What is a Battery Simulator? If you’re building software for battery energy storage systems, you can’t just plug into a real battery every time you want to test something. That’s expensive, potentially damaging, and frankly impractical. That’s where battery simulators come in. In Peter Gruenbaum’s… Continue reading “What is a Battery Simulator? “
Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Sunpath Solar Georgia ranks seventh in the country for total solar installed capacity, yet it consistently lands near the bottom for behind-the-meter solar, with most of those installations concentrated in wealthier communities. That gap is exactly what Sunpath Solar was built to… Continue reading “Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Sunpath Solar”
New Course: Software for In Front of the Meter Battery Systems According to the U.S. Energy Information Administration, developers plan to add 24 GW of utility-scale battery storage to the grid in 2026 – on top of the record 15 GW added in 2025 and more than 40 GW over the… Continue reading “New Course: Software for In Front of the Meter Battery Systems”
New Course: Energy Storage Finance Energy storage has crossed a threshold. The technology is mature, costs have come down dramatically, and customers are asking for it. Now the real work is figuring out how to structure a deal that actually pencils. Wes Kennedy has spent… Continue reading “New Course: Energy Storage Finance”
Meet Fred Brooks – 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 Fred Brooks – Instructor Spotlight”
1 FREE NABCEP CEU – How We Got Here: A (Riveting!) History of DER Interconnection in the U.S. If you’ve ever hit a wall on a solar or storage project because of interconnection delays, confusing utility procedures, or regulations that seem to make no sense – this new course is for you. HeatSpring just launched a new, free… Continue reading “1 FREE NABCEP CEU – How We Got Here: A (Riveting!) History of DER Interconnection in the U.S.”
New Course Bundle: Microgrid Essentials with Mayfield Renewables As battery storage costs drop and grid reliability concerns grow, microgrid projects are moving from the margins to the mainstream. The broader energy storage market is surging – the U.S. installed a record 57.6 GWh of new battery storage in… Continue reading “New Course Bundle: Microgrid Essentials with Mayfield Renewables”
Nonprofit Spotlight: Solar for Women Solar for Women, a newly established nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering women and nonbinary individuals in the solar energy field, is working to make strides in addressing workforce equity in the clean energy sector. Officially recognized as a 501(c)(3) organization… Continue reading “Nonprofit Spotlight: Solar for Women “
Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Mayfield Renewables In the solar industry, technical expertise and education often live in separate worlds. Engineering firms focus on design, while training organizations handle workforce development. Mayfield Renewables has grown and evolved into something different: a company where engineering excellence and education… Continue reading “Celebrating Top Solar Companies: Mayfield Renewables”
Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems When a solar project gets denied interconnection approval due to grid constraints, the natural impulse is to find a workaround. Can’t export to the grid? Can’t you just add batteries and keep everything on-site? If you’re not sending power back… Continue reading “Why Just Adding Batteries Won’t Solve Your Interconnection Problems “
What is the 120% “Rule” in Solar PV Design? If you’ve spent any time learning about solar PV systems, you’ve probably heard someone mention the 120% “rule.” It turns out that it’s not actually a rule at all. It’s one of several options for connecting solar to the utility… Continue reading “What is the 120% “Rule” in Solar PV Design?”
Join This Month’s Free PRO Circle: Learn Interconnection Strategy with Vaughan Woodruff Here’s something we don’t do often: This February’s PRO Circle is open to everyone – not just PRO subscribers. We’re sitting down with Vaughan Woodruff, principal of EquinoxDG and one of the nation’s leading voices on distributed energy resource interconnection.… Continue reading “Join This Month’s Free PRO Circle: Learn Interconnection Strategy with Vaughan Woodruff”
How Tax Credit Deadlines Are Overwhelming Utility Interconnection Queues The Inflation Reduction Act’s tax credits were designed to accelerate clean energy deployment. With tax credits prematurely winding down, solar professionals are having to juggle multiple critical timelines with their projects. That’s because the customer tax credit eligibility doesn’t just… Continue reading “How Tax Credit Deadlines Are Overwhelming Utility Interconnection Queues”
We’re Hiring! – Course Developer & Lead Instructor We’re building HeatSpring CORE and we need the right educator to lead it. HeatSpring has spent years creating best-in-class training for solar professionals, building performance experts, and clean energy specialists. Now we’re expanding that mission to welcome people at the… Continue reading “We’re Hiring! – Course Developer & Lead Instructor”
How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges Across the country, many solar companies are following the same pattern. They build their interconnection processes around current conditions, assuming approvals will keep flowing seamlessly. The challenges start when saturation hits their local circuits and delays start to become more… Continue reading “How Solar Companies Can Get Ahead of Interconnection Challenges”
Practical Advice for Adding Energy Storage to Your Solar Business The transition from solar-only to solar plus storage doesn’t require a complete business overhaul, but it does require sound strategy. HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy shares actionable advice for solar companies ready to integrate more energy storage: how to identify markets… Continue reading “Practical Advice for Adding Energy Storage to Your Solar Business”
Common Misconceptions About Interconnection When interconnection problems arise, it’s easy to assume the utility is the villain by actively blocking clean energy projects or acting in bad faith. In some instances, that can be true. It turns out the reality is far more complex… Continue reading “Common Misconceptions About Interconnection”
Can Residential Solar Companies Make Money Doing Energy Audits? When solar companies consider adding energy audits into their service offering, one question always comes up: can you actually make money doing them? In this clip from HeatSpring PRO Circles, building performance expert and “Avoiding Main Panel Upgrades” instructor Spencer… Continue reading “Can Residential Solar Companies Make Money Doing Energy Audits?”
The Gateway to Building Performance | How Solar Companies Can Diversify into New Revenue Streams For residential solar companies squeezed by declining margins and saturated markets, the path forward is clear: diversify. The fuzzy part for many is where to begin. In this clip from HeatSpring PRO Circles, building performance expert Spencer Rosen breaks down… Continue reading “The Gateway to Building Performance | How Solar Companies Can Diversify into New Revenue Streams”
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”