Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Solar States Solar States has a clear mission: to become the on-ramp to the green collar economy for inner city Philadelphians. Founder Micah Gold-Markel grew up in West Philadelphia, where he saw skilled neighbors doing skilled work – replacing doors, windows, even… Continue reading “Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Solar States”
Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore The assumption that solar projects submitted to utilities would automatically be approved used to be standard operating procedure in jurisdictions with established interconnection policies. Unfortunately, those days are over in many places. As solar deployment has accelerated, interconnection delays and… Continue reading “Why Solar Professionals Can’t Afford to Ignore Interconnection Anymore”
Meet Spencer Rosen – Instructor Spotlight Behind every HeatSpring course is an expert instructor – a seasoned professional who brings not just knowledge, but passion, real-world experience, and a commitment to helping others grow. While thousands of students benefit from their expertise through our online courses,… Continue reading “Meet Spencer Rosen – Instructor Spotlight”
HeatSpring CORE: A Universal First-Year Curriculum for Construction Trades HeatSpring CORE is a safety-centered alternative to NCCER CORE. We’ve been thinking about this for a long time and it’s kind of a big deal. If your company uses or has considered NCCER curriculum in the past, give HeatSpring CORE… Continue reading “HeatSpring CORE: A Universal First-Year Curriculum for Construction Trades”
Why DC-Coupled Solar Plus Storage Is Finally Ready to Take Off For years, DC-coupling was the way off-grid systems worked. Then AC-coupling took over. Now, interconnection bottlenecks and new tax incentives are bringing DC-coupling back – this time at commercial scale. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy walks through the economics and engineering:… Continue reading “Why DC-Coupled Solar Plus Storage Is Finally Ready to Take Off”
What is Combustion Safety Testing? When building performance professionals seal air leaks and improve insulation, they’re fundamentally changing how air moves through a building. This can have serious consequences for fuel-burning appliances like furnaces, water heaters, and gas stoves. That’s where combustion safety testing plays… Continue reading “What is Combustion Safety Testing?”
3 Ways to Get Cleaner Indoor Air With Filtration So you want to have better indoor air quality at home but you aren’t sure what to do. If you follow my articles, you know you shouldn’t buy an electronic air cleaner. Instead you should stick with the tried-and-true methods of source… Continue reading “3 Ways to Get Cleaner Indoor Air With Filtration”
Your Guide to Making the Most of HeatSpring Assessments You’ve enrolled in a HeatSpring course to build your expertise – in solar, building science, energy storage systems, or another area. It’s important to remember that the video lessons are just a part of your learning journey. HeatSpring courses now… Continue reading “Your Guide to Making the Most of HeatSpring Assessments”
The Difference Between Load-Side & Supply-Side Connections: Sean White Explains The distinction between load-side and supply-side connections is fundamental to solar and energy storage installations, yet the terminology keeps evolving, and the common terms don’t always match what’s actually in the code. In the video below, HeatSpring instructor Sean White… Continue reading “The Difference Between Load-Side & Supply-Side Connections: Sean White Explains”
Why Your Solar Service Department Looks Unprofitable (And How to Fix It) If your service department looks like a money pit on paper, you might not have a service problem – you might have an accounting problem. In a recent HeatSpring PRO Circle discussion with Amanda Bybee, CEO of the Amicus O&M… Continue reading “Why Your Solar Service Department Looks Unprofitable (And How to Fix It)”
How the Shift From EVs to Data Centers Is Reshaping the Battery Market The battery market is experiencing a dramatic shift – and it’s creating opportunities for energy storage professionals. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy breaks down the technology trends reshaping the industry: how EV manufacturing overcapacity is driving battery prices down, why Ford… Continue reading “How the Shift From EVs to Data Centers Is Reshaping the Battery Market”
Energy Storage in 2026: Policy Changes, Market Reality, and Long-Term Outlook If you’re wondering how 2025 policy changes are affecting energy storage demand, this conversation is for you. Wes Kennedy, instructor of Comprehensive Solar Plus Storage, walks through the key dynamics shaping the market: why storage maintained federal incentives while solar… Continue reading “Energy Storage in 2026: Policy Changes, Market Reality, and Long-Term Outlook”
New Course Announcement: IGSHPA Residential Installation Technician (RIT) Certificate Ground-source heat pump systems are quickly becoming essential technology in the HVAC market as utilities and homeowners prioritize decarbonization and energy efficiency. For technicians ready to add this in-demand skill to their toolkit, HeatSpring now offers the IGSHPA Residential Installation… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: IGSHPA Residential Installation Technician (RIT) Certificate”
2026 Could Be the Best Year of Your Life Take out a clean sheet of paper and get ready for a pep talk. 2026 will be the best year ever. We live on an incredible planet alongside other smart people who love us. We’ve never had more information or… Continue reading “2026 Could Be the Best Year of Your Life”
Solar Workforce Program Spotlight: Passaic County Community College When Passaic County Community College received a federal grant to launch a solar and renewable energy training program, they faced a challenge familiar to many workforce development initiatives: how do you build an effective program from scratch? Three years later,… Continue reading “Solar Workforce Program Spotlight: Passaic County Community College”
The 3 Rules of Air Sealing It’s not that hard really, at least in principle. You want to reduce the air leakage in your home so you keep the conditioned air inside and the cold air outside this winter. What’s the advice of all those stories… Continue reading “The 3 Rules of Air Sealing”
What is String Sizing in PV Solar Design? Sean White Explains String sizing is one of the most critical and foundational calculations in PV system design. At its core, string sizing is about understanding how solar modules behave under different temperature conditions and ensuring your system operates safely within the voltage… Continue reading “What is String Sizing in PV Solar Design? Sean White Explains”
How Companies Launch an O&M Department (and Why Your Accounting Matters More Than You Think) There’s a predictable moment in virtually every growing solar company’s trajectory – the day you realize that pulling installers off job sites to handle service calls is costing you more than you thought. Most solar businesses don’t strategically plan their… Continue reading “How Companies Launch an O&M Department (and Why Your Accounting Matters More Than You Think)”
Rapid Shutdown in PV Installations: Sean White Explains Rapid shutdown requirements can feel overwhelming, but they’re actually pretty straightforward once you understand their purpose. In this video, HeatSpring instructor Sean White cuts through the confusion about NEC 690.12 rapid shutdown requirements for PV systems on buildings. He explains… Continue reading “Rapid Shutdown in PV Installations: Sean White Explains”
Understanding BPI Certifications | Insights from Industry Expert Brynn Cooksey Building Performance Institute (BPI) certifications are essential credentials for building science professionals across the country. To guide you through the BPI certification journey, we turned to Brynn Cooksey, HeatSpring’s lead BPI certification prep instructor and owner of Air Doctors Heating… Continue reading “Understanding BPI Certifications | Insights from Industry Expert Brynn Cooksey”