Selling Home Performance: 4 Traps to Avoid You want the sale. We all want the sale! Maybe you’re very hungry to post some numbers or push to hit the plan. That’s OK. But don’t let that get in the way of good approaches… THIS ARTICLE WAS WRITTEN… Continue reading “Selling Home Performance: 4 Traps to Avoid”
Amassing & Analyzing Zero Energy Building Data Many believe that the future of net-zero energy is already here. At the forefront, the Net-Zero Energy Coalition is not only leading the movement, but also creating what their team refers to as “The Hub,” a place where all-things-Zero-Energy (ZNE) can… Continue reading “Amassing & Analyzing Zero Energy Building Data”
NEW Corporate Renewable Energy Purchasing Training Many U.S. companies are seeking to purchase renewable energy… Major potential benefits include securing long term energy supplies; substantial cost savings; reduced price volatility; compliance with government regulations and reporting requirements; achieving corporate sustainability goals; and general brand enhancement. These… Continue reading “NEW Corporate Renewable Energy Purchasing Training”
Geothermal HVAC Design: From Building Loads to Bore Field Design Learn geothermal HVAC design fundamentals, with emphasis on building load (residential, commercial and institutional) development, leading to bore field specification. Watch Al’s lectures (one introductory, the other highly technical), and download a Geothermal HVAC Design Performance Simulator excel file in… Continue reading “Geothermal HVAC Design: From Building Loads to Bore Field Design”
GRID Alternatives’ International Program Expands to Nepal In July, HeatSpring published a Sustainable Women Series article featuring the Founder and CEO of GRID Alternatives, a national non-profit that facilitates affordable solar power projects, oftentimes in low-income communities. In this follow-up article, I spoke with Jenean Smith, the… Continue reading “GRID Alternatives’ International Program Expands to Nepal”
Meet Solar Research Pro Paula Mints What do Australia, Indian Lands, and women’s shelters have in common…? While it may sound like the start of a bad joke, there’s actually a great – and lucrative – answer: solar power potential and solar market opportunities abound in… Continue reading “Meet Solar Research Pro Paula Mints”
Building Automation Systems and Open Building Systems: Design Specs Building Automation Systems (BAS) specifications are a required piece of any building construction, upgrade or retrofit project. Learn about Building Automation Systems and Design Specifications for Open Building Systems in Ron Bernstein‘s latest course. Typically developed by a consulting engineer,… Continue reading “Building Automation Systems and Open Building Systems: Design Specs”
Driving Down Solar Costs: A 70% Reduction in 5 Years Launched by the Department of Energy in February 2011, the SunShot Initiative was designed to make solar energy cost-competitive by 2020. In 2010, the cost of one solar watt was $3.80. The SunShot project was attempting to reduce solar costs to $1 per… Continue reading “Driving Down Solar Costs: A 70% Reduction in 5 Years”
Key Application for Microgrids: Oil & Gas Pipeline Protection from Corrosion At first glance, it may seem as though the petro-chemical industry and the renewable energy industry are mutually exclusive. However, this is not the case. In fact, there are several areas where the former can benefit the latter. Of great significance,… Continue reading “Key Application for Microgrids: Oil & Gas Pipeline Protection from Corrosion”
Learn Infrared Imaging as a PV Characterization Tool for $30 Along with the increasing popularity of solar PV systems comes the need for high-quality operations and maintenance (O&M). This is an area that is often overlooked but has been gaining attention in recent years. In this lecture, Dr. James Rand… Continue reading “Learn Infrared Imaging as a PV Characterization Tool for $30”
Water in Sustainable Building: Distribution, Uses & “Zero Net” Strategies In this free course, sustainable building expert Ann Edminster discusses the uses of water in sustainable building practices. Enroll and learn about… -The distribution of water on Earth -How water gets to and leaves building sites -How water is used… Continue reading “Water in Sustainable Building: Distribution, Uses & “Zero Net” Strategies”
An Overview of Commercial and Industrial Fan Efficiency Fans are the last of the low-hanging efficiency fruit in HVAC and process applications. In this lecture, Wade Smith, former Executive Director of the Air Movement and Control Association, introduces critical concepts related to commercial and industrial fan efficiency and explains… Continue reading “An Overview of Commercial and Industrial Fan Efficiency”
62 Million People (& Counting!) Living in Places with 100% Renewable Energy Targets The idea of communities, cities, states, or countries being powered by 100% renewable energy used to be perceived as fantasy. Enter the Go 100% Renewable Energy Project, which aims to perpetuate the clean energy movement by creating a revolutionary online… Continue reading “62 Million People (& Counting!) Living in Places with 100% Renewable Energy Targets”
Three Big Energy Problems Microgrids Can Remedy The majority of us take our energy for granted, just like our air and water. But let’s take a closer look. Already under siege, our air and water are suffering from the effects of pollution and climate change. The good news… Continue reading “Three Big Energy Problems Microgrids Can Remedy”
Energy Models: Design Tools & Energy Use Simulators “What is an Energy Model?” In this brand new free course, P.E. and LEED Fellow Chris Schaffner explains. Chris describes a variety of methods for modeling building energy consumption. He starts with simple energy estimating tools of increasing complexity and… Continue reading “Energy Models: Design Tools & Energy Use Simulators”
Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do Just because we’re not shooting fish in a barrel doesn’t mean we’re moving past the late early majority, venturing into the mainstream, or “crossing the chasm” of residential solar. Since December 2015, I’ve been exploring the macro changes happening in… Continue reading “Why We Haven’t Crossed the Chasm in Residential Solar & What to Do”
Zero Energy Homes: Economics, Efficiency & Renewable Energy Integration What are Zero Energy Homes? How are they cost efficient and how do they help significantly lessen energy use? In this $30 course, sustainable building expert Ann Edminster has the answers. This course, designed as an introduction to all things Zero… Continue reading “Zero Energy Homes: Economics, Efficiency & Renewable Energy Integration”
Sustainable Brewing: A Small, Solar-Powered Company in the Business of Beer Throwback Brewery: where great beer, solar and sustainable business practices collide. In 2010, co-Founders Annette Lee and Nicole Carrier opened their brewery in North Hampton, New Hampshire with the vision to create 100% locally-sourced beers, as well as to promote other aspects of… Continue reading “Sustainable Brewing: A Small, Solar-Powered Company in the Business of Beer”
Meet Sustainable Scholar Andy Skumanich: Global Microgrid Expert & Solar Start-up Whiz A successful Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur, Dr. Andy Skumanich is currently CEO and Founder of SolarVision Consulting, a boutique technology business development company whose technologists work on renewables and DG energy production projects. He also co-founded Advenira Enterprises, a start-up… Continue reading “Meet Sustainable Scholar Andy Skumanich: Global Microgrid Expert & Solar Start-up Whiz”
Community Solar Industry in MA at Risk Due to Regulatory Changes More and more people are interested in ‘going solar,’ but most people cannot put solar panels on their roof. Originally published on RenewableEnergyWorld.com Imagine this: you want to go solar, get an on-site assessment, and find out that your roof… Continue reading “Community Solar Industry in MA at Risk Due to Regulatory Changes”