How the Future of DER Interconnection Could Mirror the Evolution of Booking a Flight The interconnection process can make or break a project. And yet, it’s difficult to tell exactly how bad the bottlenecks truly are. Distribution-level interconnection data is fragmented across more than 3,000 utilities regulated by 50 different states, with few central… Continue reading “How the Future of DER Interconnection Could Mirror the Evolution of Booking a Flight”
The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your BPI Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump (ccASHP) Assessor Certificate I learned the hard way why proper heat pump assessment matters in cold climates. As a first-time homeowner in Colorado, I was excited to electrify my home and switch to an air source heat pump. I trusted the contractor who… Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide to Getting Your BPI Cold Climate Air Source Heat Pump (ccASHP) Assessor Certificate”
What is Hydronic Heating? Nearly five million U.S. single-family homes are heated with hot water or steam distributed through radiators or baseboard units. If you’re new to hydronic heating or just looking to fill in some gaps, here’s the basics. At its core, it’s… Continue reading “What is Hydronic Heating?”
Meet Tim Montague – Instructor Spotlight HeatSpring instructors aren’t always academics – they’re practitioners who also happen to teach. Most of them came to education after years (sometimes decades) in the industry, and that experience is baked into every course they create. The Instructor Spotlight series… Continue reading “Meet Tim Montague – Instructor Spotlight”
What is an Energy Market Forecaster for ESS? If a battery energy storage system is going to make money in a wholesale energy market, it needs to know something the market hasn’t told it yet – where prices are headed. That’s the job of an energy market forecaster.… Continue reading “What is an Energy Market Forecaster for ESS?”
What Tools Do You Need When Troubleshooting Ground Faults? Ground faults are one of the more frustrating issues a solar technician can run into in the field. They can range from hard faults with a clear voltage signature to resistive or intermittent faults where voltage won’t show up on a… Continue reading “What Tools Do You Need When Troubleshooting Ground Faults?”
New Course Announcement: Verifying the Refrigerant Charge on a Residential Split-System Air Conditioner If you’ve spent any time in the field as an HVAC technician, you know that refrigerant charge issues are one of the more common service calls you’ll run. A system that’s lost a significant amount of refrigerant is usually easy… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Verifying the Refrigerant Charge on a Residential Split-System Air Conditioner”
Meet John Siegenthaler – Instructor Spotlight Behind every transformative learning experience at HeatSpring is a dedicated instructor – someone who brings not just knowledge, but passion, real-world experience, and a commitment to helping others grow. Though our online courses connect with students across the globe, there’s… Continue reading “Meet John Siegenthaler – Instructor Spotlight”
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”