What Are the Components of a Main Service Panel? When you’re scoping a solar project, a battery system, or a whole-home electrification retrofit, one of the first considerations will be main service panel capacity. Panel capacity is affected by its components: the service conductors, meter, busbar rating, and main… Continue reading “What Are the Components of a Main Service Panel?”
Prep for Two Industry Credentials with HeatSpring PRO If you’re a solar professional looking to future-proof your career, there’s never been a better time to expand your skillset. The residential solar market is evolving quickly, and the professionals who thrive will be those who can offer more than… Continue reading “Prep for Two Industry Credentials with HeatSpring PRO”
EMS vs. PCS in the 2026 NEC: Understanding the Critical Differences Every three years, the National Electrical Code gets a chance to clarify anything that wasn’t quite right the last time around. Sometimes that means refining vague language. Other times it means introducing new terms to distinguish between concepts that were… Continue reading “EMS vs. PCS in the 2026 NEC: Understanding the Critical Differences”
The 2026 National Electrical Code is Now Available Online for Free Great news for solar and energy storage professionals! The 2026 edition of the National Electrical Code (NEC®) has been released, and you can review it for free on the National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) website. How to Access the 2026… Continue reading “The 2026 National Electrical Code is Now Available Online for Free”
Why Avoid Upsizing the Main Panel? When homeowners consider electrification upgrades – adding heat pumps, EV chargers, heat pump water heaters, other electric appliances, or solar and storage systems – they’re sometimes told they need a main panel upgrade. What many people don’t realize is that… Continue reading “Why Avoid Upsizing the Main Panel?”
How Do Battery Systems Maintain Grid Frequency? When a heat wave hits and entire cities crank up their air conditioning simultaneously, we rarely think about what keeps our electrical grid humming at exactly the right frequency. But grid frequency is critical – too high or too low,… Continue reading “How Do Battery Systems Maintain Grid Frequency?”
Here’s How the New HeatSpring PRO Works [Video] We recently launched HeatSpring PRO, a new subscription service for solar professionals navigating an evolving industry. Solar professionals are being asked to do more than ever – energy storage, service and maintenance, building electrification, and consultative sales. HeatSpring PRO gives… Continue reading “Here’s How the New HeatSpring PRO Works [Video]”
How Does Energy Bidding Work for Battery Systems in Power Markets? Understanding how battery systems participate in power markets can seem complex at first, but the fundamentals are surprisingly straightforward. The basics of energy bidding are essential knowledge for anyone working in the utility-scale energy storage space – from entrepreneurs and… Continue reading “How Does Energy Bidding Work for Battery Systems in Power Markets?”
A Look at Two Types of Battery Installations: Front of the Meter and Behind the Meter Where you install a battery system – and which side of the electricity meter it sits on – fundamentally changes how it operates and who benefits from it. There are two primary configurations for battery installations: front of the meter… Continue reading “A Look at Two Types of Battery Installations: Front of the Meter and Behind the Meter”
How the NEC is Revised – A Look at the Public Input Process Ever wondered how the National Electrical Code gets updated every three years? The NEC revision process is open to everyone – electricians, solar installers, engineers, industry associations, and even individuals with ideas for improving electrical safety can all participate in… Continue reading “How the NEC is Revised – A Look at the Public Input Process”
New Course Announcement: Avoiding Main Panel Upgrades Home electrification is accelerating rapidly, but there’s a bottleneck that’s been frustrating homeowners and professionals alike: the dreaded main panel upgrade. If you’ve worked on the residential side, you know the story all too well. A homeowner wants to install… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Avoiding Main Panel Upgrades”
New Free Course Announcement: Introduction to Software for Battery Systems While utility-scale solar and battery systems are transforming our energy infrastructure, finding comprehensive, accessible education on the software that powers these systems can be challenging. Most available training focuses on hardware components or high-level energy concepts, but there are limited… Continue reading “New Free Course Announcement: Introduction to Software for Battery Systems”
Level Up Your Energy Storage Knowledge with the Energy Storage PRO Badge The U.S. energy storage market set a new record in 2024 with 12.3 gigawatts of installations across all segments – a massive 33% increase year-over-year. This record-breaking year is just the beginning. Industry projections show 15 GW of storage expected… Continue reading “Level Up Your Energy Storage Knowledge with the Energy Storage PRO Badge”
New Course Alert: 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC®) Changes: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More, The electrical landscape is evolving as clean energy adoption and electrification accelerate – and the 2026 National Electrical Code is adapting right alongside it. Every three years, the National Electrical Code undergoes comprehensive revisions to align with industry practices and… Continue reading “New Course Alert: 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC®) Changes: PV, ESS, EVs, PCS, and More,”
Announcing HeatSpring PRO: Career Insurance for Solar Professionals To HeatSpring’s community of 100,000+ solar professionals, this is for you. The solar industry just changed. We created HeatSpring PRO so you can start offering energy storage, solar service contracts, energy audits, heat pumps, and consultative sales on more creative… Continue reading “Announcing HeatSpring PRO: Career Insurance for Solar Professionals”
New Course Announcement: Solar PV Ground-Fault Troubleshooting: Theory, Tools, and Field Application Ground faults are one of the most challenging issues solar technicians face. They’re difficult to locate, potentially dangerous, and can bring PV systems to a grinding halt. Yet despite being one of the most common and costly issues in solar… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Solar PV Ground-Fault Troubleshooting: Theory, Tools, and Field Application”
Understanding NFPA 70B Equipment Condition Categories: The Foundation of Effective Maintenance One of the most critical aspects of implementing NFPA 70B is properly assessing and categorizing your electrical equipment. The standard requires a comprehensive evaluation that examines multiple factors to determine maintenance frequency and protect both safety and system reliability. The… Continue reading “Understanding NFPA 70B Equipment Condition Categories: The Foundation of Effective Maintenance”
How Will ANSI/SEIA 301-2025 Standard Be Implemented and What’s the Best Case Scenario in 10 Years? The approval of ANSI/SEIA 301-2025, the Solar and Energy Storage Operations and Maintenance Technician Training American National Standard, marks a big moment for the solar and storage industry. This new standard establishes more than training guidelines – it creates the… Continue reading “How Will ANSI/SEIA 301-2025 Standard Be Implemented and What’s the Best Case Scenario in 10 Years?”
The Market is Changing. Entrepreneurial Action Will Win. Solar companies in the US are (rightfully) concerned right now about looming policy changes. I’ve been calling my senators to urge them not to roll back the IRA and eliminate tax credits because businesses will be hurt and jobs eliminated. … Continue reading “The Market is Changing. Entrepreneurial Action Will Win.”
How to Operationalize Solar O&M Training Solar PV Operations and Maintenance (O&M) providers are often pressed for time. When we’re working on residential, commercial, or even small utility scale systems, technicians usually have a set amount of time in which to get their work done, and… Continue reading “How to Operationalize Solar O&M Training”