Billy Hearon: Reliable Power, Southern Spirit

How Tennessee’s Billy Hearon found peace of mind at home and freedom outdoors with the Jackery Solar Generator HomePower 3000 and SolarSaga 200W

A Leader Who Builds People First

In Chattanooga, Tennessee, where the Volkswagen plant hums through long shifts of precision engineering, assistant manager Billy Hearon has learned that good leadership starts with empathy.

“I started as a contractor there and worked my way up through the ranks,” he says. “When it came time for me to take a leadership role, I looked around and thought…they had gotten disconnected from the people. We preach safety, quality, and productivity, but a lot of times, management would put productivity ahead of that. So when I took the role, I said I’m going to remember that the people are what make the team what it is.”

That belief guides him on and off the factory floor. “I’ve lived in East Tennessee my entire life,” he says. “Being from a rural community, we do a lot of outdoor stuff. As Southerners, we pride ourselves on being self-reliant. We don’t depend on others or social contracts like the grid.”

That self-reliance is exactly what led him to Jackery.

Power and Preparation

Tennessee weather doesn’t wait for anyone. “I’ve lived here in Georgetown for the last five years, and I’d say I’ve experienced about thirty to forty outages,” Billy says. “They range anywhere from four hours to four days. We once went without power for four days.”

For years, Billy relied on a gas generator, but that came with its own challenges. “If I’m at work and the power goes out, my wife can’t drag it out,” he says. “She can’t pull-start it. It requires you to hook up all these extension cords and refill it with gas.”

The solution came through a conversation at work. “My manager had been talking about solar and how he had a whole home setup; solar panels on the roof, hard-lined into battery packs,” Billy says. “He was always talking about it, and when we started planning a camping trip to a campsite that didn’t have a power outlet, he had said ‘Jackery’ so many times I finally looked into it.”

“I’m not going to lie to you, I did my research. But for the price and the amount of amenities that come with your devices, you’re leaps and bounds ahead of the rest of them. When you break it down by watts per dollar spent on it, you’re coming out on top.”

That research led him to the Jackery HomePower 3000, paired with SolarSaga 200W panels.

The Night the Lights Stayed On

Billy didn’t have to wait long to see what his new setup could do. “Just last Saturday, we had a storm come through,” he says. “Two power poles got knocked down by a tree falling over. I get home, and the house is completely dark because they were already asleep. I grabbed my Jackery, took it into the bedroom, and plugged a fan in. I was getting like seventy-two hours of power from that.”

The next morning, he kept things running. “I forgot to plug the fridge in,” he laughs. “So I hooked up my extension cord, plugged the fridge in, had my phone charging, the Wi-Fi on, the TV turned on with the Xbox, and we watched The Land Before Time.”

He also discovered a feature he didn’t expect. “Another thing I like about Jackery is the power pass-through,” he says. “I plugged my fridge into the Jackery and the Jackery into the wall. The power came back on while I was gone, and it charged while the fridge was running off it. Then I just unplugged it, plugged it back in, and it went straight back into storage.”

Simplicity That Brings Peace

Working second shift means Billy’s often away when storms roll in. “I work from three-thirty in the afternoon until midnight,” he says. “If a storm comes in at night and the power goes out, my wife can plug it in and say, ‘Hey, we’re good here.’ I don’t have to worry about my family.”

That ease of use made all the difference. “I keep it plugged into the wall of the garage,” he says. “It’s always ready. She can grab it. I won’t call it light, but it’s not so heavy that you can’t pick it up. She can bring it in, press a button, and just plug the devices she needs into it.”

For a home that sits between two cell towers with no service, staying online matters. “The only way we can communicate is through Wi-Fi,” he explains. “With Jackery, I know my wife’s going to be able to plug stuff in and reach out to me if something happens. That’s the biggest peace of mind for me.”

Power for the Weekend

When Billy isn’t at the plant, he’s outside. “I started camping when I was about six or seven,” he says. “I’d take a tarp and my lantern, tie it between two trees, and pretend I was like Daniel Boone, out camping on the prairie.”

That love never left. Living in East Tennessee, Billy says, “You can throw a rock and hit a campsite around here.” These days, camping looks a little different. His kids bring their video games, and there’s always a fan in the tent. By utilizing solar, he explains, they can go to places they normally couldn’t and still have those comforts.

The HomePower 3000 and SolarSaga 200W make it effortless. Between him and his wife, they each grab one handle of the Jackery and a solar panel in the other hand, carrying it easily to the campsite. Compact, “Like the size of a little printer,” he says, the unit is sturdy and simple: plug, play, and power up.

The panels are easy enough for anyone to set up. His four-year-old helps line up the sunlight bubble and proudly says, “Okay, Daddy, we’re good.”

Reliable. Easy. Peaceful.

Whether at home or in the mountains, Billy appreciates power that just works. “It allows me to take my kids to places and get that love of the outdoors lit in their hearts,” he says. “They’re playing in the dirt, being kids like an ’80s kid; living like kids should live.”

At work, he brings the same mindset. “I manage 176 direct employees at Volkswagen and around 400 contractors,” he says. “One minute of downtime at the plant costs us roughly $2,000. So if there’s a power outage, I need to be one hundred percent there. Knowing my family’s safety and power lets me stay focused.”

He sums up Jackery in three words, just as he did at the end of the interview:

“Reliable. Easy. Peace of mind.”

Billy smiles when he talks about it. “It’s the best of both worlds,” he says. “We can enjoy the quiet, see the stars, and still have everything we need. That’s how I like it; prepared, peaceful, and powered up.”