods. And yet, only a small percentage of families in the U.S. are now harvesting clean, free solar energy.  The term “Solar-Coaster” has been coined to describe the wild ride of the solar energy industry over the last decade. There is no shortage of information available to energy enthusiasts. The problem may be an overabundance of information, and not all of it is of equal value. A web search can turn up scores of sources, all offering some combination of products and services, with an invitation to take the plunge into the world of solar.


Now that I have navigated this journey for many years, I want to be a guide to the current generation of energy explorers. 


You can stumble your way up a mountain on your own, as long as you don’t lose heart, but why not take a guide along with you…someone who has travelled the path and can lead you to the top. Dayspring Solar was founded to be such a guide on this journey towards renewable energy. I would be honored to equip you for the journey. To quote a well-known sage, “The journey of a thousand miles begins with one step.”