NABCEP Call for comments [RE-wrenches]

Todd Cory, Mt. Shasta Energy Services toddcory at finestplanet.com
Thu Oct 24 19:38:03 PDT 2002


I never wanted to get my license, but got my California C-10 about 6 months ago.
I have been doing electrical and electronic work all my life, and the decision
to get a license was mostly motivated by not wanting to continue to do work
without liability insurance (an age related thing I guess)... and Bob-O's
encouragement. Now that I have it I am very glad. It adds a level of legitimacy
and confidence I did not think I needed or lacked. I thought the test was pretty
hard, but it licenses me to do ANY electrical work in CA... including things
like huge commercial jobs I never intend to do.

It is a good foundation to know what is involved in doing the electrical
interface part of the RE system. Battery based, grid tied systems involve sub
panels and pulling circuits from the main panel to it. I also fall back on doing
regular electrical work when the RE work is thin (most of the time). I agree
that it might make sense to have a special electrical RE license... but that is
really supposed to already be included in the C-10. If I do something I am not
familiar with (like wiring a shopping mall) it is my responsibility to learn
about it, so also with doing PV work. It is up to the licensee to know the code
and do it right. More classifications would only confuse things further. That
being said, I do think the C-46 license needs to be changed or eliminated. Solar
thermal and solar electric have little in common with each other and need to be
separated or better yet have their respective parts included in plumbing and
electrical licenses.

Yes, I have seen shoddy work by C-10's, but that does not invalidate the
licensing process. There will always be those that slip through the cracks, and
the inspector should catch those exceptions. Over all licensing I think is a
good thing.

Todd



Bruce Gardiner wrote:

> > As a side, I'd like to know how many wrenches on this list are licensed?
> Am
> > I in the extreme minority?
>
> Jeff,
> I have a C-10 license here in CA, and I think that my many years in the
> trenches of the electrical industry help me install safe,code compliant PV
> systems. I am all in favor of licensing and certification, but it seems to
> me that here in California we have gotten stuck with a very low standard of
> license testing. I believe that our license testing system should be
> overhauled and made more rigorous. Also, there should be a classification
> for "Solar Electric Contractor", which would not demand knowledge of exotic
> electrical installations,unlikely to be encountered in a PV installation.
> However, the test for this classification would demand a thorough knowledge
> of current PV installation practices.  To train people who could pass a test
> like this and do professional PV installations, we will need an
> apperenticeship program. This is where the RE industry needs to go.
> I am opposed the IBEW's recent heavy handed attemps to corner the
> apprenticeship market , (and also to their tactics in breaking into the PV
> market).  Just who will undertake,fund,and oversee this new aprenticeship
> program, I don't know.  But as PV goes mainstream,it will be necessary
> Just so our solar thermal brothers don't feel left out, there should be a
> classification for "Solar Thermal Contractor" too!  Why the plumbing and
> electrical trades have been lumped together in the C-46 license has never
> made sense to me.
>
> Just my 2 cents.
>
> Bruce Gardiner
> Acme Electric Solar Systems

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