What Is a Power Control System (PCS) and Why Does It Matter for Solar and Storage Installers? Power control systems are showing up more and more in solar, storage, and electrical infrastructure, but some practitioners haven’t encountered the term yet. Brian Mehalic breaks down what a PCS actually is and why it’s worth understanding now. Essentially, a… Continue reading “What Is a Power Control System (PCS) and Why Does It Matter for Solar and Storage Installers?”
The 2029 NEC Is Going to Look Very Different. Here’s What’s Coming. The 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) revision cycle has come and gone, but the work of the code-making panels never really stops. The 2029 cycle is already well underway, public inputs have been submitted, and task groups are working through… Continue reading “The 2029 NEC Is Going to Look Very Different. Here’s What’s Coming.”
New Course: Foundational Concepts in Renewable Energy Bringing someone new onto your team or crew means getting them up to speed fast. Some foundational training skips the basics that experienced folks take for granted – things like what a kilowatt hour actually means, or how DC and… Continue reading “New Course: Foundational Concepts in Renewable Energy”
Common SCADA Problems O&M Teams Inherit and How to Fix Them When an O&M team takes over a utility-scale solar project, they’re inheriting whatever SCADA system the construction team left behind – for better or worse. Unfortunately, there can be loose connections, misconfigured device IDs, missing documentation, and more. These are… Continue reading “Common SCADA Problems O&M Teams Inherit and How to Fix Them”
Three 2026 NEC Changes That Might Surprise Experienced Solar Installers and Designers Every three years, a new edition of the National Electrical Code drops, and with it comes a set of changes that practitioners need to get up to speed on before they show up in the field. The 2026 version is… Continue reading “Three 2026 NEC Changes That Might Surprise Experienced Solar Installers and Designers”
SCADA Acronyms Explained: What Beginners Need to Know For those brand new to SCADA, one of the first walls you’ll hit is all the acronyms. Networking, communications, and cybersecurity each come with their own vocabulary, and SCADA sits at the intersection of all three. Here are a handful… Continue reading “SCADA Acronyms Explained: What Beginners Need to Know”
New Free Course: Introduction to Solar Systems with Batteries: Solar + Storage If you have new employees or apprentices joining your team, getting them up to speed on solar plus storage fundamentals just got easier. HeatSpring just released a brand-new, completely free course: Introduction to Solar Systems with Batteries: Solar + Storage,… Continue reading “New Free Course: Introduction to Solar Systems with Batteries: Solar + Storage”
What 30 Years in the Electrical Trade Taught Jason Brozen About Keeping Workers Safe In March 2026, HeatSpring’s Brian Hayden sat down with Jason Brozen at the NABCEP Conference in Milwaukee for a conversation on the Suncast Media stage. Jason is the Safety and Technical Training Manager at Tyndale, a master electrician with 30… Continue reading “What 30 Years in the Electrical Trade Taught Jason Brozen About Keeping Workers Safe “
What It’s Really Like to Write the NEC: Inside Code-Making Panel 4 with Solar Tech Collective Most people who work with the National Electrical Code (NEC) learn what it says. Very few people know why it says it. Rebekah Hren and Brian Mehalic of Solar Tech Collective are in that second group. Both serve as principal… Continue reading “What It’s Really Like to Write the NEC: Inside Code-Making Panel 4 with Solar Tech Collective”
New Course: Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More The team behind the new “Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More” course has spent years helping shape the National Electrical Code, not just applying it (although they do that plenty too). Solar Tech Collective’s… Continue reading “New Course: Comprehensive 2026 NEC Requirements for Electrotech: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More”
What’s New with NABCEP Credentials in 2026? Sean White Breaks It Down NABCEP credentials have always been the benchmark for solar and storage professionals, but 2026 is shaping up to be an interesting year for their credential landscape. The PV Associate exam has gotten a Job Task Analysis (JTA) update, the newer… Continue reading “What’s New with NABCEP Credentials in 2026? Sean White Breaks It Down”
What Does SCADA Connect on a Utility-Scale Solar Project? On a utility-scale solar project, SCADA connects three distinct parts of the system: the PV equipment, the substation, and the utility. Each layer often speaks a different protocol, and understanding how they fit together is foundational to working with these… Continue reading “What Does SCADA Connect on a Utility-Scale Solar Project? “
The NABCEP ESIP Exam Is Now Available in Spanish NABCEP has announced that the Energy Storage Installation Professional (ESIP) exam is now available in Spanish. For professionals who prefer Spanish and want to demonstrate their expertise in battery storage systems, this is a big step forward. To take the… Continue reading “The NABCEP ESIP Exam Is Now Available in Spanish”
What Does It Take to Level Up in Solar + Storage Operations and Maintenance? Amanda Bybee has spent years building the systems, standards, and training that keep solar and storage assets running. As CEO of the Amicus O&M Cooperative, the creator of the Tech 1 and Tech 2 courses, she knows exactly what separates… Continue reading “What Does It Take to Level Up in Solar + Storage Operations and Maintenance?”
What is the SEIA/ANSI 301 Standard and Why Does It Matter for Solar and BESS O&M Technicians? Job titles, pay scales, and expectations for O&M technicians have historically varied widely from one solar company to the next. A Level 2 technician at one employer might be doing completely different work than a Level 2 at another. For… Continue reading “What is the SEIA/ANSI 301 Standard and Why Does It Matter for Solar and BESS O&M Technicians?”
One Number That Can Zero Out Your Entire Storage Tax Credit Many people building out energy storage projects in 2026 are focused on the headline numbers: the 30% base ITC, the domestic content adder, the energy community bonus. It’s true that math is genuinely exciting. It’s worth noting that there’s a… Continue reading “One Number That Can Zero Out Your Entire Storage Tax Credit”
What is Root Cause Analysis? Why is It Important for O&M Techs? When something goes wrong on a solar or battery energy storage system, the fastest fix is not always the right one. Hitting a reset, swapping a component, or clearing a fault code without understanding why it happened in the first… Continue reading “What is Root Cause Analysis? Why is It Important for O&M Techs?”
Wes Kennedy Just Updated “Energy Storage Finance.” Here’s What’s New. The energy storage market moves fast, and lucky for us, HeatSpring instructor Wes Kennedy has kept pace. The U.S. installed a record 57 gigawatt-hours of new battery storage capacity in 2025, a 29% increase over the previous year, and the… Continue reading “Wes Kennedy Just Updated “Energy Storage Finance.” Here’s What’s New.”
The Interconnection Review Process, Explained A clean energy customer’s excitement can fade fast if their project hits a roadblock. One day they’re signing a contract, the next they’re asking you why nothing has happened. The answer is often interconnection. If you work in a customer-facing… Continue reading “The Interconnection Review Process, Explained “
What Happens When AI Writes Battery Software HeatSpring instructor Peter Gruenbaum spent years writing software that tells batteries when to charge and when to discharge on utility-scale energy projects. When he built his course on battery energy management systems for HeatSpring, he leaned into AI as a… Continue reading “What Happens When AI Writes Battery Software “