Megawatt Systems: 3 Design Considerations On the Megawatt Design discussion board, Ryan Mayfield answers student questions about designing systems. He discusses surge protection, tilted arrays, and “levelized cost of energy.” Student 1: Do any of you specify surge or lightning-protective devices for your systems? Either on the… Continue reading “Megawatt Systems: 3 Design Considerations”
Access the Tools, Network & Knowledge You Need to Advance Your Solar Career Here are the powerhouse solar courses you don’t want to miss: Megawatt Design – Master large-scale solar project design, learn how to get your projects permitted and installed faster and cheaper. Access valuable tools and resources, while advancing your career and the… Continue reading “Access the Tools, Network & Knowledge You Need to Advance Your Solar Career”
Installers: Put the Solar Breaker on the Opposite Side of the Main Breaker – Here’s Why In this discussion board thread, Sean White explains why installers need to put the solar breaker on the opposite side of the main breaker. Please share your experience in the comments section below. Student: Could you please explain the reasoning… Continue reading “Installers: Put the Solar Breaker on the Opposite Side of the Main Breaker – Here’s Why”
Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home Can a home be beautiful, powered entirely by solar energy, use sustainable heating and cooling systems and save it’s owners roughly $3,500 a year? Why, yes it can. Just ask Joanne Coons, who built her award winning, single-family, Net Zero Energy… Continue reading “Building & Powering an Award-Winning Net Zero Energy Home”
PPA Deal with 3 Investors: Questions to Ask to Model and Structure the PPA When you’re working on a PPA deal with multiple investors you need to know each investor’s end goal and then structure the PPA accordingly. Do you need to consider a Partnership Flip or the Unstructured model returns? Here’s a discussion from our… Continue reading “PPA Deal with 3 Investors: Questions to Ask to Model and Structure the PPA”
Meet NABCEP! By now, all solar professionals have heard of the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) certifications. But, what does it mean to be NABCEP certified, and how can you get certified? How is the new Associate Program different from… Continue reading “Meet NABCEP!”
Understanding Residential and Commercial Energy Storage Renewable Energy Systems show strong Returns on Investment (ROI) and energy storage appears to add to the benefits at the bottom line. Learn the elements of energy storage for residential and commercial clients with this introductory overview of the field,… Continue reading “Understanding Residential and Commercial Energy Storage”
The ASES 2016 National Solar Tour From Maine to California, and almost everywhere in between, ASES’ 2016 National Solar Tour allows visitors to view over 35 solar energy sites across the United States The ASES National Solar Tour is the largest grassroots solar event in the nation,… Continue reading “The ASES 2016 National Solar Tour”
Resilient Community Microgrids: An Introduction Learn about the potential of community microgrids in this new short course. Microgrid Institute Director Michael Burr provides a comprehensive introduction to how community microgrids work, what problems they can solve, and how market trends are driving microgrid development, in… Continue reading “Resilient Community Microgrids: An Introduction”
Learn Infrared Imaging as a PV Characterization Tool for $30 Along with the increasing popularity of solar PV systems comes the need for high-quality operations and maintenance (O&M). This is an area that is often overlooked but has been gaining attention in recent years. In this lecture, Dr. James Rand… Continue reading “Learn Infrared Imaging as a PV Characterization Tool for $30”
Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do Just because we’re not shooting fish in a barrel doesn’t mean we’re moving past the late early majority, venturing into the mainstream, or “crossing the chasm” of residential solar. Since December 2015, I’ve been exploring the macro changes happening in… Continue reading “Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do”
Solar Power Ubiquity Through Training and Installing: GRID Alternatives GRID Alternatives is a national 501(c)(3) certified non-profit organization that facilitates solar power implementation and energy efficiency projects between community partners, volunteers and job trainees. Since it’s beginning in 2001, GRID Alternatives has installed over 24 megawatts of clean power, provided almost $200… Continue reading “Solar Power Ubiquity Through Training and Installing: GRID Alternatives”
NABCEP Entry Level Program Becomes Associate Program in August The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) recently notified training providers that its Entry Level Program will be undergoing some changes next month. The program will now be called the Associate Program, and continuing education will be required… Continue reading “NABCEP Entry Level Program Becomes Associate Program in August”
Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers With such a long list of benefits, you’d think solar panels would sell themselves. But many potential customers still need convincing before they can make the jump to green living. As beneficial as solar panels are for reducing a household’s… Continue reading “Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers”
When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case Getting Your City’s Buy-In on Solar After years of dancing around the idea of sustainability, some select cities have begun to make it a reality with ground-breaking solar industry partnerships. Jackie Biskupski, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently announced… Continue reading “When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case”
Megawatt Design: 3 Obstacles You Might Face (…and 3 Solutions!) Megawatt Design expert Ryan Mayfield addresses 3 obstacles that professionals in the field might experience. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS Student 1: The most common obstacle we run in to is the structural requirement during the initial budgeting phase. Typically the potential customer does… Continue reading “Megawatt Design: 3 Obstacles You Might Face (…and 3 Solutions!)”
Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide Want to learn more about PV markets and the business of solar? Enroll in Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide! You’ll receive the 2016 Solar Startup Guide and expert instruction from Dr. Sean White on the features,… Continue reading “Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide”
Tour Solar Technologies Without Leaving Your Home We’ll tour solar technologies used in both commercial and residential applications across North America in this free, 42-minute lecture. Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the visual appearance of specific solar technologies 2. Differentiate between solar technologies 3. Identify specific applications for solar… Continue reading “Tour Solar Technologies Without Leaving Your Home”
Site Assessment for Solar Hot Water Heating Systems Without a proper site assessment, you may be putting your solar thermal system at risk for poor performance… This piece originally appeared in Home Power Magazine | Vaughan Woodruff, 2/2014 It is a fairly common occurrence for a solar professional to hear… Continue reading “Site Assessment for Solar Hot Water Heating Systems”
Free Lecture: Renewable Energy for the Developing World What is renewable energy? What is the developing world? How do these concepts relate? Expert instructor Ian Woofenden explains… Renewable energy (RE) technologies have broad application in the “developing world”, or rural countries and areas that have less technology and infrastructure. In… Continue reading “Free Lecture: Renewable Energy for the Developing World”