If DER Interconnection is part of your job, I’m begging you to listen to Vaughan Woodruff The whole world is fighting for your attention. But if DER interconnection is part of your job, please take a minute to absorb what Vaughan Woodruff just made for you. The new Interconnection Pro badge brings together four courses taught… Continue reading “If DER Interconnection is part of your job, I’m begging you to listen to Vaughan Woodruff”
What’s Inside a Substation Transformer? A Look at the Major Parts Substation transformers step power down from high-voltage lines to the lower voltages used on distribution circuits. The one featured in this lecture takes 230 kV down to 23 kV, and a transformer that size typically supplies between one and six… Continue reading “What’s Inside a Substation Transformer? A Look at the Major Parts”
Vehicle-to-Grid Is Here. Here’s Where the NEC Stands on Bidirectional EV Charging. Vehicle-to-grid and bidirectional EV charging have been on the industry’s radar for years. HeatSpring instructor Alex Jahp shares a look at where things actually stand in the 2026 NEC. The short answer is that Article 625 didn’t see major changes… Continue reading “Vehicle-to-Grid Is Here. Here’s Where the NEC Stands on Bidirectional EV Charging.”
Why Neutral and Ground Bond Only Once Neutral and ground get bonded together at the main service panel, and nowhere else. Leave the bonding screw in at a subpanel and everything still seems to work. The lights come on and the appliances run. So why does the… Continue reading “Why Neutral and Ground Bond Only Once”
What Is a Transformer, and Why Does It Only Work With AC? Transformers were one of the late-1800s developments that made our alternating current (AC) power system possible, and you’ll still find them at nearly every stage of the grid today. A step-up transformer at a generating plant raises the voltage to… Continue reading “What Is a Transformer, and Why Does It Only Work With AC?”
Learn How Power Gets from the Meter to the Main in the New “Residential Wiring: Service Entrance Cables” Course Every circuit in a home starts with the service entrance conductors. These wires run from the utility meter to the main breaker, carry the entire dwelling load, and stay live even with the main switched off. HeatSpring’s new course with… Continue reading “Learn How Power Gets from the Meter to the Main in the New “Residential Wiring: Service Entrance Cables” Course”
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”
Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room We just published a new course, and there’s nothing else like it in the world: Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room. Keith Cronin opened up actual data room documents and models he uses to develop, finance, and sell solar… Continue reading “Inside the Solar Executive MBA Data Room”
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”
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.”
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 “
New Course: 15-Hour PV and the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) from Sean White & Bill Brooks If you’ve taken a Sean White course before, you already know the drill: dense technical material, delivered with plenty of humor so you actually remember it. Sean has built a following of repeat learners who come back every code cycle… Continue reading “New Course: 15-Hour PV and the 2026 National Electrical Code (NEC) from Sean White & Bill Brooks”
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? “
New Course: Development in Utility-Scale Solar Many people who work in solar have never seen all the work that gets put in before construction begins. If you’re in construction, you inherit a project that someone else spent years putting together. If you’re in finance or asset… Continue reading “New Course: Development in Utility-Scale Solar”
New Course: Basics of Commissioning on Utility-Scale Solar Commissioning is where a solar construction site becomes a power plant. It’s also where schedule delays get expensive fast, defects cost more to fix than they did during construction, and the utility, owner’s engineer, lender’s engineer, and equipment vendors all… Continue reading “New Course: Basics of Commissioning on Utility-Scale Solar”
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 “
New Course: Owning the Customer Interconnection Experience Many people get introduced to interconnection the same way: someone hands them a stack of utility paperwork and says, we need these filed. So they do. They submit the applications. Then a problem comes up, and they realize there’s a… Continue reading “New Course: Owning the Customer Interconnection Experience”
New Course Announcement: Transformer Specification & Applications for Inverter-Based Resources As many residential solar designers move up into larger C&I and utility-scale projects, the work starts to look pretty different from a rooftop install. Transformer specification is one of those areas where the learning curve shows up fast and where… Continue reading “New Course Announcement: Transformer Specification & Applications for Inverter-Based Resources”
How the Future of DER Interconnection Could Mirror the Evolution of Booking a Flight The interconnection process can make or break a project. And yet, it’s difficult to tell exactly how bad the bottlenecks truly are. Distribution-level interconnection data is fragmented across more than 3,000 utilities regulated by 50 different states, with few central… Continue reading “How the Future of DER Interconnection Could Mirror the Evolution of Booking a Flight”