NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

Wed Oct 23 15:46:47 PDT 2002

Bill,

I am afraid you are right.  Last week I drove to my local distributor in
L.A. and actually had to wait in line.  There were three trucks in front
of me waiting to load up PV equipment.  One of the guy's was a landscape
contractor, about to do his first installation, and he pronounced PV as
photovolactics.  He knew absolutely nothing about PV systems except that
one of his customers wants one.  One of the other trucks was driven by a
middle eastern guy who spoke broken English and didn’t understand what
rafters were.  The truck was covered with signage mentioning "free
electricity - no more electric bills - cost effective".

I have noticed that the L.A. building inspectors have had more PV
training and know what to look out for.  The first thing they do is go
on the roof and make sure each individual module is grounded.  I think
some of the hatchet installers will have a hard time getting shoddy
systems past final inspection.  If the system doesn't pass the rebates
will not be forthcoming.  I think thoroughly training building
inspectors may prove to be the most effective way to ensure all
installations are high quality.  Should inspectors be able to refuse to
pass installations which have modules in series facing different
orientations?  This is the most common design flaw that I am noticing.

Graham.

John and Graham,

I am afraid bad installations are becoming commonplace. There are far
too many people doing installs that haven't the necessary background to
do the work. I think that there are far too few controls on the CEC
program to prevent poor systems from being installed. I do believe that
the manufacturers have a role to play by establishing authorized dealer
networks, but I believe those providing incentives (CEC, NYSERDA,
etc...) need to send the right signals. Requiring NABCEP certification
at some point to receive rebate funds is not an onerous undertaking for
a good installer, but it will weed out many poor ones. It is only one of
several reforms that should be adopted soon if we want the industry to
grow.

I also firmly believe that there is far too much "design" work going on
in the PV industry right now by those who are clearly underqualified.
Although this will not sit well with many, I believe that system designs
should be fully engineered and fully documented so that a competent
installer will know exactly how to install the product properly, and
achieve very predictable results. We are not anywhere close to that
situation right now in California so we get the whole range of designs
and performance from excellent to extremely poor.

How many grid-connected systems are being messed up as we speak? I don't
know for sure, but I am willing to bet it is in the 20-50%. Is this a
problem? I'll let you draw your own conclusions.

Maybe we won't have a problem with running out of rebate funds soon
because no one will want these unreliable systems anymore....

Bill.

-----Original Message-----
From: jberdner at sma-america.com [mailto:jberdner at sma-america.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 12:36 PM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: RE: NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

Graham:

The self installs are a concern to us as well and we try to discourage
it. In addition to the numerous safety and performance issues we the
owner builders require about 10X the support from us.  As you might
imagine the some of the guys willing to sell components direct to
homeowners are not exactly the most supportive after the sale.

We are trying to find a way to address this without crossing the line
into restriction of trade.  An authorized dealer program is one way but
we want to make sure we have a solid program that is of value to the
installers out there.  Suggestions are welcome.

If you have any questions, or if I can be of any further assistance,
please do not hesitate to contact me.

Best Regards,

John Berdner

SMA America, Inc.
12438 Loma Rica Drive, Unit C
Grass Valley, CA  95945
530.273.4595 (voice)
530.274.7271 (fax)

-----Original Message-----
From: Graham Owen [mailto:graham at solarexpert.com]
Sent: Wednesday, October 23, 2002 11:43 AM
To: RE-wrenches at topica.com
Subject: RE: NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

John,

I am all for some type of certification which will hopefully prevent
unknowledgeable people from connecting solar power to the electric grid.
The last thing our industry needs is for substandard installations to
become commonplace, resulting in a black eye for all of us.

With that said, a sizable percentage of the grid-tie systems being
installed in southern California are not installed by electrical (C10)
or solar (C46) companies.  It is the large HVAC companies who are
selling and installing the most systems.  I would hazard a guess by
saying that these companies have probably never heard of NABCEP.
Personally I have been happy to see large companies with infrastructure
get into the PV field.  I feel confident they will not disappear when
the rebates end and will provide service and support to their customers.
My company is small and needs to remain so until PV can be sold without
incentives.  I have to keep my overhead low in order to remain active if
and when the rebates expire.

The only way I envision NABCEP becoming viable is to either have a
massive and expensive marketing campaign that makes all potential PV
purchasers aware of this certification, or for NABCEP certification to
become mandatory in order to acquire permits.

Another developing trend in L.A. is for homeowners to purchase equipment
and install it themselves.  I have had three homeowners call this week
asking for advice on "the type of wire needed and how to mount the
panels"  Two of these homeowners have 40 SP 140's and 2 Sunny Boy's.  I
advise them to use XHHW-2 wire and to reconsider self installation.
These are the systems that worry me the most.

I am wondering if PV salesmen who get paid on commission should have
some type of certification.  I may be wrong but I believe many systems
are being sold on STC x 6 hours.

Graham Owen
GO Solar

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