{"id":223865,"date":"2026-06-17T17:14:43","date_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:14:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/?p=223865"},"modified":"2026-06-17T17:14:43","modified_gmt":"2026-06-17T15:14:43","slug":"the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/","title":{"rendered":"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"

Commissioning feels like holding your breath, the final step where months of engineering and planning come together, and everything that looked good on paper proves itself in the field. <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Rows of panels,\u00a0perfectly placed. Cables pulled and landed. Inverters bolted down and\u00a0waiting. At the center of it all, SMA’s Medium Voltage Power Station, a fully integrated system combining inverter, transformer and switchgear, delivered ready to commission. Everything is where it should be, and none of it is doing anything yet.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s\u00a0where Sarah Todd comes in.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She calls Illinois home, but the work takes her everywhere. Minnesota, Missouri, Michigan, site after site, close to 300 nights a year in hotel rooms. She comes in when\u00a0it’s\u00a0time to commission and stabilize systems at scale, when the stakes are high and getting it wrong\u00a0isn’t\u00a0an option.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The Dedication Needed to Bring Projects to Life<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

No two sites run the same. Weather shifts. Every customer has a date they must hit and a reason it\u00a0can’t\u00a0move.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah figures out the situation fast. Then she\u00a0reverse\u00a0engineers a way to make it happen.\u00a0Adaptability\u00a0isn’t\u00a0a soft skill.\u00a0It’s\u00a0the core of thriving in the job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

It also takes patience. The kind that\u2019s built\u00a0standing in a field at the end of a long day, knowing the answer is in there somewhere and that walking away\u00a0isn’t\u00a0an option.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

At a project site in, Minnesota, she has commissioned multiple phases, each built around SMA’s Medium Voltage Power Station, handling up to 4,600 kVA and designed to come online fast. She calls them her babies.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She knows the equipment the way you know a road\u00a0you’ve\u00a0driven a hundred times. What purrs\u00a0along.\u00a0What’s\u00a0about to stall.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“You can have a site sitting cold, not doing anything,” she says. “Then you throw\u00a01200 to\u00a01300\u00a0volts at it, and it all has to work.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s\u00a0when the site tells you what\u00a0it’s\u00a0been hiding. A fault that\u00a0wasn’t\u00a0there in testing. A connection that holds fine until\u00a0it’s\u00a0under load. A system that looked correct on paper\u00a0but\u00a0behaves differently once\u00a0it’s\u00a0live.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah’s mind is already moving before the fault code finishes populating.\u00a0She’s\u00a0cross-referencing what\u00a0she’s\u00a0seeing against every other site\u00a0she’s\u00a0stood in, running down the list.\u00a0Electrical. Mechanical. Field conditions. She narrows it down until something\u00a0gives.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The clock\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0stop. Neither does she.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“If we’ve committed to a deadline, we’ll do whatever it takes to meet it,”\u00a0Sarah\u00a0says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Some days run long. Some stretch into the weekend. The\u00a0goal\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0change. Find it, fix it, and\u00a0make it work.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

The SMA Advantage, Behind the Scenes<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

From the outside, some problems seem simple. A ground fault, for instance.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In practice, it\u00a0rarely is.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“A ground fault can come from anywhere,” Sarah says. “It might be\u00a0the\u00a0inverter. It might be something out in the field. You have to dig into everything.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That’s\u00a0where years on the job start to matter. SMA has been building and servicing solar systems since 1981. Pattern recognition. Knowing which direction to go first. Knowing when to pick up the phone.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

And knowing who to call.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0troubleshoot alone. She works closely with SMA’s applications engineering team, the\u00a0Remote Control\u00a0Center\u00a0and internal\u00a0logistics\u00a0to move parts and solutions as fast as the situation demands. That network is part of what she brings to every\u00a0site,\u00a0a company built to back up the person standing in the field.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“We don’t hide from problems,” she says. “We’re direct. We tell the customer what’s going on and we fix it.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That directness is\u00a0both\u00a0personal\u00a0and institutional. SMA has built its service model around trust. Customers get answers, not\u00a0deflection. They get a timeline, not just a ticket number. And they\u00a0get\u00a0Sarah.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Built for the Work<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

SMA’s field service team is built around a particular kind of person. Technical ability matters, but so does something harder to teach. An instinct for the work. A need to figure things out that was there long before the job.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah\u00a0didn’t\u00a0come up through a typical solar path.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She worked a range of jobs, including time at Amazon, before going back to school with a focus on wind energy. Welding. Pneumatics. Hydraulics. Circuits and devices. The kind of training that means something in the field.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She grew up working with her hands. Dirt track racing. Softball. Being outside, figuring things out as she went. Taking equipment apart and putting it back together because\u00a0that’s\u00a0how her mind\u00a0worked and\u00a0still does.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

After losing her father young, she fixed what needed fixing at home because someone had to. She figured\u00a0out she was good at it.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

That instinct\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0turn off when she gets home.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“Legos,” she says. “I build Legos and chill.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Earning Trust in the Field<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

In an industry where timelines are tight and stakes are high, relationships matter.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Sarah has multiple customers she has worked with over the years that request her by name.\u00a0<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

They appreciate that\u00a0she\u00a0\u00a0consistently\u00a0been attentive and highly involved in every aspect of her work.\u00a0Her customers reflect that she\u00a0demonstrates\u00a0a strong commitment to getting things done, even stepping in during unplanned weekends with harsh weather. Her level of dedication has not gone unnoticed and has made\u00a0a huge difference.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Over\u00a0time,\u00a0trust compounds. Customers learn that SMA will respond quickly,\u00a0stay\u00a0honest\u00a0and follow through. Sarah\u00a0learns\u00a0the sites well enough to get ahead of them.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“We’ve\u00a0grown\u00a0with our customers,” she says. “You start to predict the hiccups before they happen.”<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Moment It All Works<\/span><\/b>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

All the troubleshooting, the long days, the weekends that become workdays, it comes down to one moment.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

First\u00a0power.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The inverter comes online. The system stabilizes. A project that existed on paper and then in pieces is suddenly producing clean energy for the grid.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

“It’s the best sound,” she says.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

She\u00a0doesn’t\u00a0linger.\u00a0There’s\u00a0another site waiting.<\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

\n \n
\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n \n
\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n
\n \n\n
<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n \n\n
\n 5\/5 - (2 votes) <\/div>\n <\/div>\n
<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Commissioning feels like holding your breath, the final step where months of engineering and planning come together, and everything that…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":63,"featured_media":223866,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1314],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-223865","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-company"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nThe SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Commissioning feels like holding your breath, the final step where months of engineering and planning come together, and everything that...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/facebook.com\/SMASolarTechnology\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney-1024x764.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"764\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Trish Moratto\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@SMAsolar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@SMAsolar\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Trish Moratto\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/\",\"name\":\"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/9ee0619f32a2058dda939960fb22c748\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png\",\"width\":1309,\"height\":976},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Startseite\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/\",\"name\":\"Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/9ee0619f32a2058dda939960fb22c748\",\"name\":\"Trish Moratto\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TrishHeadshotBlur-180x180.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TrishHeadshotBlur-180x180.jpg\",\"caption\":\"Trish Moratto\"},\"description\":\"Former Marketing Program Manager at SMA America\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/author\/alexandra-alejandro\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog","og_description":"Commissioning feels like holding your breath, the final step where months of engineering and planning come together, and everything that...","og_url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/","og_site_name":"Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog","article_publisher":"https:\/\/facebook.com\/SMASolarTechnology","article_published_time":"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00","og_image":[{"width":1024,"height":764,"url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney-1024x764.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"Trish Moratto","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@SMAsolar","twitter_site":"@SMAsolar","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Trish Moratto","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/","name":"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0 - Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png","datePublished":"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00","dateModified":"2026-06-17T15:14:43+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/9ee0619f32a2058dda939960fb22c748"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/06\/SarahTawney.png","width":1309,"height":976},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/the-sma-difference-why-customers-ask-for-sarah-todd-by-name\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Startseite","item":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The SMA Difference: Why Customers Ask for Sarah Todd by Name\u00a0"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/","name":"Sunny. SMA Corporate Blog","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/9ee0619f32a2058dda939960fb22c748","name":"Trish Moratto","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TrishHeadshotBlur-180x180.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/01\/TrishHeadshotBlur-180x180.jpg","caption":"Trish Moratto"},"description":"Former Marketing Program Manager at SMA America","url":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/author\/alexandra-alejandro\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223865","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/63"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=223865"}],"version-history":[{"count":-3,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/223865\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/223866"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=223865"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=223865"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.sma-sunny.com\/us\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=223865"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}