PV Installer Certification Program [RE-wrenches]

graham at solarexpert.com graham at solarexpert.com
Mon Dec 17 08:47:21 PST 2001


Here is the proposal,



 Proposed NABCEP Certification Requirements 
for Photovoltaic Installers



SOLICITATION FOR STAKEHOLDER COMMENT



The North America Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is in
the process of creating a certification program for the installers of
photovoltaic systems and requests stakeholder input.  

The NABCEP program is intended to be a voluntary national certification
that will be recognized throughout the United States.  To become
certified, NABCEP proposes that an applicant would need to accomplish
the following:
§	Meet prerequisites of related work experience and training
§	Pass a written exam
§	Pass a physical skills evaluation
§	Provide documentation of work samples

NABCEP plans to develop separate certifications in the future for PV
system designers and inspectors.  In addition, NABCEP plans to develop
similar certifications for solar thermal and small wind practitioners.
NABCEP anticipates that the requirements for future programs will be
similar to the requirements developed for PV.

NABCEP requests input on this certification process proposal from the
public – including stakeholder groups such as existing installers,
trades, industry, contractors, state and local officials, utilities,
financial institutions, home builders and consumers.  It is vital that
stakeholders, especially PV practitioners who will be candidates for
certification, comment on these requirements while they are in draft
stage.

The last page of this document contains a list of questions for
stakeholders to consider in their input.  

Deadline for comments is January 15, 2002.
Send comments to: wparker at ispq.org
Or via mail to:
NABCEP, P.O. Box 260095, Highlands Ranch, CO 80163


NABCEP would like to gratefully acknowledge the assistance of the
Institute for Sustainable Power and the Florida Solar Energy Center in
the development of this proposal.  

Additional information on NABCEP and the certification program are
available online at http://www.nabcep.org/
 
 	
Proposed NABCEP PV Certification Requirements

I.  Entry Requirements  

A.	Prerequisites:  Before a candidate can sit for the national PV
certification exam, he/she must provide documentation that he/she has
completed one of the following:

* 	2 years (4000 hours) of supervised photovoltaic installation
experience PLUS 160 hours of NABCEP-approved PV training. Supervision
should be by a NABCEP-certified installer or a licensed contractor.
Some of the training requirements may be waived by NABCEP if the
candidate has documented specific related vocational or engineering
education.
*	Completion of a minimum 3-year registered electrical
apprenticeship program using a curriculum that includes the study and
practice of solar related projects, and which is accredited by NABCEP,
PLUS 40 hours of NABCEP-approved PV training.
*	Completion of a minimum 3-year registered electrical
apprenticeship program without solar curriculum PLUS 80 hours of
NABCEP-approved PV training and documentation of 500 hours of work
installing photovoltaic systems; OR 5 years (10,000 hours) of experience
as an electrical or solar thermal worker or contractor PLUS 80 hours of
NABCEP-approved PV training and documentation of 500 hours of work
installing photovoltaic systems.
*	4 years (8,000 hours) of experience in designing, installing or
related work with photovoltaic systems PLUS completion of 40 hours of
NABCEP-approved PV training; OR documentation of completion of 25
installed PV systems PLUS completion of 40 hours of NABCEP-approved PV
training.  This provision will sunset 2 years after the availability of
NABCEP certification.

B.	Application fee (Amount TBD)

C.  Signed code of Ethics



II.  National Certification Examination: Knowledge Exam

Candidate must pass a written examination with the following
characteristics:
o	The test will be comprised of 80-100 questions with a passing
score to be determined when the test is fully validated.
o	The examination will be based on supplied scenarios and
situations, with multiple choice questions requiring various
calculations, knowledge of the relevant National Electric Code sections,
knowledge of safety practices, and other PV assessment/installation and
customer interaction issues; it is anticipated that the test will be
open book, or all relevant resources will be supplied with the test.
 

o	Examination content will be linked to items in the approved Task
Analysis.
o	The exam will be secured to protect the test and to protect the
candidate’s privacy. 
o	The exam is valid and reliable in accordance with accepted
statistical practices.  


III.  Physical Skills Evaluation 

Candidates for certification must successfully complete a
performance/physical skills evaluation as part of the certification
process.
o	Focus will be on all sections of the national standards that
require physical skills assessment with concentration on on-the-job
safety skills.  In the case of grid-tied certification, this includes
sections 1, 6 & 7 on the NABCEP approved “Task Analysis for
Grid-Connected Photovoltaic System Contractor.”
o	Evaluation will be based on a validated performance checklist.
o	Evaluation must be administered in a proctored setting by a
qualified juror(s) in a qualified facility.
o	Can be part of a training program or can be independent of it. 
o	Consistency between the performance test and the on-the-job
performance will be evaluated.

**NOTE:  Until permanent testing sites are established throughout the
country, NABCEP will take steps to ensure that the skills evaluation is
available to the broadest range of candidates in the most geographically
dispersed fashion.  It is likely that skills evaluation testing and
evaluation facilities and jurors will be available at regional energy
fairs, at scheduled training institutes, and at the available
traditional accredited training and testing facilities. As the market
grows and the number of qualified proctors increases, this testing and
evaluation will be established more broadly in more conveniently
availability facilities.  
 
 
IV.  Maintaining Certification

Certification is valid for three (3)  years from the date of issuance.
To maintain certification, the certified practitioner must document
every three years:
o	An average of three (3) qualifying grid-connected systems per
year installed by the candidate over a period of three (3) years;
AND
o	18 contact hours of Continuing Education in approved related
content over a period of three (3) years.
In addition, the certified practitioner must maintain professional and
ethical business practices.

See Questions next page

 

Questions for Stakeholders

This certification program must meet the needs of the market and of
practitioners while protecting consumers and promoting the renewable
energy industry through safe and reliable installations.

Please take a moment to submit your comments on these certification
requirements to NABCEP so that the program can reflect the needs of
stakeholders.

If you are currently a PV installer, let us know if you would qualify to
take the NABCEP certification examination under the prerequisites listed
in this document.

Listed below are some other questions to consider in writing your
comments.

I.  Entry Requirements
§	Are the prerequisite education and experience requirements
appropriate?  
§	What is the most appropriate way to document PV experience?  By
the number and size of installations?  Kilowatt hours?  Etc.

II.  Written Examination
§	Is it reasonable to ask applicants to travel to available
examination sites or should the test be  administered online?

III. Physical Skills Evaluation
§	Due to the complexity of the equipment and need for trained
jurors, it is likely that these tests would be available on a limited
basis – for example at regional energy fairs, at scheduled training
institutes, and at the available traditional accredited training and
testing facilities.  Will this be accessible enough for certification
candidates? 

IV. Maintaining Certification
§	Are the requirements for maintaining certification appropriate?
§	How narrow (or broad) should the list of allowable continuing
education courses be?



Input should be submitted by January 15, 2002.
Send comments to: wparker at ispq.org
Or via the U.S post to:
NABCEP, P.O. Box 260095, Highlands Ranch, CO 80163










-----Original Message-----
From: Martin Cotterell [mailto:martin at sundog-energy.co.uk] 
Sent: Monday, December 17, 2001 6:20 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: Re: PV Installer Certification Program [RE-wrenches]


Michael

Can you send a copy of this document.

There are various ideas for an installer accreditation scheme floating
in the UK - so it would be very interesting to see what is being propsed
in the US.

Martin
........................................................................
....
SUNDOG ENERGY
Matterdale End, Penrith, Cumbria, CA11 0LF, UK
Tel: 017684 82282  Fax: 01768482600
www.sundog-energy.co.uk
........................................................................
....
----- Original Message -----
From: "Michael Welch, Home Power" <michael.welch at homepower.com>
To: <RE-wrenches at topica.com>
Sent: Wednesday, December 12, 2001 5:39 PM
Subject: PV Installer Certification Program [RE-wrenches]


> I just received from John Wiles a 5 page SOLICITATION FOR STAKEHOLDER
COMMENT on Proposed NABCEP Certification Requirements for Photovoltaic
Installers.
>
> Stakeholder comments are due by January 15, 2002.
>
> Without passing judgement good or bad, this looks like a train running
full speed. I think it will happen, so get your comments in to help make
it what you want.
>
> If anyone would like me to send them this document, please contact me 
> off
list.
>
> Michael Welch
>
> ------------------------
> "I'm hopeful. I know there is a lot of ambition in Washington, 
> obviously.
But I hope the ambitious realize that they are more likely to succeed
with success as opposed to failure."
> Resident George "Dubya" Bush
>
> Michael Welch, michael.welch at homepower.com www.homepower.com
>      Managing Editor, Home Power magazine
>      Office Coordinator, Redwood Alliance
>      (Not HP mag numbers) 707-822-7884 fax: 707-822-3481
>
> - - - -
> To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com
>
> Archive of previous messages: http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/
>
> List rules & etiquette: http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm
>
> Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html
>
> Hosted by Home Power magazine
>
> Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com
>
>
>

- - - -
To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com

Archive of previous messages: http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/

List rules & etiquette: http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm

Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html

Hosted by Home Power magazine

Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com

- - - -
To send a message: RE-wrenches at topica.com

Archive of previous messages: http://www.topica.com/lists/RE-wrenches/

List rules & etiquette: http://www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/etiquete.htm

Check out participant bios: www.mrsharkey.com/wrenches/index.html

Hosted by Home Power magazine

Moderator: michael.welch at homepower.com

==^================================================================
This email was sent to: michael.welch at homepower.com

EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?bz8Qcs.bz9JC9
Or send an email to: RE-wrenches-unsubscribe at topica.com

T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail!
http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register
==^================================================================





More information about the RE-wrenches mailing list