Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers With such a long list of benefits, you’d think solar panels would sell themselves. But many potential customers still need convincing before they can make the jump to green living. As beneficial as solar panels are for reducing a household’s… Continue reading “Explaining the Value of Solar to Customers”
When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case Getting Your City’s Buy-In on Solar After years of dancing around the idea of sustainability, some select cities have begun to make it a reality with ground-breaking solar industry partnerships. Jackie Biskupski, mayor of Salt Lake City, Utah, recently announced… Continue reading “When Cities Go Solar: 5 Ways to Make the Case”
Megawatt Design: 3 Obstacles You Might Face (…and 3 Solutions!) Megawatt Design expert Ryan Mayfield addresses 3 obstacles that professionals in the field might experience. STRUCTURAL ANALYSIS Student 1: The most common obstacle we run in to is the structural requirement during the initial budgeting phase. Typically the potential customer does… Continue reading “Megawatt Design: 3 Obstacles You Might Face (…and 3 Solutions!)”
Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide Want to learn more about PV markets and the business of solar? Enroll in Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide! You’ll receive the 2016 Solar Startup Guide and expert instruction from Dr. Sean White on the features,… Continue reading “Introduction to Solar PV Markets + The 2016 Solar Startup Guide”
Tour Solar Technologies Without Leaving Your Home We’ll tour solar technologies used in both commercial and residential applications across North America in this free, 42-minute lecture. Learning Objectives: 1. Describe the visual appearance of specific solar technologies 2. Differentiate between solar technologies 3. Identify specific applications for solar… Continue reading “Tour Solar Technologies Without Leaving Your Home”
Site Assessment for Solar Hot Water Heating Systems Without a proper site assessment, you may be putting your solar thermal system at risk for poor performance… This piece originally appeared in Home Power Magazine | Vaughan Woodruff, 2/2014 It is a fairly common occurrence for a solar professional to hear… Continue reading “Site Assessment for Solar Hot Water Heating Systems”
Monetizing the Federal ITC For Your Business If you are taking your business solar, it’s important to understand the Federal Investment Tax Credit (ITC). Wunder Capital has designed this guide to help answer your questions about the Federal ITC and walk you through the process of how… Continue reading “Monetizing the Federal ITC For Your Business”
To Defect or not to Defect? Going Off the Grid with Solar + Storage Why consider defecting from the grid? Is there room for utility and solar + storage compromise? The combination of solar plus storage is on everyone’s mind these days. There is a huge buzz in the solar industry about the prospect of… Continue reading “To Defect or not to Defect? Going Off the Grid with Solar + Storage”
Megawatt String Sizing Tool 2.0 Download Ryan Mayfield’s Megawatt String Sizing Tool 2.0 for free! This is an updated version of the original Megawatt String Sizing Tool This updated String Sizing tool includes a large re-work of the modules and inverters used in the existing… Continue reading “Megawatt String Sizing Tool 2.0”
Bring Your Sol to Work: Finding Career Opportunities in the Solar Industry In a recent conversation with a young woman, I had an epiphany about why working in solar is good for the soul. She had just returned from volunteering in Greece to help Syrian refugees receive care and assistance upon entry… Continue reading “Bring Your Sol to Work: Finding Career Opportunities in the Solar Industry”
Wes Kennedy Weighs in on Stand Alone Solar Storage Systems On the Advanced Solar + Storage discussion board, Wes Kennedy answers student questions about distribution circuit capacity and AC coupling for retrofits… Student 1: Hey Wes, I have a quick comment on defining penetration levels. I think the definition you… Continue reading “Wes Kennedy Weighs in on Stand Alone Solar Storage Systems”
PV Electrical Codes, Time of Use and Inverter Clipping Considerations Dr. Sean White takes on student questions about National Electrical Code compliance, solar panel Time of Use (TOU) optimization and inverter lifespan. Student 1: Why do some AHJ’s (Authority Having Jurisdiction’s) still allow installations under a previous edition of the National Electrical… Continue reading “PV Electrical Codes, Time of Use and Inverter Clipping Considerations”
Six Drainback Questions for Radiant Heating Pros to Consider Vaughan Woodruff answers student questions regarding drainback systems on the Solar Approaches to Radiant Heating discussion board… Student 1: I have several questions on drainback systems for you… Question #1 When the solar storage tank has satisfied and the system goes… Continue reading “Six Drainback Questions for Radiant Heating Pros to Consider”
Sean White on Microinverters, String Inverters & Optimizers On the 40 Hour Advanced Solar PV Installer Training Discussion Board… Sean White discusses microinverters, string inverters & optimizers Student 1: I am enjoying the course and I like the way you explain things by citing real world examples. I just want to get… Continue reading “Sean White on Microinverters, String Inverters & Optimizers”
Solar Sharing Spotlight (or Sunlight?) on Boston’s ‘Yeloha!’ Disruptive technologies like Uber have made car pooling the new norm for transportation, changing the way we travel and the way we think about our vehicles. Crowd sourcing companies like Uber also raise the question: what other existing resources can we ration… Continue reading “Solar Sharing Spotlight (or Sunlight?) on Boston’s ‘Yeloha!’”
Solar PV Storm and AC vs. DC Safety Considerations On the Solar PV Installer Boot Camp Training + NABCEP Entry Level Exam Prep discussion board… Student 1: Fred, what is the standard for lightning protection systems? The book touches this topic briefly. Is it the norm to have lightning protection? Do… Continue reading “Solar PV Storm and AC vs. DC Safety Considerations”
Economic Modeling Basics for A Solar Project Happening on the Solar Executive MBA Discussion Board… ___________________________________ Construction Debt/Loans, SRECs & Purchasing vs. Leasing a Site Student 1: 1. What is the difference between project debt and the construction loan? 2. What is SREC and Single SREC? 3. If the… Continue reading “Economic Modeling Basics for A Solar Project”
Solar Women Summer Series: Funding Sun Through Solar Investing/Borrowing We’re wrapping up the Solar Women Summer Series, and Audrey Desiderato, the Co-Founder/ COO of SunFunder, is helping us end things on a sunny note! SunFunder finances solar projects “beyond the grid” and offers investors opportunities to help fund offgrid solar projects, as… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Funding Sun Through Solar Investing/Borrowing”
Solar Women Summer Series: Silicor CEO & WiSE Award Winner Terry Jester We met Terry Jester, CEO of Silicor Materials, at the WiSE Luncheon during the ASES Solar 2015 Conference at Penn State. She spoke with us about her role as CEO, the benefits of solar silicon, Silicor’s Icelandic expansion and her… Continue reading “Solar Women Summer Series: Silicor CEO & WiSE Award Winner Terry Jester”
Enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage, Get Wes Kennedy’s Battery Selector Tool! Why enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage? You’ll access the Battery Selector Tool! Decide the best battery for your application, from a cost perspective. This is a great tool for engineers, designers, and decision makers when determining the best battery to use… Continue reading “Enroll in Advanced Solar + Storage, Get Wes Kennedy’s Battery Selector Tool!”