Meet Spencer Rosen – Instructor Spotlight

Behind every HeatSpring course is an expert instructor – a seasoned professional who brings not just knowledge, but passion, real-world experience, and a commitment to helping others grow. While thousands of students benefit from their expertise through our online courses, the remote nature of digital learning means many never get to know the remarkable humans behind the content.

That’s why we launched our Instructor Spotlight series. In these profiles, you’ll meet the folks who make HeatSpring’s learning community so special while helping build the future of our industry – one learner at a time.

Say hello Spencer Rosen!

Spencer is a new instructor to HeatSpring, recently launching his Avoiding Main Panel Upgrades course!

What advice would you give your younger self?
I’d tell my younger self to treat integrity like the “cheat code” for an extraordinary life. Not in a dramatic way—more in the simplest, most practical way possible: do what you said you’d do. Keep your promises. And when you can’t, be honest early, own it, and re-commit. It sounds almost too basic, but it’s powerful. Integrity gives you a solid foundation, and once you have that foundation, it’s amazing how much becomes possible.

What’s a quote you think about often?
“How you do anything is how you do everything.” I think about that a lot because it’s easy to tell yourself, “Someday—when I have more time, more money, more experience—then I’ll do things the way I really want to do them.” But the truth is, the habits you build now are the habits you take into the future. Early in my career, even when I was doing gritty, hands-on work like crawling through attics installing insulation or replacing ducts (the kind of work that’s not glamorous), I still cared deeply about quality. That quote reminds me that excellence is a muscle—if you practice it now, you don’t to magically “become” excellent later. Your excellence now is actually what creates your extraordinary future.

What was your first job in the industry?
My first job in the industry was back in 2005 with United Solar Ovonic. I started in residential sales in San Diego and eventually moved into managing parts of the residential distribution network across the country. And honestly, 2005 solar felt like the Wild West. People would call asking about residential wind turbines, micro-hydro ideas, and every imaginable way to generate energy at home. Incentives were small, utility rates were low, and equipment costs were high—so you had to think creatively to make the numbers. It was a trailblazing time, and it’s where I really cut my teeth learning how the industry works in the real world.

How many years have you been in the industry?
It’s been about twenty years now. I’ve worn a lot of different hats, but I’ve almost always focused on the residential side—especially single-family homes. I just love that work. You get to improve a family’s comfort, reduce their monthly costs, and help the planet at the same time. It’s one of those rare places where the “global impact” and the “local, daily quality of life” thing actually meet.

What are your hobbies?
I play guitar and piano, and I love it because it’s basically a fun collision of art, science, and math. This past year I’ve dove deeper into really sorting out how to play jazz guitar.  It’s really a major challenge because to improvise is jazz, is not like playing a solo over the blues.  For a blue solo, you basically stay in one key…meaning you can play basically one scale the whole time and it sounds pretty good.  With jazz, you are literally having to play a new scale ever time the chord changes and that can happen 20 or 30 times in a song.  So stringing together coherent melodies across those changes is a whole new level…but it’s a challenge and I love it…and I’m breaking the challenge down into pieces and know I’ll eventually get it. 

What’s a fun fact about you that most students don’t know?
Most students don’t know that I’m a pretty serious salsa dancer. In my 20s I even danced professionally a little bit and performed with teams. It’s not something I spend a lot of time on these days, but if I walked into a salsa or mambo club… let’s just say I could still hold my own.

What’s your favorite song at the moment?
There are so many…on the jazz front, I’d say Cannonball Adderley’s version of “Autumn Leaves.” The saxophone solo is so, so beautiful.  If you know the language of jazz and just listen the level that he’s at to be able to create on the spot like that is just crazy!

If you could eat only one meal for the rest of your life, what would it be?
If I’m going for “maximize longevity and feel great,” it’s probably a big, healthy salad with lots of olive oil, some high-quality protein, and a bunch of superfoods mixed in. If it’s for joy—it might just be perfectly ripe red raspberries, by the handful.

Anything else you think would be fun to share?
On top of my home energy trainings and consultant, I’m also building my dream home energy software—something I’ve wanted to exist for a long time. I’m aiming for a limited release in 2026, and a full release in 2027.  More to come.