SolarWorld Installer Summit in Portland, OR The 2015 Installer Summit (Aug. 25-27) is an annual sales, marketing, and technical training event at SolarWorld’s U.S. manufacturing headquarters, in Portland, OR. This year SolarWorld will be celebrating their 40th Anniversary of US manufacturing so if you attend, you… Continue reading “SolarWorld Installer Summit in Portland, OR”
Solar Women Summer Series: Teaching the Power of Solar In this week’s Solar Women Summer Series feature, Signe Periera, seventh grade earth science teacher at Dedham Country Day School, shares how she’s teaching her students about solar energy. Signe began her career in education in 1997 in Cambridge, MA.… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Teaching the Power of Solar”
Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy There’s no such thing as a cookie-cutter microgrid design. The number of inputs and design choices can be staggering. HOMER Software is the best recognized tool on the planet for microgrid design, and this free lecture will get you up… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “Economic Optimization of Hybrid Renewable Microgrids” with HOMER Energy”
Free Lecture: “NASA-Funded Economic Analysis of Establishing a Moon Base” with Charles Miller It’s been decades since humanity walked on the moon, but a new report says a partnership between NASA and private space companies could get us back. One of the authors of this report is Charles Miller. In this free lecture, Charles… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “NASA-Funded Economic Analysis of Establishing a Moon Base” with Charles Miller”
2-Pipe Versus 4-Pipe Buffer Tank Configurations Short operating cycles are one of the most persistent headaches in modern hydronic system design – and a properly sized buffer tank is often the fix. In this article, hydronic heating expert John Siegenthaler, P.E., walks through the key differences… Continue reading “2-Pipe Versus 4-Pipe Buffer Tank Configurations”
Free Lecture: Introduction to LEED v4 Resources Still relying on pdf or hardcopies of LEED reference guides? This free lecture will introduce you to the powerful, interactive LEED v4 resources and tools available on the USGBC website, including the Green Building Information Gateway and the LEED Credit… Continue reading “Free Lecture: Introduction to LEED v4 Resources”
NABCEP Certification Updates and Details In this article, Dr. Sean White, IREC Energy Council 2014 Trainer of the Year and ISPQ Certified Solar PV Master Trainer at HeatSpring, outlines important details about NABCEP certification, including recent updates and additions to the Entry Level Program. Important… Continue reading “NABCEP Certification Updates and Details”
Solar Women Summer Series: Enabling the New Energy Economy Elena Lucas is the CEO and Co-Founder of UtilityAPI, an enterprise software company delivering access to energy usage data. Lucas is an active Board Member of Women in Cleantech & Sustainability, a former Pacific Gas and Electric Company Business Finance Analyst and… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Enabling the New Energy Economy”
Free Lecture: “The History of Solar Thermal in the United States” with Bob Ramlow This is a fun 40-minute lecture that provides historical context for where solar hot water – solar thermal – is today. Bob also shares some insights about which types of customers are the best fit for solar hot water, and… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “The History of Solar Thermal in the United States” with Bob Ramlow”
What Does “Data-Driven Farming” Mean? Data-Driven Farming is the thoughtful use of big data to supplement on-farm precision agriculture. It means having the right farm data, at the right time, to make better decisions that improve long-term profitability. “Big data” is a big buzzword. Everyone… Continue reading “What Does “Data-Driven Farming” Mean?”
Free Microgrid Excel Model 2024 update: This excel model is no longer available because it was getting pretty old. We hope to replace it some day! Designing a microgrid is an incredibly complex task – there’s no such thing as a standard microgrid. This… Continue reading “Free Microgrid Excel Model”
Solar Women Summer Series: Commercial Project Design and Engineering Shannon Ware is a Commercial Project Design Engineer and NABCEP Certified PV Installation Professional at Microgrid Energy, LLC. She is also Certified in Shade Analysis, is a DOE Home Energy Score Qualified Assessor and has completed Energy Technician Training in addition to… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Commercial Project Design and Engineering”
Finding Success in Sustainable Building: A Case Study In this case study, we discuss a sustainable building project, the importance of learning national and state energy codes/green building requirements and an overview of large scale initiatives currently taking place with alum Paul Correa. Paul A. Correa is the Principal/Founder of California’s CPG Consultants, and has the… Continue reading “Finding Success in Sustainable Building: A Case Study”
Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential The best solar + storage opportunities for most companies are on large commercial projects. That was my takeaway from a June 2nd call with Wes Kennedy, Joe Schwartz and David Brearley from SolarPro. The utility storage market is hot and happening… Continue reading “Solar + Storage: Commercial v. Utility v. Residential”
Making the Financial Case for Microgrids: Microgrid Executive MBA Training On the Microgrid Executive MBA Training discussion board… Takeaways: The clustering of microgrids creates a new set of considerations for executives. It is worth investigating from a microgrid economics standpoint what other drivers (besides low price or cost to the consumer) may… Continue reading “Making the Financial Case for Microgrids: Microgrid Executive MBA Training”
Free Tool: LEED v4 Materials Form After a significant delay, LEED Version 4 has finally been released, and you can now begin building your library of LEED v4 Tools. Start by downloading our FREE LEED v4 Materials Form from Expert Instructor, LEED Fellow, LEED AP BD+C, LEED CI (Legacy) and aedify… Continue reading “Free Tool: LEED v4 Materials Form”
Solar Women Summer Series (Canada): Policy, Philanthropy and Play Lisa Oelke is the Marketing Manager (North America) for Advanced Racking Solutions, a division of hb Solar Canada, in Ontario. She is also the Solar Development/Renewable Energy Consultant Off-Grid Specialist for the Solar Majengo Tanzania project and an Advisory Board member… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series (Canada): Policy, Philanthropy and Play”
Peek at HeatSpring’s New Online Learning Platform Today we released a major update to our classroom environment that will make HeatSpring courses better. After eight years of experimenting with our own software and trying every LMS under the sun, I can confidently say it’s a game changer.… Continue reading “Peek at HeatSpring’s New Online Learning Platform”
Free Lecture: “Electrical Loads in High Performance Buildings” with Chris Calwell Accurately predicting electrical loads is the biggest source of error in the design of battery-based solar pv systems and zero net energy homes. In this free lecture, Chris Calwell outlines best practices for predicting and measuring electrical loads in high… Continue reading “Free Lecture: “Electrical Loads in High Performance Buildings” with Chris Calwell”
Solar Women Summer Series: Solving Soft Cost Issues Around Project Design & Optimization In this Solar Women Summer Series interview, Claudia Eyzaguirre, CEO at PVComplete, shares how her team is revolutionizing solar project design by offering software that builds solar projects faster, better and more efficiently. She also shares what it’s like to be the… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Solving Soft Cost Issues Around Project Design & Optimization”