Win a $10,000 Zero Net Energy Building Award! Think your house is the best Zero Net Energy building in the Northeast? You could win $10,000! The Northeast Sustainable Energy Association (NESEA), a membership organization with a mission to advance the adoption of sustainable energy practices in the Built Environment,… Continue reading “Win a $10,000 Zero Net Energy Building Award!”
“Cover of the Solar Pro” = Amazing Solar Marketing Video If you’re in the solar industry, or a fan of renewable energy and small business, it’s impossible to watch this video and not smile: I don’t have any deep insights or tips to share on this, I just wanted more… Continue reading ““Cover of the Solar Pro” = Amazing Solar Marketing Video”
Get All the Tools and Advice You Need to Start a Solar Business We’re launching the first online solar startup accelerator in the winter of 2015 so you can get all of the tools and advice you need to start your solar business. Here’s why: The solar industry grew 36% in 2014, creating tons… Continue reading “Get All the Tools and Advice You Need to Start a Solar Business”
New Course: Data Center Essentials for Executives This week we’ve launched our first data center course, offered through Datacenter Dynamics. Jon Koomey is the instructor, and we’re all really excited to have him teaching. I asked Jon to talk about his inspiration for the course. Here’s what… Continue reading “New Course: Data Center Essentials for Executives”
New Course: Land Boundary Master Class We recently launched the “Land Boundary Master Class” in partnership with BNP Media and Jeff Lucas. I’ve come to learn that Jeff is highly regarded for his honesty, humor, and vision for where the industry of land surveying is going… Continue reading “New Course: Land Boundary Master Class”
Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider Microgrids are poised to alter the economics and topology of the electricity grid, ultimately transforming the electricity industry as we know it. In this article, we discuss the four economic factors to consider before and during microgrid development and provide… Continue reading “Building Microgrids? Four Economic Factors to Consider”
What Commercial Solar Developers Need to Know about Yieldcos If you’d like to listen the interview, please scroll to the middle of the article. There’s been a huge amount of buzz about yieldcos and their potential impact on financing more commercial solar projects by providing cheaper capital. There have been… Continue reading “What Commercial Solar Developers Need to Know about Yieldcos”
How Massachusett’s Alternative Energy Credit Prices Will Impact Heat Pump and Biomass Operating Costs We passed the Massachusetts “Clean Heat Bill” in July 2014. The final bill number is S. 2214. The bill created a production-based incentive, similar to solar PV renewable energy credits (SRECs), for renewable thermal technologies including solar thermal, air source heat… Continue reading “How Massachusett’s Alternative Energy Credit Prices Will Impact Heat Pump and Biomass Operating Costs”
Community Solar 101 There’s been a lot of buzz about community solar lately. While the amount of investment in community solar projects is a fraction of the investment of the entire solar industry, there are a few leaders who recognize the incredible potential… Continue reading “Community Solar 101”
Air Barriers vs. Vapor Retarders vs. Drainage Planes: Learn Essential Building Science Specifics in 60-Minutes Building science is complex. It takes time and experience to understand and integrate physics, chemistry, climatology, and ecology into building enclosures. Understanding the complex interplay of heat, air, and moisture flows within and across building enclosures— while paying attention to the… Continue reading “Air Barriers vs. Vapor Retarders vs. Drainage Planes: Learn Essential Building Science Specifics in 60-Minutes”
AIAA Launches Free Course on the Business of Commercial Space October 6, 2014 – Reston, Va. – American Institute of Aeronautics and Astronautics (AIAA) has partnered with Dr. Daniel Rasky, Bruce Pittman, and HeatSpring to offer a free course on the business opportunities in the emerging commercial space industry. The… Continue reading “AIAA Launches Free Course on the Business of Commercial Space”
Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes What are the differences between grounding and bonding in solar design? What are the most recent codes? Where are the codes headed? What are some of the changes that have happened? What does it mean for you and your installations? In… Continue reading “Understand the Key Grounding and Bonding Standards for Commercial Solar PV Projects in Less Than 30 Minutes”
Learn in 60 Minutes: Conventional vs. Passive Floor Planning If you don’t floor plan properly, you will fail. During this free 60-minute lecture, Mike Duclos, Principal and Founder of DEAP Energy Group and expert instructor at HeatSpring, describes how Passive House floor planning differs from conventional floor planning. Mike… Continue reading “Learn in 60 Minutes: Conventional vs. Passive Floor Planning”
Calculate Heat Loss to the Ground with Marc Rosenbaum Marc Rosenbaum, Director of Engineering, South Mountain Company and one of HeatSpring’s expert instructors, taught a free live lecture to more than 200 architects and builders last week. His focus: demonstrate how buildings interact thermally with the ground and teach… Continue reading “Calculate Heat Loss to the Ground with Marc Rosenbaum”
How to Handle Unknown Risk to Increase Solar Project Success Image: Universe of Issues, Risks, and Challenges This is a guest article from Chris Lord, Managing Director at CapIron, Inc. He’s a former lawyer with extensive banking experience who now consults with solar developers and investors. I’ve never met anyone… Continue reading “How to Handle Unknown Risk to Increase Solar Project Success”
Free 65 Minute Lecture on Biomass Thermal Storage + Free Invitation to Maine Alternative Energy Expo 2014 Interphase Energy, a Maine-based leader in supplying central pellet heating equipment throughout North America, is hosting Alternative Energy Expo 2014 at their Portland, Maine facility this Friday, September 12th, 2014 from 2:00 – 8:00 p.m. EDT. Free to the public, the… Continue reading “Free 65 Minute Lecture on Biomass Thermal Storage + Free Invitation to Maine Alternative Energy Expo 2014”
Two Free Tools: ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2 Calculators Registered engineering technologist and expert HeatSpring instructor Robert Bean has developed two calculators to help designers meet ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2: “Thermal Environmental Conditions for Human Occupancy” and “Ventilation and Acceptable Indoor Air Quality in Low-Rise Residential Buildings.” Considered… Continue reading “Two Free Tools: ASHRAE Standards 55 and 62.2 Calculators”
Master the Outdoor Reset Curve in 60 Minutes Plumbing and hydronics expert, Dave Yates has mastered the outdoor reset curve: boosting the value of his work, maximizing fuel savings, and increasing the comfort of his clients’ home. He wants you to master it, too. In this 60-minute free lecture,… Continue reading “Master the Outdoor Reset Curve in 60 Minutes”
Why Performance and Not Price Is the Most Important Factor In Finding an Investor or Buyer for Your Solar Projects Question or comments? If you’re a solar developer or investor and have a story to share that relates to this article or a question about the content, please leave it in the comment section below the article. This is a… Continue reading “Why Performance and Not Price Is the Most Important Factor In Finding an Investor or Buyer for Your Solar Projects”
AC Coupling – How to Cost Effectively Add Battery Back-up to Existing Grid-Tied Solar PV systems This is a guest article by Chris LaForge. Chris is teaching an in-depth 6-week technical training on designing battery based solar PV systems that starts in September. You can read the full description and get a limited-time discount here. If… Continue reading “AC Coupling – How to Cost Effectively Add Battery Back-up to Existing Grid-Tied Solar PV systems”