11 Tips for Proper Manual J Calculations for Geothermal Contractors Many geothermal and general contractors pay a subcontractor to perform Manual J calculations when its required. Accurate heating and cooling loads are absolutely critical to properly designing a geothermal system (See 4 Steps to Designing a Geothermal System) and according… Continue reading “11 Tips for Proper Manual J Calculations for Geothermal Contractors”
[Photo Guide] How to Install A Solar Thermal System You’ve held a solar thermal workshop and generated some leads, prepared a solid sales presentation, sold your first job, designed the system and now you’re curious about the installation process. While the installation process may not take a long time compared… Continue reading “[Photo Guide] How to Install A Solar Thermal System”
Designing a “Sellable” Solar (or Geothermal) Company – Part 2 In my last post, I wrote about my marketing plan for starting a renewable energy company that will be an offshoot of an existing construction company in the great state of Maine. Now, I’m going to discuss how we’ll be setting up… Continue reading “Designing a “Sellable” Solar (or Geothermal) Company – Part 2″
Commercial Developers Begin to Seek Solar Expertise Chad Gessin, VP at Chatham Energy Solutions, took HeatSpring’s “Solar Installer Boot Camp” in June 2011 while he was developing the solar division in a third-generation construction development company. Read below for the full story and join HeatSpring facebook page:… Continue reading “Commercial Developers Begin to Seek Solar Expertise”
[Free Whitepaper] Solar Thermal Design and Installation 101 As the traction for the solar thermal industry grows, solar thermal SRECs being developed, and Massachusetts revamping solar thermal incentives, the demand for understanding how solar thermal projects work as well as how to design and install them has been… Continue reading “[Free Whitepaper] Solar Thermal Design and Installation 101”
Universities Can be a Great Market for Geo and Solar Recently, I spoke with Nathalie Assens at Project Manager at ZVI Construction. ZVI Construction is a medium size, three-decade old, design-build construction company that does a lot of work with universities around Boston as well as internationally. Nathalie enrolled in… Continue reading “Universities Can be a Great Market for Geo and Solar”
Solar Thermal Is Finally Gaining Traction For the past 5 years solar photovoltaics (pv) has been capturing more than its fare share of media attention, government attention and, I would argue, market growth. But there seems to be signs that this trend is reversing. It’s not… Continue reading “Solar Thermal Is Finally Gaining Traction”
Geothermal Powers the Statue of Liberty, President Bush’s Ranch, and the Greenest Hotel in the World Solar guys have been good at show-casing their best solar installations to the public and politicians – the geothermal industry needs to step up and begin to showcase our best installations as well. PR and customer awarnress are key; a recent report… Continue reading “Geothermal Powers the Statue of Liberty, President Bush’s Ranch, and the Greenest Hotel in the World”
The 4 Ownership Structures Used to Finance Solar Projects – Part 1 If you’re new to the solar industry, go to the Solar 101 Reading list. It has free tools and articles on solar design and installation, sales and marketing, policy, finance and best practices. In the last post we discussed the… Continue reading “The 4 Ownership Structures Used to Finance Solar Projects – Part 1”
The 5 Criteria You Should Use When Selecting a (Good) Solar Distributor If you’re getting into the solar industry, read the 16 questions that every profitable solar company can answer. It will give you a good understanding of the business strategy, sales, marketing and installation questions you must answer as a new… Continue reading “The 5 Criteria You Should Use When Selecting a (Good) Solar Distributor”
How to Build a Renewable Energy Division in an Existing Building Company – PART 1 A lot of residential and light commercial renewable energy work is starting to be picked up by general contractors, like Jamie Leef of S+H Construction in Cambridge. Why? General contractors are in a unique position to pick up this work because they’re used… Continue reading “How to Build a Renewable Energy Division in an Existing Building Company – PART 1”
3 Expert Led Free Coures on SRECs, Geothermal Tax Credits and Solar Lead Generation Our first free course was a huge success. How to Make Money in Renewable Energy had a great turnout, well over 140 attendees with solid content helpful to newcomers to the industry. With such interest, we have decided to expand… Continue reading “3 Expert Led Free Coures on SRECs, Geothermal Tax Credits and Solar Lead Generation”
The Solar Interconnection Process 101 The “interconnection process” is the processes by which an electric generating facility (solar, wind, biomass, coal, etc) is allowed to connect to and supply the grid with power. The interconnection process is sometimes overlooked by new solar companies but it’s very important… Continue reading “The Solar Interconnection Process 101”
What is on the NABCEP? What and How Should you Study? The NABCEP exam is becoming more and more standard for professionals who are looking to work within the industry at small, medium and large size solar EPC contractors. Even salespeople are seeing pressure to have the NABCEP. A quick glance… Continue reading “What is on the NABCEP? What and How Should you Study?”
What’s Special About IGSHPA Geothermal Installer Certification? Do you Really Need it? It’s a good and valid question. If you’re curious what certification is, you can see here: What is the IGSHPA Certification? But more importantly, what is the value of IGSHPA certification in the marketplace – who is it valuable for… Continue reading “What’s Special About IGSHPA Geothermal Installer Certification? Do you Really Need it?”
5 Basic Elements You Need to Know to Finance any Solar Project If you’re new to the solar industry, go to the Solar 101 Reading list. It has free tools and articles on solar design and installation, sales and marketing, policy, finance and best practices. Second only to long term, clear and… Continue reading “5 Basic Elements You Need to Know to Finance any Solar Project”
16 Questions Every Profitable Solar Startup Should Be Able to Answer We recently installed a chat feature on HeatSpring so that we could better assist visitors and customers with any questions they may have. Last week, I had a great conversation with a fellow from New Jersey who was looking to… Continue reading “16 Questions Every Profitable Solar Startup Should Be Able to Answer”
HeatSpring TV Episode 1: General Contractors Getting into Renewables The first episode of HeatSprint TV, known as HS TV from now on, is live! In the first episode of HS TV, I discuss 5 current new stories of importance and welcomed our first guest, Jamie from S+H Construction. We discuss… Continue reading “HeatSpring TV Episode 1: General Contractors Getting into Renewables”
Sizing Heat Pumps to Maximize Geothermal Economics in the Design Process [Video Tutorial] Yes, that’s my picture from my first video tutorial. Last week, I wrote a article on the 4 basic steps to deseigning a geothermal heat pump system for a residential home. To refresh your memory, those steps are 1) perform… Continue reading “Sizing Heat Pumps to Maximize Geothermal Economics in the Design Process [Video Tutorial]”
The IREC 2010 US Solar Trends Report, 3 Things It Means for Solar Contractors. A few week’s ago, I wrote about SEIA’s solar market research and what this means for you, the solar contractor. Recently, IREC released their annual solar market report with the optimistic title: “Solar Markets in the US: Big, Booming, And… Continue reading “The IREC 2010 US Solar Trends Report, 3 Things It Means for Solar Contractors.”