Great Expectations: The Ten Most Common Mistakes of Solar Businesses and How to Avoid Them This article is a guest post from Bill Rever, Owner and Principal at WB Rever Associates. Bill spent ten years in senior strategic roles at BP Solar where he helped launch new products and companies. He’s advised some of the… Continue reading “Great Expectations: The Ten Most Common Mistakes of Solar Businesses and How to Avoid Them”
Christopher LaForge: Battery Capacity – The Basis of Storage The article below was written by Christopher LaForge, NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional and IREC Certified Master Trainer. Christopher LaForge teaches Batteries in Solar PV Systems, a 6-week course that provides in-depth analysis of the issues surrounding the use of batteries for… Continue reading “Christopher LaForge: Battery Capacity – The Basis of Storage”
Building Innovation 2015 Offers 32 Continuing Education Units Architects, engineers, installers, contractors, and building science professionals…Read this article to learn more about free online courses and how you can earn 32 AIA credits this January! I met Richard Paradis, Director of Whole Building Design Guide, a branch of… Continue reading “Building Innovation 2015 Offers 32 Continuing Education Units”
Give the Gift of Education! Learn more about our NEW gift certificates below! We started getting calls this holiday season from smart gift givers… “Do you sell gift certificates?” We didn’t, but thanks to the smart, inquisitive gift givers calling us, we do now. That’s… Continue reading “Give the Gift of Education!”
Steep Challenge: A Case Study of a Sloped Residential Green Roof In this guest post, David Aquilina, a business communications professional who represents Xero Flor America*, outlines a green roof project at Lake Toxaway, North Carolina. He provides details behind the design and installation. At the end of the article, you can… Continue reading “Steep Challenge: A Case Study of a Sloped Residential Green Roof”
Heating with Biomass: It’s Not Just About the Boiler… This article is a guest post by John Siegenthaler, Principal at Appropriate Designs and expert instructor with HeatSpring. John’s 10-week online course, Hydronic-Based Biomass Heating Systems, teaches engineers, heating contractors, and installers how to design and install highly-efficient biomass heating systems.… Continue reading “Heating with Biomass: It’s Not Just About the Boiler…”
Win a $10,000 Zero Net Energy Building Award! Think your house is the best Zero Net Energy building in the Northeast? You could win $10,000! The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), a membership organization with a mission to advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the Built Environment,… Continue reading “Win a $10,000 Zero Net Energy Building Award!”
Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider Microgrids are poised to alter the economics and topology of the electricity grid, ultimately transforming the electricity industry as we know it. In this article, we discuss the four economic factors to consider before and during microgrid development and provide… Continue reading “Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider”
Air Barriers vs. Vapor Retarders vs. Drainage Planes: Learn Essential Building Science Specifics in 60-Minutes Building science is complex. It takes time and experience to understand and integrate physics, chemistry, climatology, and ecology into building enclosures. Understanding the complex interplay of heat, air, and moisture flows within and across building enclosures— while paying attention to the… Continue reading “Air Barriers vs. Vapor Retarders vs. Drainage Planes: Learn Essential Building Science Specifics in 60-Minutes”
Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes What are the differences between grounding and bonding in solar design? What are the most recent codes? Where are the codes headed? What are some of the changes that have happened? What does it mean for you and your installations? In… Continue reading “Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes”
Learn in 60 Minutes: Conventional vs. Passive Floor Planning If you don’t floor plan properly, you will fail. During this free 60-minute lecture, Mike Duclos, Principal and Founder of DEAP Energy Group and expert instructor at HeatSpring, describes how Passive House floor planning differs from conventional floor planning. Mike… Continue reading “Learn in 60 Minutes: Conventional vs. Passive Floor Planning”
Calculate Heat Loss to the Ground with Marc Rosenbaum Marc Rosenbaum, Director of Engineering, South Mountain Company and one of HeatSpring’s expert instructors, taught a free live lecture to more than 200 architects and builders last week. His focus: demonstrate how buildings interact thermally with the ground and teach… Continue reading “Calculate Heat Loss to the Ground with Marc Rosenbaum”
Free 65 Minute Lecture on Biomass Thermal Storage + Free Invitation to Maine Alternative Energy Expo 2014 Interphase Energy, a Maine-based leader in supplying central pellet heating equipment throughout North America, is hosting Alternative Energy Expo 2014 at their Portland, Maine facility this Friday, September 12th, 2014 from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. EDT. Free to the public, the… Continue reading “Free 65 Minute Lecture on Biomass Thermal Storage + Free Invitation to Maine Alternative Energy Expo 2014”
Two Free Tools: ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2 Calculators Registered engineering technologist and expert HeatSpring instructor Robert Bean has developed two calculators to help designers meet ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2: “Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy” and “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” Considered… Continue reading “Two Free Tools: ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2 Calculators”
Master the Outdoor Reset Curve in 60 Minutes Plumbing and hydronics expert, Dave Yates has mastered the outdoor reset curve: boosting the value of his work, maximizing fuel savings, and increasing the comfort of his clients’ home. He wants you to master it, too. In this 60-minute free lecture,… Continue reading “Master the Outdoor Reset Curve in 60 Minutes”
Solar Technology Tour: Differentiating Solar Heating Technologies Across North America Take a solar heating technology tour of several different solar installations across North America and become better acquainted with solar technologies used in residential and commercial heating applications across the continent in this 40-minute free video lesson. Your tour guide? Vaughan… Continue reading “Solar Technology Tour: Differentiating Solar Heating Technologies Across North America”
5 Ways the Biomass Heating Industry is Laying the Foundation for Explosive Growth At HeatSpring, we connect and build communities of learners and experts. Sharing knowledge is our passion. We collaborate with people in technical, complex industries to develop awareness, inspire creative ingenuity, and push boundaries. Most recently, we’ve focused on the biomass… Continue reading “5 Ways the Biomass Heating Industry is Laying the Foundation for Explosive Growth”