What is All This Water Doing in the Inverter? – What Can Happen When Rooftop Conduit Fittings Are Improperly Installed While it may seem like a minor detail to new solar installers, using the wrong conduit fittings, or installing the right ones incorrectly, can have disastrous consequences. Conduit fittings are used to connect sections of electrical conduit, which protect and… Continue reading “What is All This Water Doing in the Inverter? – What Can Happen When Rooftop Conduit Fittings Are Improperly Installed”
The Simple, Yet Effective Power of Newsletters in Digital Marketing One of the most overlooked, yet valuable tools in the solar company’s marketing toolkit is their ability to send newsletters to their email list. Sending a regular newsletter will help to build trust and stay relevant with your audience of… Continue reading “The Simple, Yet Effective Power of Newsletters in Digital Marketing”
New Course Announcement: Understanding Utility Scale Solar Construction Drawings Being able to understand and read construction drawings means everyone onsite and at the office can speak the same language. It’s an absolute necessity for teams, especially when working on utility scale solar projects. Get everyone on the same page… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Understanding Utility Scale Solar Construction Drawings”
New Product Launch? Don’t Forget the People Part You can’t just launch a product and expect to be successful. You know that. But companies do it all the time – they spend millions of dollars creating an amazing new thing that never takes off. Even really great products… Continue reading “New Product Launch? Don’t Forget the People Part”
Time to Recertify Your NABCEP Professional Certification? – A Comprehensive Guide You met all the qualifications. You completed the application. You studied and – most importantly – you passed your NABCEP certification exam! Now that you’ve done the hardest part, it’s time to recertify and maintain your NABCEP professional certification. Here’s… Continue reading “Time to Recertify Your NABCEP Professional Certification? – A Comprehensive Guide “
61% of Solar Power World’s Top Contractors use HeatSpring for Employee Learning Solar Power World produces an annual list of top solar contractors in the U.S. They rank EPCs, subcontractors, and developers by installation volume for the previous year. In 2022 there were 411 solar contractors on the list, and 251 of… Continue reading “61% of Solar Power World’s Top Contractors use HeatSpring for Employee Learning”
Content Marketing Basics for Solar Companies Every business needs some digital marketing component to stay competitive. Digital marketing allows for businesses to reach wider audiences while building trust and credibility in cost effective ways. Join Melanie Kelly, VP of Marketing at Pivot Energy, as she shares… Continue reading “Content Marketing Basics for Solar Companies”
Troubleshooting Isolation Faults Like a Pro Isolation faults happen on PV systems when DC current leaks to ground. It can be caused by a number of issues like damaged or pinched wires, defective optimizers, or an inverter fault. In the new Residential Field Operations & Maintenance… Continue reading “Troubleshooting Isolation Faults Like a Pro”
New Course Announcement: Residential Field Operations & Maintenance With a total of 5.9 GW of residential solar installed in the United States as of the end 2021, there is a huge growing (and glaring) need for well trained, experienced solar technicians to keep systems running smoothly and producing… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Residential Field Operations & Maintenance”
Taking Your New Solar Company from $0 to $500k in Year One – Marketing Tips for Brand New Companies There’s no shortage of challenges and opportunities when launching a brand new solar company. Building a brand and reputation from scratch certainly can be one of the most daunting tasks for new business owners. Join Gustavo Arce as he shares… Continue reading “Taking Your New Solar Company from $0 to $500k in Year One – Marketing Tips for Brand New Companies”
America Sucks at Selling Solar – Why U.S. Resi Solar Prices are 2x-3x Australian Prices Before incentives and rebates, a typical 10kW residential solar system costs around $12,000 in Australia. In the U.S., pre-incentives, the same system costs almost $30,000. $18,000 difference. $1.20W vs $3.00/W. A $1.80/W problem, which I believe is almost entirely… Continue reading “America Sucks at Selling Solar – Why U.S. Resi Solar Prices are 2x-3x Australian Prices”
How Salespeople Can Harness the Psychological Principle of Unity to Turn Problems into Opportunities to Connect Is it possible to take something seemingly negative – like supply chain issues delaying your client’s solar and energy storage installation – to build more rapport with your clients? Can you transform problems into opportunities to connect on a deeper… Continue reading “How Salespeople Can Harness the Psychological Principle of Unity to Turn Problems into Opportunities to Connect”
How Much Solar PV Can a Feeder Host? As increasing amounts of solar PV connect to electric distribution systems, in the forms of utility-scale solar PV and behind-the-meter solar PV, a critical question that many in the industry have is “How Much Solar PV Can a Feeder Host?” The… Continue reading “How Much Solar PV Can a Feeder Host?”
What Motivates Us to Pay More for a Better Product? Selling better quality solar for a premium is all about delivering high quality customer experiences consistently. It’s the culmination of all the touchpoints between the customer and the business, not just being reactive to particular inquiries. Join Charlie Saginaw of… Continue reading “What Motivates Us to Pay More for a Better Product?”
You Think You’re Selling Solar. You’re Actually Selling These Ten Steps Toward Solar. The tired sales phrase “always be closing” may have killed more solar deals than it ever landed. It’s not wrong, per se, but dramatically and widely, misunderstood. Early on in my solar sales career, I remember walking around believing that… Continue reading “You Think You’re Selling Solar. You’re Actually Selling These Ten Steps Toward Solar.”
The Role of Art and Design in the Energy Transition – Perspective from Alex Nathanson Solar photovoltaics can seem strictly utilitarian to most, especially those deeply entrenched within the solar industry. Solar Power for Artists founder, Alex Nathanson, sees it differently. He asks questions like what is the role of art and design when it… Continue reading “The Role of Art and Design in the Energy Transition – Perspective from Alex Nathanson”
Building a Solar Passive Greenhouse With No Energy Inputs Other Than the Sun Harnessing the power of the sun can look like many different things. For HeatSpring instructor Chris LaForge, solar energy means so much more than photovoltaics. In this short video, Chris shows us the beginning phases of his passive solar greenhouse… Continue reading “Building a Solar Passive Greenhouse With No Energy Inputs Other Than the Sun”
Innovative Solar Microgrids for Resiliency with the Footprint Project The Footprint Project’s mission is to provide cleaner energy for communities in crisis. They work to green disaster response in the aftermath of climate change emergencies. In this blog post, we hear from William Heegaard, Operations Director at the Footprint… Continue reading “Innovative Solar Microgrids for Resiliency with the Footprint Project”
Impacts of IEEE 1547 to Developers and Engineers Working on Distribution Interconnections The latest revision of IEEE 1547TM-2018 – IEEE Standard for Interconnection and Interoperability of Distributed Energy Resources with Associated Electric Power Interfaces turns five years old this year. Many solar PV developers and engineers that are just entering the industry… Continue reading “Impacts of IEEE 1547 to Developers and Engineers Working on Distribution Interconnections”
New Free Course: Denowatts Installer Certification Training Total global solar installed capacity is expected to reach 2.2 terawatts by 2030, which means the solar O&M sector will be continuing to rapidly grow to keep pace. According to research from Wood Mackenzie cited in Solar Builder Magazine, the… Continue reading “New Free Course: Denowatts Installer Certification Training”