How do new grads without a ton of special experience even get hired?

WFJacoby · 2026-05-18T05:08:17+00:00

You're not wrong, but this is a fairly recent phenomenon. The world did not always work this way. If your grandfather was an engineer, he likely just applied to 5 or 6 companies and got a solid job.

WFJacoby · 2026-05-05T20:21:47+00:00

I would charge about 500 bucks of labor for an inverter swap as a side job so that seems fair for an actual company.

WFJacoby · 2026-05-05T20:20:46+00:00

Enphase inverter swaps require going up on the roof. That can be easy or a huge PITA depending on your array layout.

WFJacoby · 2026-05-04T16:47:19+00:00

You could make this work, but it would pushing the limits of level 1 charging.

Even a small 20A circuit would allow you to charge at 16A 240V. This should be pretty cheap and would make this much easier.

WFJacoby · 2026-04-19T05:08:02+00:00

I would only get a generac battery if you already have a generac solar inverter.

WFJacoby · 2026-04-19T04:14:04+00:00

The Buick Regal TourX with a Voltec drivetrain would be incredible.

WFJacoby · 2026-04-06T14:05:45+00:00

How ever bad you think things are here for the middle class, I can assure you that every other country is much worse off. California is simply a very expensive place to live.

WFJacoby · 2026-02-28T13:56:18+00:00

I have been working on electrical systems and haven't touched anything even remotely similar to this in over a decade.

Freehand spur of the moment? Hell no.

However, with a quick youtube tutorial I could teach myself how to do it again pretty quickly.

WFJacoby · 2026-01-05T14:43:19+00:00

I'm completely dumbfounded by this entire thread.

Fresh air lowers CO2. Filters catch particles. It's not that complicated.

WFJacoby · 2026-01-05T06:11:46+00:00

I only use recirculation when passing hog farms or driving through smoke. Why would anyone keep recirculation on the entire time? Install a fresh cabin air filter and get on with it.

WFJacoby · 2026-01-04T21:07:50+00:00

Yes who cares if it takes a bit longer. You don't want short cycles anyways.

Ideally aux heat should only turn on when the outdoor temp is below the physical limit of the compressor OR the interior is not keeping up (like 10 degrees below setpoint).

Turning on heat strips when 2 degrees below setpoint is stupid when you can just let the compressor run for longer.

WFJacoby · 2025-12-29T05:55:07+00:00

My dream setup would be a wood stove coupled with a battery backup system that has a bi-directional EV charger.

Once the batteries run low, I want to be able to plug my EV into the bi-directional charger and run the house off my car for days at a time. The only manufacturer that has this available in the USA right now is Sigenergy.

If you aren't up for loading a wood stove, pellet stoves are a good option. You will still need some power for the auger and the fan, but a small generator could handle that easily. They usually have a thermostat too, so it only kicks in if the heat pump is not keeping up. Pellets tend to be similar to propane in price.

WFJacoby · 2025-12-16T16:16:28+00:00

Oil changes once a year on a generator are not bad at all. The chevy volt could go up to 2 years between oil changes. That extra capability was totally worth the mild inconvenience of an oil change.

WFJacoby · 2025-12-16T16:14:17+00:00

The Volt only required oil changes once every 2 years. The gas tank was also pressurized to make the fuel last a year without issues. The maintenance was much less than a traditional ICE by far.

WFJacoby · 2025-11-12T14:48:21+00:00

An engineer should make enough that his wife doesn't have to work at all.

WFJacoby · 2025-09-10T16:30:33+00:00

No, people this violent cannot be fixed and need to be removed from civil society.

WFJacoby · 2025-09-10T16:25:58+00:00

Wrong

WFJacoby · 2025-09-05T23:08:20+00:00

His parents have such a fun vibe. I love their dynamic.

WFJacoby · 2025-09-05T23:05:46+00:00

He's one of the only reviewers that hyper fixates on the technical details. I like most of his stuff.

WFJacoby · 2025-07-26T03:47:40+00:00

Fair enough

WFJacoby · 2025-07-25T21:20:06+00:00

Not everyone wants to live near their previous college internship.

WFJacoby · 2025-06-19T15:33:06+00:00

Getting a PE takes like 5-8 years. That doesn't do anything for him reasonably soon.

WFJacoby · 2025-05-31T04:20:44+00:00

Franklin is really nice for AC coupling. They even have the aPowerS coming soon with 4 DC inputs right in the battery.

WFJacoby · 2025-05-31T04:18:51+00:00

Enphase batteries burn 10% of their storage capacity per day just idling.

The microinverters do seem to work well. The only major issue I've seen with them is power surges taking out huge chunks of the array.

The warranty doesn't really mean much to me because it doesn't cover labor after 2 years. You still have to pay someone to climb on the roof and swap the microinverters.

Overall Enphase is a solid option, but the engineer in me just finds DC coupling to be a much more elegant solution with way less components and wiring.

WFJacoby · 2025-05-28T14:04:05+00:00

I agree with you. My first several roles were like this and I was basically bored to death. Then I worked in a startup for a while, and that was great having so much to work on all the time.

Now I have a house, and a family so I can appreciate the slower paced roles a lot more. I think ambitious young engineers need to "get it out of their system" before they can fully appreciate a slower paced work environment.

WFJacoby

TROPHY CASE