“Deep Energy Retrofits” with Marc Rosenbaum Right now, sitting in his office on Martha’s Vineyard, Marc Rosenbaum is building “Deep Energy Retrofits”, the newest Building Energy Masters Series offering. Here’s a recent update from Marc: I’m happy to report that the ten weeks of presentation powerpoints are… Continue reading ““Deep Energy Retrofits” with Marc Rosenbaum”
Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter microgrid design. The number of inputs and design choices can be staggering. HOMER Software is the best recognized tool on the planet for microgrid design, and this free lecture will get you up… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy”
Free Lecture: “NASA-Funded Economic Analysis of Establishing a Moon Base” with Charles Miller It’s been decades since humanity walked on the moon, but a new report says a partnership between NASA and private space companies could get us back. One of the authors of this report is Charles Miller. In this free lecture, Charles… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “NASA-Funded Economic Analysis of Establishing a Moon Base” with Charles Miller”
Free Lecture: “The History of Solar Thermal in the United States” with Bob Ramlow This is a fun 40-minute lecture that provides historical context for where solar hot water – solar thermal – is today. Bob also shares some insights about which types of customers are the best fit for solar hot water, and… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “The History of Solar Thermal in the United States” with Bob Ramlow”
What Does “Data-Driven Farming” Mean? Data-Driven Farming is the thoughtful use of big data to supplement on-farm precision agriculture. It means having the right farm data, at the right time, to make better decisions that improve long-term profitability. “Big data” is a big buzzword. Everyone… Continue reading “What Does “Data-Driven Farming” Mean?”
Free Microgrid Excel Model 2024 update: This excel model is no longer available because it was getting pretty old. We hope to replace it some day! Designing a microgrid is an incredibly complex task – there’s no such thing as a standard microgrid. This… Continue reading “Free Microgrid Excel Model”
Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential The best solar + storage opportunities for most companies are on large commercial projects. That was my takeaway from a June 2nd call with Wes Kennedy, Joe Schwartz and David Brearley from SolarPro. The utility storage market is hot and happening… Continue reading “Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential”
Peek at HeatSpring’s New Online Learning Platform Today we released a major update to our classroom environment that will make HeatSpring courses better. After eight years of experimenting with our own software and trying every LMS under the sun, I can confidently say it’s a game changer.… Continue reading “Peek at HeatSpring’s New Online Learning Platform”
Free Lecture: “Electrical Loads in High Performance Buildings” with Chris Calwell Accurately predicting electrical loads is the biggest source of error in the design of battery-based solar pv systems and zero net energy homes. In this free lecture, Chris Calwell outlines best practices for predicting and measuring electrical loads in high… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “Electrical Loads in High Performance Buildings” with Chris Calwell”
New Free Lecture: “Integrative Design Process” With Bill Reed Ever met Bill Reed? He’s a bit of a celebrity in the world of sustainable design. In this free lecture Bill demonstrates the integrative design process through a series of case studies. Register at this link for complimentary access to… Continue reading “New Free Lecture: “Integrative Design Process” With Bill Reed”
New Free Lecture: Commercial Geothermal Design In this two hour free lecture, Dr. Charles Remund, author of the IGSHPA Design Manual, walks you through the calculations for designing the ground heat exchanger for a commercial geothermal system. To download a copy of the slides, discuss the… Continue reading “New Free Lecture: Commercial Geothermal Design”
LoopLink PRO Now Included with IGSHPA Geothermal Design Course Top designers of commercial geothermal systems at some point become IGSHPA Certified GeoExchange Designers (CGD). The CGD course has always included video instruction and support from the author of the IGSHPA design manual, tools, exercises, and exam fees. Starting in… Continue reading “LoopLink PRO Now Included with IGSHPA Geothermal Design Course”
Why the World Needs LEED v4 Project Managers “LEED v4 Project Management” is our first LEED course ever. We sat out the first wave of LEED education because there were a lot of great courses out there already. So why get into LEED now? A: Because LEED v4 project… Continue reading “Why the World Needs LEED v4 Project Managers”
How LinkedIn Transformed HeatSpring Emails Here’s an email I got from LinkedIn today: Contrast that with a HeatSpring newsletter from a few weeks ago: For eight years I was proud of our email newsletter. We put a lot of hard work into making it relevant… Continue reading “How LinkedIn Transformed HeatSpring Emails”
Home Performance Coalition, Home Energy Magazine, and Rick Karg Tackle ASHRAE 62.2 This week we launched a new course, “ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for Single-Family Dwellings”, for Fall 2015. To understand why this course is special, you need to meet the A+ team. Rick Karg has been on the ASRAE 62.2 committee since… Continue reading “Home Performance Coalition, Home Energy Magazine, and Rick Karg Tackle ASHRAE 62.2”
How to Take the IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Exam This is a short video explaining how the IGSHPA Geothermal Installer Certification exam works. The process has changed significantly in the past year – for the better – and we’re excited about how easy it is for students to take… Continue reading “How to Take the IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Exam”
How I Failed to Attract Venture Capital and What It Says About HeatSpring I spent the summer of 2014 raising money. More accurately, I spent the summer of 2014 pitching investors to help our company grow more quickly, failed, and cried about it. This is the story of what happened and what it… Continue reading “How I Failed to Attract Venture Capital and What It Says About HeatSpring”
NABCEP Certification: How To Get It, What It’s Worth This is a presentation I gave this week in Cleveland at the ElectroExpo. The audience was pretty small, just fifteen folks attended, so it turned into an intimate conversation rather than a formal presentation. An honest discussion about business, renewable… Continue reading “NABCEP Certification: How To Get It, What It’s Worth”
SpaceNews, Charles Miller, and the Incredible Commercial Space Course This week SpaceNews signed on as our media partner for the next round of the “Commercial Space Executive Leadership” course developed in partnership with the AIAA. I don’t like hyperbole or excessive hype, even when I talk about work we’re… Continue reading “SpaceNews, Charles Miller, and the Incredible Commercial Space Course”
Online IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Course Now Available Between 2007 and 2011, we helped certify several thousand geothermal installers at 3-day workshops around the country. Oil and gas were expensive, and the industry was going through a big growth spurt. Over the past several years that growth has… Continue reading “Online IGSHPA Geothermal Certification Course Now Available”