Reassessing DC Voltage Drop Conventions This article originally appeared in SolarPro Magazine in Issue 8.3. | by Ryan Mayfield, Paul Gibbs and Paul Grana “Ask almost anyone who works for a system integrator how to size PV system conductors with respect to voltage drop, and… Continue reading “Reassessing DC Voltage Drop Conventions”
HeatSpring Named Co-Host & Partner for Women in Solar Energy Roundtable In the summer of 2015, HeatSpring set out to profile a few of the absolutely amazing women making waves in the solar industry… After discovering a shocking dearth of women students enrolled in our courses, and researching the far larger industry trend boasting… Continue reading “HeatSpring Named Co-Host & Partner for Women in Solar Energy Roundtable”
PV Electrical Codes, Time of Use and Inverter Clipping Considerations Dr. Sean White takes on student questions about National Electrical Code compliance, solar panel Time of Use (TOU) optimization and inverter lifespan. Student 1: Why do some AHJ’s (Authority Having Jurisdiction’s) still allow installations under a previous edition of the National Electrical… Continue reading “PV Electrical Codes, Time of Use and Inverter Clipping Considerations”
Post-ITC Planning: Key Questions for Everyone in the Solar Value Chain The solar industry received a holiday gift this year in the form of the extension of the ITC. But we aren’t entirely out of the woods. Numerous threats to NEM and rate cases at dozens of utilities across the nation… Continue reading “Post-ITC Planning: Key Questions for Everyone in the Solar Value Chain”
Sean White on Microinverters, String Inverters & Optimizers On the 40 Hour Advanced Solar PV Installer Training Discussion Board… Sean White discusses microinverters, string inverters & optimizers Student 1: I am enjoying the course and I like the way you explain things by citing real world examples. I just want to get… Continue reading “Sean White on Microinverters, String Inverters & Optimizers”
Ryan Mayfield on Megawatt Design Equipment and Software Selection Happening on the Megawatt Design Discussion Board… Expert Instructor Ryan Mayfield on three student questions regarding Megawatt Design equipment and software selection 1. String inverters & AFCI failures… Student 1: I have seen many people staying with central inverters on… Continue reading “Ryan Mayfield on Megawatt Design Equipment and Software Selection”
HeatSpring’s Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway! At HeatSpring, we celebrate innovative builders and designers who work to improve the overall quality and performance of public and residential buildings… Our Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway was created for those who have helped plan, design, construct, and/or operate a high performance building. Entrants… Continue reading “HeatSpring’s Leaders in High Performance Building Giveaway!”
Solar PV Storm and AC vs. DC Safety Considerations On the Solar PV Installer Boot Camp Training + NABCEP Entry Level Exam Prep discussion board… Student 1: Fred, what is the standard for lightning protection systems? The book touches this topic briefly. Is it the norm to have lightning protection? Do… Continue reading “Solar PV Storm and AC vs. DC Safety Considerations”
Bank Lending in Today’s Solar Climate – What You Need to Know Christopher Lord, Managing Director of CapIron, Inc. and an instructor with HeatSpring, recently interviewed Andre Zaffuto, a lending officer focused on solar and other renewable energy opportunities for Bridge Bank. Lord talked with Zaffuto about bank lending in today’s solar… Continue reading “Bank Lending in Today’s Solar Climate – What You Need to Know”
Free Solar Design Tool: String Sizing Tool For Commercial Solar Projects That Works with All Inverters One of the most important aspects of designing a solar array is sizing module strings to operate within the parameters of the selected inverter. This is especially true for commercial and megawatt solar projects. To help in this process, we’re… Continue reading “Free Solar Design Tool: String Sizing Tool For Commercial Solar Projects That Works with All Inverters”
Enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage, Get Wes Kennedy’s Battery Selector Tool! Why enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage? You’ll access the Battery Selector Tool! Decide the best battery for your application, from a cost perspective. This is a great tool for engineers, designers, and decision makers when determining the best battery to use… Continue reading “Enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage, Get Wes Kennedy’s Battery Selector Tool!”
HeatSpring Solar Alumnae: From Courses to Consultants & CEOs! This Solar Women Summer Series interview features two HeatSpring Solar course alumnae, Karma Edwards and Shelley Cohen. Karma Edwards (left), MBA, LEED AP is an independent consultant for Energy Engineering and Business Development. Karma completed our Solar PV Installer Boot Camp… Continue reading “HeatSpring Solar Alumnae: From Courses to Consultants & CEOs!”
Solar Women Summer Series: Reaching a Majority Female Office Sarah Gaddis and Jodi White work at BayWa r.e. Solar Systems, a Solar PV organization dedicated to supporting local, independent installers by offering only a select group of top-quality products. Sarah and Jodi spoke with us about their roles at BayWa r.e., their… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Reaching a Majority Female Office”
The Advantages of Adding Storage to Your Commercial Solar PV Design In the article below, Christopher LaForge, IREC-Certified Master Trainer, NABCEP-Certified PV Installation Professional, and CEO of Great Northern Solar, provides detail about the advantages of adding storage to your commercial solar PV design. Learning Takeaways: By storing solar generation during the… Continue reading “The Advantages of Adding Storage to Your Commercial Solar PV Design”
The Solar Developer’s Modeling Challenge: How Much Detail Is Enough? In the article below, Chris Lord, HeatSpring’s expert instructor, outlines when and why detail in modeling cash flows from a renewable energy project really matters. Key Takeaways: Modeling forces us to confront the troubling “unknowns” about our project, and that… Continue reading “The Solar Developer’s Modeling Challenge: How Much Detail Is Enough?”
Free Tool: Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator Chris Lord’s FREE Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator allows users to compare a lease rate against a potential purchase of a solar PV site where the lease rate (including escalator) is known. This tool is used in HeatSpring’s Financial Modeling… Continue reading “Free Tool: Site Lease vs. Buy Modeling Calculator”
SolarWorld Installer Summit in Portland, OR The 2015 Installer Summit (Aug. 25-27) is an annual sales, marketing, and technical training event at SolarWorld’s U.S. manufacturing headquarters, in Portland, OR. This year SolarWorld will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary of US manufacturing so if you attend, you… Continue reading “SolarWorld Installer Summit in Portland, OR”
NABCEP Certification Updates and Details In this article, Dr. Sean White, IREC Energy Council 2014 Trainer of the Year and ISPQ Certified Solar PV Master Trainer at HeatSpring, outlines important details about NABCEP certification, including recent updates and additions to the Entry Level Program. Important… Continue reading “NABCEP Certification Updates and Details”
Solar Women Summer Series: Commercial Project Design and Engineering Shannon Ware is a Commercial Project Design Engineer and NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional at Microgrid Energy, LLC. She is also Certified in Shade Analysis, is a DOE Home Energy Score Qualified Assessor and has completed Energy Technician Training in addition to… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Commercial Project Design and Engineering”
Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential The best solar + storage opportunities for most companies are on large commercial projects. That was my takeaway from a June 2nd call with Wes Kennedy, Joe Schwartz and David Brearley from SolarPro. The utility storage market is hot and happening… Continue reading “Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential”