“Solar + Drones: Site Surveying and 3D Mapping Around Trees” – A New Free Course for Solar Companies Using Drones Flying around trees is the #1 biggest challenge facing solar companies that use drones. So Scanifly, Northwest Drone Pros, Hudson Valley Drones, and HeatSpring are collaborating on a new free course: “Solar + Drones: Site Surveying and 3D Mapping around Trees“… Continue reading ““Solar + Drones: Site Surveying and 3D Mapping Around Trees” – A New Free Course for Solar Companies Using Drones”
Using Drones for Gathering and Crunching Data in Solar, Other Industries Drones–unmanned aircraft–can be useful tools for PV engineers and those in other industries, especially for large-scale projects that would require engineers to work at heights or cover a large field to gather data. That’s the word from Keven Gambold, who… Continue reading “Using Drones for Gathering and Crunching Data in Solar, Other Industries”
Energy Storage Could be a Gold Mine for Utility Customers. What’s Holding it Back? Solar-plus-storage can be a gold mine for residential, commercial and industrial utility customers, says Christopher LaForge, co-instructor of HeatSpring’s 35-Hour NABCEP Advanced Solar Plus Storage: Proposals and Planning course. But right now, the customers face obstruction from utilities that are… Continue reading “Energy Storage Could be a Gold Mine for Utility Customers. What’s Holding it Back?”
Now Open: Live Online Proctoring for all NABCEP Board Certification Exams NABCEP has just announced that all candidates may now schedule to take all NABCEP PV Board Certification and PV Associate credentialing exams through live online proctoring (LOP). You may now schedule to take an exam from your own home! The… Continue reading “Now Open: Live Online Proctoring for all NABCEP Board Certification Exams”
HeatSpring Gets High Marks for Students Taking the NABCEP Associate Exam Over the past 12 months, 98% of the HeatSpring students who have taken the NABCEP PV Associate exam have passed it. HeatSpring instructor Sean White teaches the students how to prepare for the exam with his course, Solar PV Installer… Continue reading “HeatSpring Gets High Marks for Students Taking the NABCEP Associate Exam”
Why Hydronic Distribution Systems Can be Ten Times More Efficient than Forced Air Policymakers often focus on providing incentives for efficient heat sources, but neglect to do their research on distribution systems. As a result, they’re missing out on opportunities to boost the efficiency of the overall heating system. They could do this… Continue reading “Why Hydronic Distribution Systems Can be Ten Times More Efficient than Forced Air”
Jokes, Music and Memory Tricks Help Keep Students Engaged in NABCEP Course Sean White brings original guitar music, his own jokes, quick responses to questions and tried-and-true memorization tricks to HeatSpring’s 40-hour NABCEP Advanced PV Certification Training and CEUs course. Funny Professors Role Models for White He learned some of his teaching… Continue reading “Jokes, Music and Memory Tricks Help Keep Students Engaged in NABCEP Course”
New Free Course: Why Solar Plus Storage? Why is everyone talking about solar-plus-storage as a business opportunity? Expert instructors Chris LaForge and Chris Brown discuss the importance of solar-plus-storage, why it makes sense as a business case and why it is needed NOW. In our new free… Continue reading “New Free Course: Why Solar Plus Storage?”
New Free Course: Drones, 3D Mapping and LiDAR in Solar We’re really excited to announce our partnership with Scanifly software. They’ve released a new free course that helps solar companies understand how drones can be used to improve operations and lower the cost of delivering solar. The 76-minute lecture talks… Continue reading “New Free Course: Drones, 3D Mapping and LiDAR in Solar”
Solar O&M: How Long Your System Lasts Will Depend Upon These 3 Things “Solar is maintenance free”. “Solar panels last for over 20-years”. “The inverter warranty will take care of everything”. “Don’t worry”. You might have heard these things before. You might have believed some of them and maybe for a period of… Continue reading “Solar O&M: How Long Your System Lasts Will Depend Upon These 3 Things”
Free Weekly Solar Business Discussion Group with Keith Cronin We are excited to announce a valuable new offering with solar business expert Keith Cronin available for free every week. Keith is now hosting a live call every Tuesday @ 10 am PST. Participants discuss current events, solar business tips… Continue reading “Free Weekly Solar Business Discussion Group with Keith Cronin”
What Happens in the Drone Pilot Boot Camp? The “Drone Pilot Boot Camp + Part 107 Exam Prep” course is twelve weeks long. It’s different from every other drone course because it combines several key experiences you need to really do the job. Before diving in it’s fair… Continue reading “What Happens in the Drone Pilot Boot Camp?”
Now Open: Live Online Proctoring for NABCEP Associate Exams NABCEP has just announced that candidates may now schedule to take the NABCEP PV Associate credentialing exams through live online proctoring (LOP), and can begin testing as soon as May 1st, 2020. The LOP testing method means that you can now… Continue reading “Now Open: Live Online Proctoring for NABCEP Associate Exams”
Non-Obvious Skills Needed in the Solar Industry This week I had the honor of participating in the first-ever SunCast Summit on Earth Day. The “Impact Your Career” session was a panel discussion between Shawn O’Brien (NABCEP), Brian Mehalic (Solar Energy International), Nico Johnson (SunCast), and me. I… Continue reading “Non-Obvious Skills Needed in the Solar Industry”
New Free Course: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing PACE financing (property assessed clean energy financing) is a means of financing energy efficiency upgrades, disaster resiliency improvements, water conservation measures, or renewable energy upgrades to buildings through property taxes. This free 12-minute lecture: “Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing”… Continue reading “New Free Course: Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy (C-PACE) Financing”
Time to Get Back to Work Your world changed overnight it seems. How you live has been altered and this is very disruptive. You are unsure of what is coming and where to turn for advice. One thing is certain. This is a wakeup call to the… Continue reading “Time to Get Back to Work”
Help Choose the Solar District Cup 2020 Industry Choice Winner We are excited to invite all HeatSpring students, instructors, and members of our community to participate in the selection of the Industry Choice winner of the U.S. Department of Energy Solar District Cup 2020 Competition Event on Monday April 27th from… Continue reading “Help Choose the Solar District Cup 2020 Industry Choice Winner”
60 Questions You’ll Probably See on Your Drone Pilot License Exam Today we’ve made a new free course available for anyone interested in becoming a licensed commercial drone pilot. Enroll in the “FAA Part 107 Practice Test” to take your free practice exam and get some tips from Keven Gambold on… Continue reading “60 Questions You’ll Probably See on Your Drone Pilot License Exam”
Will 2020 Be a Year You Want to Remember or Forget Look around you. What do you see? Despair? Hope? This experience you are facing is going to move you in one direction or another. In the short term, you are going to be concerned. Just like the rest of us.… Continue reading “Will 2020 Be a Year You Want to Remember or Forget”
Your Second Half of 2020 When we were kids and we were learning how to play a game or a sport, we didn’t know what to do. We sometimes asked for a do-over. Most of us would feel the same way about 2020 up to… Continue reading “Your Second Half of 2020”