Meeting the Demands of the Solar Plus Era: Why Shaw Solar is Launching their Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Electrical Apprenticeship Program Based in Durango, Colorado, Shaw Solar can be described as a big fish in a small pond. Opening their doors back in 2006, they initially worked on residential and small commercial solar thermal and PV and some lead-acid battery storage.… Continue reading “Meeting the Demands of the Solar Plus Era: Why Shaw Solar is Launching their Distributed Energy Resources (DER) Electrical Apprenticeship Program”
The Basics of Home Electrification In 2020, 26% of U.S. households used electricity as the only source of energy (32.25 million out of 123.53 million homes), according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration. With new incentives for electrification and renewable energy in the Inflation Reduction… Continue reading “The Basics of Home Electrification”
Heat Pumps 101: Thermodynamic Basics This is the second in a series of Heat Pump 101 videos from instructor and author, John Siegenthaler, P.E.. “The Difference Between Energy & Power” was the previous lesson in the series. You can enroll in John’s Heat Pump 101… Continue reading “Heat Pumps 101: Thermodynamic Basics”
New Free Webinar Announcement: Home Assessments for Decarbonization Electrification of existing homes is a hot trend, and rightfully so with all the latest incentives for residences and businesses to transition to electric. Anyone working in the retrofit field is likely – sooner or later – to be asked… Continue reading “New Free Webinar Announcement: Home Assessments for Decarbonization”
Heat Pumps 101: The Difference Between Energy & Power This is the first in a series of Heat Pump 101 videos from instructor and author, John Siegenthaler, P.E.. You can enroll in John’s Heat Pump 101 course for free to learn the very basics of heat pumps in less… Continue reading “Heat Pumps 101: The Difference Between Energy & Power”
eQUEST vs. OpenStudio Is eQUEST or OpenStudio better for running energy models? That was the question from a student this week. Here’s how they framed it: “I’m interested in gaining a qualification in building energy modeling, to perform my firm’s energy rating building… Continue reading “eQUEST vs. OpenStudio”
Resources for the Building Science Generalist Looking for some new books or opportunities to build your knowledge base in zero energy buildings? Marc Rosenbaum, instructor of How to Think About Energy in Buildings course, shares his ideas for expanding your knowledge in the field of building… Continue reading “Resources for the Building Science Generalist”
Advice for Launching a Diverse Building Science Career It’s no accident that HeatSpring instructor Marc Rosenbaum knows quite a bit about virtually all facets of the building science industry. When he began his career nearly 40 years ago, the industry and collective knowledge surrounding it didn’t exist yet.… Continue reading “Advice for Launching a Diverse Building Science Career”
Why the World Needs Building Science Generalists When HeatSpring instructor Marc Rosenbaum began his work in building science over 40 years ago, there wasn’t a whole industry surrounding it. There wasn’t research to reference or frameworks to follow. Marc and his generation of peers essentially invented the… Continue reading “Why the World Needs Building Science Generalists”
Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th If you’re ready for a deep-dive into Commissioning (Cx), Khaled Yousef is ready to give it to you. He’s teaching a one (full) day commissioning course on March 18th. This course has been evaluated and approved by the Practicing Institute… Continue reading “Live Commissioning (Cx) Class with 8 PDHs Launching March 18th”
We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation Buildings are getting tighter to save energy while COVID is drawing attention to the importance of proper ventilation. How much ventilation is needed? For residential buildings, there’s a widely accepted standard. ASHRAE 62.2 “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in… Continue reading “We Need an Installation Standard for Ventilation”
Scott Sklar’s New and Improved “Solar Power 101” Course Amory Lovins, Co-Founder of the Rocky Mountain Institute, says “Scott Sklar is a walking encyclopedia of American renewable energy.” He’s not kidding. 2,500 solar professionals have taken Scott’s “Solar Power 101” course, which was created in 2014. The material held… Continue reading “Scott Sklar’s New and Improved “Solar Power 101” Course”
Wes Kennedy’s Solar Shed and the Quest for Net Zero This Fall Wes Kennedy is teaching an incredible course called “Comprehensive Solar + Storage“. Consider taking it if you want to level-up your energy storage knowledge and earn a bunch of NABCEP credits. I asked Wes what kept him busy… Continue reading “Wes Kennedy’s Solar Shed and the Quest for Net Zero”
Climate Change and COVID Crisis Boost Interest in Ventilation The Covid-19 crisis and climate change are boosting interest in ventilation and in training that helps people calculate the amount of ventilation needed in a home or building, says HeatSpring instructor Rick Karg. Karg, who teaches ASHRAE 62.2 Ventilation for… Continue reading “Climate Change and COVID Crisis Boost Interest in Ventilation”
David J. Goldstein Awarded Genius Grant for Multifamily HVAC Solution Please join us in congratulating David J. Goldstein, the first Genius Grant award recipient for 2021. David is an engineer and an entrepreneur. He has self-funded the development of a new HVAC solution that has potential to make multifamily housing… Continue reading “David J. Goldstein Awarded Genius Grant for Multifamily HVAC Solution”
Storing Embodied Carbon in Buildings to Address Climate Change More and more, green builders and architects are looking to reduce embodied carbon, and when possible, store it in buildings, says Marc Rosenbaum, instructor of HeatSpring’s Zero Net Energy Buildings course. “We’re changing our view from net zero energy buildings… Continue reading “Storing Embodied Carbon in Buildings to Address Climate Change”
To Electrify or Not To Electrify? – a new free course Should we be trying to electrify everything? To help answer that question, we’re excited to present, “To Electrify or Not To Electrify?” a new free course taught by Robb Aldrich and Nicole Ceci from Steven Winter Associates. Their presentation is offered… Continue reading “To Electrify or Not To Electrify? – a new free course”
Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit: A New Free Course Here’s the story of “Finally Fossil-Fuel Free: Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit“, a new free course presented by Brian Just from the Vermont Energy Investment Corporation. His presentation is offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Air-to-water… Continue reading “Air-to-Water Heat Pump & Ventilation Retrofit: A New Free Course”
Hempcrete 101: A New Free Course Here’s the story of “Hempcrete 101“, a new free course presented by Tom Rossmassler, Alex Sparrow, Bruce Friedman, and Jennifer Martin, offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. In this presentation we will take a deep dive into… Continue reading “Hempcrete 101: A New Free Course”
Scalable (Near-Zero Energy) Multifamily Retrofits: A Case Study Here’s the backstory on “Scalable Multifamily Retrofits“, a new free course presented by Chris Benedict, Margo Valdes, and Ian Shapiro, offered in partnership with the Northeast Sustainable Energy Association. Energiesprong and practitioners selected by RetrofitNY are developing standardized and scalable… Continue reading “Scalable (Near-Zero Energy) Multifamily Retrofits: A Case Study”