If DER Interconnection is part of your job, I’m begging you to listen to Vaughan Woodruff The whole world is fighting for your attention. But if DER interconnection is part of your job, please take a minute to absorb what Vaughan Woodruff just made for you. The new Interconnection Pro badge brings together four courses taught… Continue reading “If DER Interconnection is part of your job, I’m begging you to listen to Vaughan Woodruff”
What’s Inside a Substation Transformer? A Look at the Major Parts Substation transformers step power down from high-voltage lines to the lower voltages used on distribution circuits. The one featured in this lecture takes 230 kV down to 23 kV, and a transformer that size typically supplies between one and six… Continue reading “What’s Inside a Substation Transformer? A Look at the Major Parts”
Three Reasons Solar Breaks the 1-10-100 Quality Rule The 1-10-100 rule is a quality management concept that’s been around for a long time, and it’s a shorthand for what a defect costs at each stage. Preventing a problem costs one unit. Fixing it before it leaves your hands… Continue reading “Three Reasons Solar Breaks the 1-10-100 Quality Rule”
Announcing the Women in the Trades NABCEP Scholarship HeatSpring and Solar for Women are launching the Women in the Trades NABCEP Scholarship, a new program that helps women already working onsite earn the NABCEP PV Installation Professional (PVIP) certification. Scholarship recipients receive free advanced training and exam fee… Continue reading “Announcing the Women in the Trades NABCEP Scholarship”
Interconnection Delays Could Cost Your Customers the Solar Tax Credit. Here’s What’s Being Done. HeatSpring is now an official partner of GridUnlocked, a national campaign led by the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC) to speed up how solar projects connect to the grid. The goal is simple and urgent: make sure businesses, communities, and… Continue reading “Interconnection Delays Could Cost Your Customers the Solar Tax Credit. Here’s What’s Being Done.”
Why Flagging Is More Dangerous Than It Looks At first glance, it may feel easy to assume a flagger’s job is simple. They’re just standing in a high-vis vest, holding a sign, and directing a few cars, right? Actually, that couldn’t be further from the truth. As Jacob… Continue reading “Why Flagging Is More Dangerous Than It Looks”
Vehicle-to-Grid Is Here. Here’s Where the NEC Stands on Bidirectional EV Charging. Vehicle-to-grid and bidirectional EV charging have been on the industry’s radar for years. HeatSpring instructor Alex Jahp shares a look at where things actually stand in the 2026 NEC. The short answer is that Article 625 didn’t see major changes… Continue reading “Vehicle-to-Grid Is Here. Here’s Where the NEC Stands on Bidirectional EV Charging.”
Why Neutral and Ground Bond Only Once Neutral and ground get bonded together at the main service panel, and nowhere else. Leave the bonding screw in at a subpanel and everything still seems to work. The lights come on and the appliances run. So why does the… Continue reading “Why Neutral and Ground Bond Only Once”
What a Bad Connector Costs: Day One vs. Year Three On a utility-scale solar project, a partially mated connector takes a few seconds to fix on install day. The installer doesn’t hear the click, so they push it until it locks or reseat it. Three years later, that same connector… Continue reading “What a Bad Connector Costs: Day One vs. Year Three”
What Is a Transformer, and Why Does It Only Work With AC? Transformers were one of the late-1800s developments that made our alternating current (AC) power system possible, and you’ll still find them at nearly every stage of the grid today. A step-up transformer at a generating plant raises the voltage to… Continue reading “What Is a Transformer, and Why Does It Only Work With AC?”
Learn How Power Gets from the Meter to the Main in the New “Residential Wiring: Service Entrance Cables” Course Every circuit in a home starts with the service entrance conductors. These wires run from the utility meter to the main breaker, carry the entire dwelling load, and stay live even with the main switched off. HeatSpring’s new course with… Continue reading “Learn How Power Gets from the Meter to the Main in the New “Residential Wiring: Service Entrance Cables” Course”
Got Training Questions? Bring Them to HeatSpring’s Office Hours! The HeatSpring course catalog has grown a lot over the years. While that’s great news for learners and teams, it also means many more options to sort through. Which course fits your goals and experience level? What courses does a… Continue reading “Got Training Questions? Bring Them to HeatSpring’s Office Hours!”
An Accelerated Path to Drone Pilot Certification We just launched an FAA Part 107 Prep Course to help you get your drone pilot certification. The content isn’t new, Keven Gambold has been teaching Part 107 for years, but we recently unbundled it from the flight simulator and… Continue reading “An Accelerated Path to Drone Pilot Certification”
The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a LEED Green Rater As of June 2026, USGBC reports 16,239 LEED-certified and registered multifamily projects worldwide – accounting for roughly 2.1 million residential units, including projects certified individually and through bulk or batch certification. That’s just one slice of the LEED Residential portfolio,… Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide to Becoming a LEED Green Rater”
What Is a Ground Fault in a Solar System and Why Does It Matter? Ground faults are one of the more serious safety hazards in a PV installation. Understanding what causes them and what can go wrong is essential knowledge for anyone working on solar arrays. Janet Hughes has reviewed thousands of solar installations… Continue reading “What Is a Ground Fault in a Solar System and Why Does It Matter?”
Why Battery Storage Quality Fails Differently Than Solar | New BESS Course Quality teams that cut their teeth on utility-scale PV are now being handed battery storage scope too. The inspection habits that work on tracker rows don’t carry over cleanly, because the defects that cost the most on a battery project… Continue reading “Why Battery Storage Quality Fails Differently Than Solar | New BESS Course”
What Fails First in a Solar System? Sean White on Equipment Lifespan When you’re doing O&M on a solar system, sooner or later something’s going to fail – the question is what. Is it more likely to be the PV module, the racking, the electronics like inverters, or something like a combiner… Continue reading “What Fails First in a Solar System? Sean White on Equipment Lifespan”
New Course: Materials Handling Safety Every construction project runs on materials. Lumber, block, conduit, racking, pallets of modules, cases of sealant: all of it gets lifted, moved, stacked, stored, and eventually hauled away. That work happens so often on a jobsite that it’s easy to… Continue reading “New Course: Materials Handling Safety”
Why Wire Management Is Still the Most Common Deficiency in Solar Installations The solar industry has grown fast, and that growth comes with a tradeoff. Contractors are under pressure to hire quickly and get people productive on the job site before they’ve had all the training they need. The result shows up… Continue reading “Why Wire Management Is Still the Most Common Deficiency in Solar Installations”
A Quality Defect Today Is a Safety Hazard Tomorrow on a Solar Site A lot of sites treat quality and safety like two separate departments, two different clipboards, two different inspectors walking the same row looking for different things. HeatSpring instructor Julie Stiglish thinks that split is part of the problem. In this… Continue reading “A Quality Defect Today Is a Safety Hazard Tomorrow on a Solar Site”