SRECs…The Heartbeat of the Solar Industry What the SREC (Solar Renewable Energy Credit) has done for the solar power industry is akin to what the Ford industry did for the affordable car over a hudred years ago.
What the Heck is Home Performance? Seriously. One Contractor to Another. Paul Eldrenkamp has been a residential remodeling contractor for 26 years. Energy efficiency work has been the competitive advantage that has gotten his business through the current recession. He has a knack for breaking a very complex topic down into… Continue reading “What the Heck is Home Performance? Seriously. One Contractor to Another.”
Sollega: Developing the Fastest Mounting and Grounding Solar Racking for Flat Roofs Module prices have been drastically dropping. The result is that companies are increasingly focused on using software to decrease business overhead but there has also been a huge focus on driving down Balance of System (BOS) costs, namely racking. This… Continue reading “Sollega: Developing the Fastest Mounting and Grounding Solar Racking for Flat Roofs”
How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Selling Solar: An Interview with Andy Black from On Grid Solar Anyone who is anyone in the solar industry has heard of and probably knows who Andy Black of On Grid Solar is. Andy created, as far as I know it, the first solar sales tool in 2005 which continues to… Continue reading “How to Avoid Costly Mistakes When Selling Solar: An Interview with Andy Black from On Grid Solar”
What Is The Value of the NABCEP Certification? The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) has become the primary certification entity for the solar industry and they continue to add more certifications. There is continued debate online about the value of the certifications. Some states are… Continue reading “What Is The Value of the NABCEP Certification?”
Free Course: How to Make Money in Renewable Energy Here is one thing we know how to do really well at HeatSpring, help contractors get into and excel in the solar and geothermal business. We do this through a variety of means; advice, contacts, training, and resources. We talk… Continue reading “Free Course: How to Make Money in Renewable Energy”
FEATURED ARTICLE: Vote: What are the Best Solar Panels on the Market? We have trained over 1,000 solar contractors that are starting solar companies or working in some of the largest solar integrators on the east coast. Module selection is a huge part of the process when building a company and completing… Continue reading “FEATURED ARTICLE: Vote: What are the Best Solar Panels on the Market?”
Which is Better: Solar Thermal Flat Plate or Evacuated Tube Collectors? Solar thermal flat plate or evacuated tube collectors? This is an incredibly common question in the solar thermal industry. Strangely enough, many people weigh in, and take different sides. Like a Red Sox vs Yankees type of rivalry, it’s a heated debate. In the end, it… Continue reading “Which is Better: Solar Thermal Flat Plate or Evacuated Tube Collectors?”
Software Can Decrease Your Costs, Close More Sales and Grow your Solar Business I’m always on the hunt for the new products, trends and technologies that are decreasing the cost of clean energy solutions. In the past few years the innovation has mainly come from decreasing the cost of the large system components… Continue reading “Software Can Decrease Your Costs, Close More Sales and Grow your Solar Business”
5 Helpful Tips to Sizing and Selecting Solar Thermal Equipment Today’s guest post comes from Bob Ramlow, the instructor if our Solar Thermal Boot Camp. Bob Ramlow has more than 30 years of experience with solar-energy systems and is a co-founder and Board member of the Midwest Renewable Energy Association.… Continue reading “5 Helpful Tips to Sizing and Selecting Solar Thermal Equipment”
Lessons For Succeeding in a Family Business Did you know that 50% of US GDP is generated from family business? Or that 35% of the Fortune 500 are family companies? Chances are very high that you have worked with your parents, children, siblings, or spouse at some… Continue reading “Lessons For Succeeding in a Family Business”
Family Business: Solar Training Only Your Dad Can Offer Tony Maglio, president of Maglio Solar, got started in the electrical business working with his father. In this short video, Tony tells the story of the most important lesson he ever learned – don’t trust anybody, even your father. Did… Continue reading “Family Business: Solar Training Only Your Dad Can Offer”
Maximize Solar Job Profitability and Speed with Building Integrated Solar Panels One thing we know about students who have gone through our training courses is that they’re always looking for the best products. At Heatspring, we want to keep you abreast of the best products in the solar and geothermal industry.… Continue reading “Maximize Solar Job Profitability and Speed with Building Integrated Solar Panels”
“With this Solar Training, Can I Become an Installer?” Here’s a question that we get a lot: After taking your course, will I have enough knowledge to install a complete solar pv system? It’s one of those questions that is difficult to answer because it’s such a loaded question… Continue reading ““With this Solar Training, Can I Become an Installer?””
Increasing Focus on Building Efficiency Will Have Consumers Talking “A house needs to breathe,” but how much does it need to breathe? Recently developed standards and increasingly affordable measurement tools have made it easier to answer that question with precision, and we’re now able to target one of the… Continue reading “Increasing Focus on Building Efficiency Will Have Consumers Talking”
How to Overcome the Top Five Objections in Selling Geothermal and Solar Getting jobs is the hardest part of the renewable energy industry. My goal is to provide you with the appropriate resources and advice needed to sell jobs and grow your business. These objections will come up equally when selling geothermal,… Continue reading “How to Overcome the Top Five Objections in Selling Geothermal and Solar”
9 Things You Must Know to Become a Solar PV Designer What is it that solar PV designers do? What are their responsibilities and what’s required of them? First, it’s important to note that there is are geographical differences between solar PV designer responsibilities. In the Northeast quadrant of the United States, the designer… Continue reading “9 Things You Must Know to Become a Solar PV Designer”
The Third Most Common Mistake Made Designing Geothermal Heat Pump Systems This is the last part in a three part serious about the three most common errors that geothermal designers make when designing ground source heat pumps system. If you’ve been following, the main concern for a very simple reason, the… Continue reading “The Third Most Common Mistake Made Designing Geothermal Heat Pump Systems”
How do SRECs Work? In Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and most of the east-coast and Mid-Atlantic solar markets, the main incentives driving the solar market are SRECs, which stands for Solar Renewable Energy Credits. If you’re looking to get into the industry or expand… Continue reading “How do SRECs Work?”
Three Most Common Mistakes Made by Geothermal Designers If you’re new to the geothermal heat pump industry, read the Geothermal 101 Reading list. It has free tools and articles on geothermal design and installation, and sales and marketing best practices. Working in the ground source heat pump (GSHP)… Continue reading “Three Most Common Mistakes Made by Geothermal Designers”