PV Installer Certified Program [RE-wrenches]

[Allan Sindelar]

----- Original Message -----
From: "Joel Davidson" <joeldavidson at earthlink.net>

> Does the certification program do all of the following:
> 1) serve the customer's needs (not the PV industry, bureaucracies, etc.)
I believe so. One of my apprentice wrenches was an ASE certified mechanic in
a former life. He pointed out that there are no licenses needed to work on
someone's car. So the ASE created its own set of certifications to set good
mechanics apart--that is, those who took their trade seriously, kept up with
training, were tested, etc. Now a set of ASE certifications on the wall
behind the desk or counter is one of few accepted ways that we as drivers
judge a mechanic, at least until we have built a relationship based on
experience. This certification will allow the average customer to have some
way to choose among several dealers before spending many thousands of bucks
on something they can't evaluate technically on their own.

> 2) get more PV in use?
Well-done systems will get more PV in use. Bogus systems will cause
extensive damage to our industry. Nationally certified dealers and
installers are generally more likely to supply well-done systems.

> 3) make PV better and cheaper (not one at the expense of the other)?
Probably not cheaper. We know through experience that our main products are
knowledge and service. That's it: the hardware is secondary. In our area,
there's always "dealers" that will sell and install equipment for way less
than we do. Some find their niche and stay around, others come and go. We
used to worry about that kind of competition, but we don't anymore, as we're
not competing with them. If they all went out of business because the
general public associated certification with quality, and came to us because
we're certified, well, that's better. Is it also cheaper? Depends on your
point of view.

> 4) recognize the rights of the individual?
Care to ask that question again, in a manner that isn't quite as ambiguous?

> 5) ???
No, it won't fix that.

Allan at Positive Energy

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