NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

[Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection]

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Bill, ETAL,
This is an important thread and you all make great points. I see 
national certification as the coming thing. Whether it turns out to 
be a good thing is still up for grabs. That is one reason that I have 
joined Don Loweberg on the NABCEP BofD. I figure if I'm going to have 
to be on the boat anyway, I'd better try to steer the damn thing.
I can visualize the NABCEP installer of tomorrow being what an ASE 
certified mechanic is today. All things being equal and if you have a 
choice, that's the go-to guy. Don't worry about the marketing part. 
Both the PV manufacturers (also on the NABCEP BofD) and any company 
who uses certified installers will be shouting it from the rooftops.
These bad news systems scare me. Unfortunately, it's to be expected 
with California's looser-than-baby-poop licensing laws. A general B 
license doing ANY wiring let alone PV? Ridiculous and damn dangerous. 
Given that, CA consumers may well get the most benefit of all the 
states from a national certification. The good news is that most 
states are not at all like CA when it comes to licensing 
electricians. Most require far stricter requirements to sit for a 
test, a far more comprehensive test, and continuing education 
requirements. On the down side, these state requirements can and do 
actually keep many good RE installers outlaws. Perhaps national 
certification will prompt some of these states to pass a special RE 
license which will allow the qualified outlaws to get legal, buy 
liability and bonding insurances, etc. We live in hope.
Best, Bob-O

>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.

-- 
Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection
PO Box 203, Hornbrook, CA 96044
800.945.7587 or 530.475.3402
fax 530-475-3401
www.electronconnection.com

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