3 Reasons Your PV System Load Profile is Overinflated and How to Fix It The article below is a discussion from our course, Batteries in Solar PV Systems, led by Christopher LaForge. Christopher LaForge is the CEO of Great Northern Solar and a NABCEP certified photovoltaic installer. He has been designing, specifying, and installing systems… Continue reading “3 Reasons Your PV System Load Profile is Overinflated and How to Fix It”
Interview: Battery Expert Christopher LaForge on the Tesla Powerwall The debut of the Tesla Powerwall has made quite a splash in many circles. Claiming to outperform current battery systems for solar, it has the potential to make a large impact on the storage side of the production of solar… Continue reading “Interview: Battery Expert Christopher LaForge on the Tesla Powerwall”
Passive House Design: An Investment in the Future This is a guest post by Mike Duclos. He is a Certified Passive House Consultant and principal and founder of DEAP Energy Group, a consultancy providing a wide variety of deep energy retrofit, zero net energy, and Passive House related… Continue reading “Passive House Design: An Investment in the Future”
3+ Ways to Replace Spray Foam Insulation in Your Basement Here’s a discussion feed from one of our best-selling courses, Zero Net Energy Homes. In the discussion, one of our students asks Marc Rosenbaum for foam-free ways to retrofit her New England basement. Here are the alternatives to spray foam… Continue reading “3+ Ways to Replace Spray Foam Insulation in Your Basement”
Why We Chose HeatSpring as Our Educational Partner Mark Eatherton, Executive Director, Radiant Professionals Alliance authored the below article. We had a chance to see Mark at the ASHRAE conference a few weeks ago and when we told him we’d love to feature him in HeatSpring Magazine, he sent us… Continue reading “Why We Chose HeatSpring as Our Educational Partner”
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”
John Siegenthaler Reviews Heat Pumps In the article below, John Siegenthaler, Principal of Appropriate Designs, explains how air-to-water heat pumps offer new opportunities for hydronic pros. At the end of the article, John runs the numbers to answer the question: “How does the performance of… Continue reading “John Siegenthaler Reviews Heat Pumps”
Join Us: HeatSpring Alumni Meetup at AHR in Chicago Online classes are cool, but they’re even better when you can meet in real life. AHR is a great opportunity to do just that. Date: January 27th from 4-6pm Location: AHR – McCormick Place in Chicago Cost: Free (RSVP Here)… Continue reading “Join Us: HeatSpring Alumni Meetup at AHR in Chicago”
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”
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”
A New Energy Calculator for Roofing Professionals For the roofing professional seeking to compare the energy-savings potential of different roofing systems, many well-designed calculators are available to help. Currently, you can find a wide variety of (mostly free) web-based calculators to evaluate almost every element of roof-related… Continue reading “A New Energy Calculator for Roofing Professionals”
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!”
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”
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”
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”
Troubleshooting Condensing Boilers in Hydronic Systems – What is the System Doing? This a guest post from Roy Collver. Roy is a condensing boiler expert. Here’s what John Siegenthaler, author of “Modern Hydronic Heating,” says about Roy’s work: “When I have a detailed question about the inner operation of a modulating / condensing… Continue reading “Troubleshooting Condensing Boilers in Hydronic Systems – What is the System Doing?”
Free Floor Plan: 10 Ways Passive House Design is Different Than Normal Home Design If you want to download the floor plan, please scroll to the bottom of the article. This is a guest post by Mike Duclos. Mike is founder of The DEAP Energy Group, a firm providing a wide variety of deep energy… Continue reading “Free Floor Plan: 10 Ways Passive House Design is Different Than Normal Home Design”