Field manager Kevin Rosales installs and checks his company's solar panels.

Hot jobs: Oh, Solar Mio

Harnessing sun for its energy
Thanks to www.sacbee.com

Somebody's got to get up on that hot roof when it's 110 degrees in direct sunlight and install those solar panels, and before the job is done, go inside the house and climb into 130-degree attics and double-check the wiring.

That somebody is Kevin Rosales, field manager for Sun Power & Geothermal Energy, a San Rafael company that harnesses solar power.

"We're directly in the sun. These panels require full sunlight," he said. "If I'm working in the shade, I'm not doing my job correctly."

It takes three to four days for his crew to outfit a house with the proper number of solar-powered photo-voltaics - solar panels that convert the sun's energy into electricity. Right now they're finishing up a job requiring 6,000 panels on a government building in Butte County.

The hottest day so far?

"A few years back, it got up to 110 degrees," he said, adding that it's even hotter on a roof. "We took a digital thermometer with a laser and shot it up where we were working. It said it was 127 degrees."

That's one hot job.