NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

[Jeff Clearwater, Ecovillage Design]

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Will,

Yes exactly.  But the point is how do we come up with a certification 
program that proves those skills - both the basic and advanced code 
wiring knowledge, design, AND takes into account actual PV/RE 
experience without excluding those of us that obtained our knowledge 
and experience without going through the normal license route?  If we 
simply start from the license and add a PV test on top of it, you'll 
exclude a whole lot of good wrenches.

Jeff

>At 10:25 PM 10/23/02 -0800, you wrote:
>>
>>However there also has to be a smooth way to get those of us wrenches
>>that don't have a electrician's license into the fold of a new
>>certification program without us having to pull romex through walls
>>for 4 years first.
>
>Jeff:
>
>I have two observations on your remarks:
>
>1. If an electrician does not have basic electrical skills, then he or she
>maybe shouldn't be installing solar electric equipment.  A well rounded
>education can help an installer make creative, skilled decisions to the
>many technical challenges that come up all of the time.  You need to be
>more than an electrician, possessing design experience (that is unless you
>are working in a big shop with an engineer on staff)--  you need to size
>conductors and overcurrent devices, correctly locate over current devices,
>know the code, draw concise diagrams, know the PV and standard hardware so
>you can choose the correct hardware, have knowledge of roofing and
>mechanical design skills.  This comes only with time in the trades, it
>can't come any other way.  And this is not acquired by 4 years of romex
>work either.  One needs commercial and industrial experience as well.
>
>2. Having said that, many of the worse installers in my area seem to have a
>very good working knowledge on romex, seeing as how the use the stuff for
>everything, from battery cables to PV source circuits!
>
>William
>
>
>
>__________________________________________________________________
>William Miller
>Miller Power and Communications
>PO Box 50, Santa Margarita, CA 93453
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-- 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Jeff Clearwater
Ecovillage Design Associates - Whole Systems Design
Community and Village Scale Renewable Energy & Water Systems

Cell: 720-480-8455
Office:  800-440-2523 (PIN-7071)
Fax:  720-528-7813
jeffc at ic.org

Council Member - Ecovillage Network of the Americas - http://www.ecovillage.org
Advisory Board - Living Routes - Ecovillage Education - 
http://www.livingroutes.org
Founder:  Ecovillage Research, Development, and Demonstration Program:
http://www.home.earthlink.net/~clrwater/RDD/rdd.html
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

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