New Course: Trenching and Shoring Safety Trenching can be some of the most dangerous work on a construction or solar site, and it’s also some of the most routine. Conduit needs to go in the ground. Wire needs to be pulled. Crews dig, lay their lines,… Continue reading “New Course: Trenching and Shoring Safety”
Maximum Voltage vs. Peak Voltage: Sean White on Energy Storage System Wire Sizing When you’re sizing wire for an energy storage system, the number you need isn’t the highest voltage the system could ever produce. Instead, it’s a specific, defined value called maximum voltage. In the National Electrical Code Article 706.9, maximum voltage… Continue reading “Maximum Voltage vs. Peak Voltage: Sean White on Energy Storage System Wire Sizing”
New Course: Forklift Operator Training HeatSpring just launched Forklift Operator Training, a two-hour online course that covers the formal instruction portion of OSHA-required forklift certification. Why take this course Forklifts, or powered industrial trucks, are a staple in countless warehouses and industrial facilities. OSHA requires… Continue reading “New Course: Forklift Operator Training”
What the O&M Agreement Covers and Why It’s Tied to Your Financial Model Solar assets need decades of upkeep, and that responsibility needs to be spelled out in the O&M agreement. Skipped infrared testing and visual inspections, excessive panel soiling, or an inverter failure without a response plan in place are just a… Continue reading “What the O&M Agreement Covers and Why It’s Tied to Your Financial Model”
Clawbacks & Milestones: Notable Solar EPC Agreement Clauses The EPC agreement governs the actual construction of a solar project, and two parts in particular can cause problems for developers as projects slip: clawback clauses tied to completion deadlines, and the milestone payment structure that governs how money moves… Continue reading “Clawbacks & Milestones: Notable Solar EPC Agreement Clauses”
New Free Course – Getting Hired in Clean Energy: Resumes and Job Search Know someone looking to break into solar, electrical work, or another clean energy trade? HeatSpring’s Brittany Heller just launched a new free course to help them get there. Getting Hired in Clean Energy: Resumes Writing and Job Search Skills walks… Continue reading “New Free Course – Getting Hired in Clean Energy: Resumes and Job Search”
Ladder Safety with Sean White Falls are one of the most common hazards on a job site, and ladders are often part of that risk, especially on residential solar installs where you’re going up onto a pitched roof. A few specific practices can go a… Continue reading “Ladder Safety with Sean White”
HeatSpring is the Official PVA & OMAT Training Provider for the 2027 NABCEP Conference We just signed on to be the official PVA & OMAT training provider for the 2027 NABCEP Conference. Sean White is teaching the class. Learners spend three days together at the conference training with Sean. They also get access to… Continue reading “HeatSpring is the Official PVA & OMAT Training Provider for the 2027 NABCEP Conference”
Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts: Sean White on Ohm’s Law and How to Measure Each One Ohm’s Law describes the relationship between voltage, current, and resistance in an electrical circuit: voltage equals current multiplied by resistance (V = IR). Pair that with the power equation – power equals current multiplied by voltage (P = IV) –… Continue reading “Volts, Amps, Ohms, Watts: Sean White on Ohm’s Law and How to Measure Each One”
How to Properly Fit a Fall Protection Harness In the hierarchy of fall protection, PPE, sits near the bottom, not the top. Elimination – removing the fall hazard entirely – is always the first line of defense, followed by passive systems, travel restraint, and only then fall arrest.… Continue reading “How to Properly Fit a Fall Protection Harness “
Undefined Terms Can Have Real Consequences: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the NEC Code-Making Process There are words in the National Electrical Code that practitioners use every day without a second thought. “Backfeed” is one of them. What emerged during a Code-Making Panel 4 meeting in the 2026 NEC revision cycle is that even the… Continue reading “Undefined Terms Can Have Real Consequences: A Behind-the-Scenes Look at the NEC Code-Making Process”
Why Developers Get the Solar Data Room Wrong (and What It Costs Them) Ask a handful of solar developers where their project documents live, and you’ll get some version of the same answer: a folder on someone’s desktop, scattered across an engineer’s inbox, or nowhere organized at all. HeatSpring instructor Keith Cronin has… Continue reading “Why Developers Get the Solar Data Room Wrong (and What It Costs Them)”
New Course: Competent Person Fall Protection Training Falls are the number one cause of death in construction and almost every one of them is preventable. That’s the reason this course exists. HeatSpring’s new Competent Person Fall Protection Training, taught by instructor Jenny Conrardy, is now live, and… Continue reading “New Course: Competent Person Fall Protection Training”
How Standards Harmonization Is Making Energy Storage Easier to Permit and Inspect Article 706 on energy storage systems didn’t undergo sweeping changes in the 2026 NEC, but what did shift is worth noting, especially for anyone who has found the permitting and inspection side of ESS work frustrating. Rebekah Hren of Solar… Continue reading “How Standards Harmonization Is Making Energy Storage Easier to Permit and Inspect”
Why Article 130 on Energy Management Systems Just Moved to the Front of the NEC Not every significant change in the 2026 NEC is about new requirements or revised language. Sometimes the signal is in where an article ends up in the code book. Article 750 on energy management systems spent years tucked toward the… Continue reading “Why Article 130 on Energy Management Systems Just Moved to the Front of the NEC”
New Free Course: Rapid Shutdown Devices and Safety Risks If you install, inspect, or maintain commercial PV systems, this new course is worth your time – it’s free, and it was recently approved for 1 NABCEP CEU. We just launched Rapid Shutdown Devices and Safety Risks, a new self-paced… Continue reading “New Free Course: Rapid Shutdown Devices and Safety Risks”
Power Control Systems Just Made Load Calculations a Lot Less Painful Doing load calculations can be a bit of a slog. Adding up the water heater, the dishwasher, the EV charger, and all the other loads, then working through the math for branch circuits, feeders, and services – it’s typically not… Continue reading “Power Control Systems Just Made Load Calculations a Lot Less Painful”
Your Guide to Renewing Your NABCEP Certification Recertification season has a way of sneaking up on you. One minute your NABCEP is brand new, the next you’re getting an email that your three years are almost up. The good news is that if you get ahead of… Continue reading “Your Guide to Renewing Your NABCEP Certification”
What Hiring Managers in Solar Want to See on Your Resume A lot of solar job seekers assume silence after an application means they weren’t qualified. Sometimes it just means the resume didn’t land the way it should have. Janet Gomez has spent 15 years in recruiting, eight of them specializing… Continue reading “What Hiring Managers in Solar Want to See on Your Resume”
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?”