Reactive Power and Transmission & Distribution Operations This is the second of five articles in the series “Reactive Power in Utility-Scale Solar PV Applications.” In Part 1 of this series, we looked at the differences and relationship between real, reactive, and apparent power. We also looked at… Continue reading “Reactive Power and Transmission & Distribution Operations”
What Are Reactive Power and VArs? This is the first of five articles in the series “Reactive Power in Utility-Scale Solar PV Applications.” Right after I started my first job out of college, I found myself presenting at a meeting and talking about reactive power and… Continue reading “What Are Reactive Power and VArs?”
The Most Important Factors When Specifying a Transformer Going from designing residential solar systems to commercial and industrial (C&I) solar systems requires new knowledge in many areas. One area in particular is equipment selection. When megawatt-scale solar systems are designed and put into operation, medium voltage electrical equipment… Continue reading “The Most Important Factors When Specifying a Transformer”
Quick Trick to Find the Roof Slope Using Rise Over Run In residential solar, knowing the roof pitch is an essential part of preparing for any solar design and installation. The roof pitch can affect a system’s energy production. Sometimes, steep roofs include a cost adder because it is more difficult… Continue reading “Quick Trick to Find the Roof Slope Using Rise Over Run”
Troubleshooting a String Inverter Functioning inverters are absolutely key to a successfully operating residential solar system. In the event there’s an issue with the string inverter onsite, the system downtime means the homeowner can’t use any of their own solar energy during that period.… Continue reading “Troubleshooting a String Inverter”
The Ultimate Guide to the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification NABCEP’s PV Installation Professional (PVIP) Certification is considered the gold standard for solar PV professionals. It’s intended for folks who have been in the industry for a while and find themselves often (if not always) in a decision-making role that… Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide to the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification”
Help Your Team Get a Foundation in Solar with this Free Bundle of Courses to Onboard New Installers Residential solar saw its biggest year in 2022 with 40% growth in installations and the residential market adding 9,500 jobs, according to the Solar Jobs Census 2022. The long-term demand for skilled residential solar installers is expected to grow as… Continue reading “Help Your Team Get a Foundation in Solar with this Free Bundle of Courses to Onboard New Installers”
Pathways to Solar: Jan’s Journey to Leading Installs Employment of solar photovoltaic installers is projected to grow 22 percent from 2022 to 2032, much faster than the average for all occupations, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statics. To meet this surge in demand, the industry will… Continue reading “Pathways to Solar: Jan’s Journey to Leading Installs”
Battery Capacity Basics for Solar and Storage When choosing the right energy storage device, we must consider what we are doing with them, where we will put them, how much we will work on them, and how long we want them to last. Of course, all of these… Continue reading “Battery Capacity Basics for Solar and Storage”
One Year Trial of HelioScope Now Included in Megawatt Design Course Through Aurora Partnership HeatSpring and Aurora are teaming up to provide a pretty incredible hands-on learning experience for students. Now when students enroll in Megawatt Design, they will get access to HelioScope by Aurora for the duration of the course, which is one… Continue reading “One Year Trial of HelioScope Now Included in Megawatt Design Course Through Aurora Partnership”
Our Most Popular Free Class Gets an Update With just under 10,000 students enrolled, HeatSpring’s free Introduction to Solar PV Design, Installation, and Code just got a major upgrade, courtesy of our amazing instructor – Sean White. If you’ve never taken a course with Sean, this is a… Continue reading “Our Most Popular Free Class Gets an Update “
New Bundle Announcement: Residential Solar Service Technician Training Package The need for experienced and knowledgeable solar service technicians is growing quickly to keep pace with residential solar deployment. According to the Solar Energy Industries Association (SEIA), the residential solar market experienced its 6th consecutive record year in 2022, growing… Continue reading “New Bundle Announcement: Residential Solar Service Technician Training Package”
2023 NEC Article 706.15 – Clarifying ESS Emergency Shutdown In 2022, the National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA) released the 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC). Updating the code every 3 years allows for clarification and correction of unintended consequences or gaps in the regulations. Article 706.15 in the 2023 NEC… Continue reading “2023 NEC Article 706.15 – Clarifying ESS Emergency Shutdown”
Let’s Meet @ RE+ in Las Vegas RE+ is the biggest solar conference in North America. This year it’s happening in Las Vegas on September 11-14, 2023. It’s impossible to see everything at a huge show like this. So here are some of the events that we… Continue reading “Let’s Meet @ RE+ in Las Vegas”
Many Companies Already Meet the Requirements for NABCEP Company Accreditation – Here’s the Guide on How to Get It Done As the U.S. continues to install more solar than any other new generation source, the role of quality solar installation companies cannot be overstated. With the growing demand, the need for skilled and qualified professionals in the industry has become… Continue reading “Many Companies Already Meet the Requirements for NABCEP Company Accreditation – Here’s the Guide on How to Get It Done”
The Ultimate Guide to Launching your Solar Career with the NABCEP PV Associate Credential The PV Associate is the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners’ (also known as NABCEP – pronounced NAB-cəp – not with each letter spelled out) entry-level credential. It is intended for folks newer to the solar industry, students in… Continue reading “The Ultimate Guide to Launching your Solar Career with the NABCEP PV Associate Credential”
New Free Webinar + NABCEP CEU: 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) Updates for the Solar Industry Every 3 years, the National Fire Protection Administration (NFPA) publishes the latest National Electrical Code (NEC). Like clockwork for each code cycle, HeatSpring instructors Sean White and Bill Brooks review the code changes, update their book on PV and the… Continue reading “New Free Webinar + NABCEP CEU: 2023 National Electrical Code (NEC) Updates for the Solar Industry”
New Course Announcement: Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for Solar Companies Did you know that farmers and rural small businesses may be eligible for a grant covering up to 50% of eligible renewable energy project costs up to $1 million, significantly reducing a project’s payback period? It’s an incredible program that… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Rural Energy for America Program (REAP) for Solar Companies”
Leadership in Utility-Scale Solar Construction I want to share some interesting stats about jobs in utility-scale solar, from IREC’s Annual Solar Job Census, which they’ve just published in July 2023: 65% of all solar jobs are doing installation & project development work, and about half… Continue reading “Leadership in Utility-Scale Solar Construction”
The Importance of Quality Management on Utility Scale Solar Sites Early in my career, before I switched into Project Management, I had the opportunity to lead the Quality department for a leading US-based EPC company – DEPCOM Power. Prior to this, I’d not seen myself as a Quality guy –… Continue reading “The Importance of Quality Management on Utility Scale Solar Sites”