NABCEP [RE-wrenches]

[Bob-O Schultze, Electron Connection]

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Travis,
Well, I've been trying to explain this all along, but it looks like 
it's one of those repetitive, long haul jobs like doing the dishes.

>Dang... all of this NABCEP stuff is really making my head hurt.  I've just
>got to say say a few things.  Mostly well thought out criticisms and a
>little ranting so here goes....
>
>I'm all for qualified people doing the things that they are licensed to do.
>But do any other of the installing/construction/service trades (not
>"certified energy planners, auditors", etc) have National Certification
>Programs? (no they don't)  I'm already licensed, insured and bonded.  Am I
>not smart enough to educate myself on how to properly install equipment?
>Are my potential customers so naive that they are afraid to ask hard
>questions?  How long have you been in business?  Can I see proof of
>insurance?  What about your references?

PV installation is a new trade. Well, not to us, but to most state 
and local gooberment agencies it is.
It's also a trade that is coming on fast and hard. That's the good 
news. We do want this country heavily on RE, don't we? (be careful 
what you wish for...)
I'm licensed, insured and bonded as well in two states. My CA license 
allows me to do anything from installing PV to a new circuit breaker 
to wiring up an aluminium smelting plant. Am I smart enough to 
educate myself on how to properly wire that smelter? Probably. Should 
I undertake that job? No way, it's too far out of my experience level.
It is equally outrageous that any electrician should take on a PV job 
without prior experience or education just because their license 
gives them the right. Yet, this is now the case in all states and 
will continue to be so.
Enter public funding.
I'm against incentive programs in any shape or form. However, since 
the oil, gas, coal, and even nuclear energy industries have the best 
Congressmen money can buy, it's NEVER going to be a level playing 
field for RE without subsidies. Three cheers for state programs doing 
that because the federal politicos (especially the current regime) 
have their heads where the sun don't shine!
If you buy into the fact that gimme programs are necessary at this 
point, then you probably want to see the best bang for the buck. Hey, 
it's YOUR tax money and besides, good RE installations will beget 
more good RE installations. We've seen the other side of that coin 
and it ain't pretty.
The fastest and probably the best way to give both the consumer and 
the administrating agencies that bang AND the confidence to go 
forward with the programs is through certification, IMO.

>
>And why should I, in a region where most renewable energy installations are
>undertaken by homeowners who buy the material from the cheapest solar.com of
>the day and pay some uninsured, unlicensed hippie fed up with California (ya
>dude, like I did solar in California) stranded in the Ozarks $12/hr to
>install it, undertake the time and expense of becoming NABEC certified?   A
>certification process that requires I travel to a facility a thousand miles
>away to take the test at my expense.  It also requires that I maintain CEU's
>and re-certify every three years?  Remember, no real construction trade has
>a national certification program.  The additional costs of being NABEC
>Certified means I have to charge more than I already do.  Some people who
>call me think that anything over $20/hr is high.  Needless to say, I don't
>work for them anyway but that's a different story.

Until or unless MO offers some reason for you to get certified that 
make financial sense, don't. Ain't no big deal for y'all.

>
>I've said it again and again.  Customers who put blind faith in a
>"certified" installers certification will get took to the cleaners every
>time.

Consumers who put blind faith in anything or anyone will get taken. 
Psssst, wanna buy a perpetual motion machine? I'm certified by the 
manufacturer to sell it! C'mon!
On the other hand, most intelligent consumers, when dealing with 
something far outside their own field of endeavor, will look to hire 
someone who has demonstrated competency in that field. Don'tcha think?

>  And dang it people wake up.... this NABEC thing stands for everything
>most of us are in the business to avoid.  Quit hitting the snooze button.
>Can't you see it!  As much as I hate to admit it, the only way solar it
>going to grow is through heavy local, state and federal subsidies (or
>through RPS' etc).  If NABEC gets their way, the only was this money is
>going to get dispersed is through "certified" installations which is going
>to leave most of the little guys out, which appears to be the very idea of
>NABEC to me.

NABCEP DOES NOT lobby, persuade, or cajole state governments IN ANY 
WAY. Nor do we have any control over what they decide to do. That 
being said, there seems to be a trend by the state to encourage 
certified installers through extra incentive bucks. What that tells 
me is that the states are waking up to the fact that their own 
licensing programs ain't up to speed for RE and they are looking for 
a way (which is FAR cheaper, BTW, than initiating their own programs) 
to get well installed systems. Frankly, for state agencies to come up 
with this kind of clear, focused thinking is well...Milagro!

>
>Let's consider this scenario.  We'll use my state, Missouri, for example.
>To my knowledge there might be two installers in the state who could even
>begin to come close to meeting the requirements for NABEC certification.
>Suddenly, one of our utility companies receives a major fine for some
>business or environmental no-no.  They cough up 2 billion dollars to be
>dispersed for various public benefit projects and 50 million goes for PV
>installations.  (Forget the fact the SDHW would do a lot more good)  Or we
>get a RPS, or a state funded buy down program.  It doesn't really matter
>what the source of the money is, it's just there all at once.
>
>  In sweeps NABEC to help my state officials make sure that the installations
>are "done right" and to make sure that only definition of "done right" is
>the NABEC definition.  Here is where the "voluntary" certification lie falls
>apart.  If you want to do any install work with this money you'll HAVE to be
>NABEC certified. That's a sure thing.  How voluntary is that?  But who can
>afford to send folks away for training and certification testing?  The same
>folks who will make sure that there are "field experience waivers" available
>to those who are in a apprenticeship programs.  Don't make me spell it out
>for you, brother(hood).   That means that no small time, one person solar
>shops grow because all they've done are off grid installations which don't
>go towards NABEC experience requirements. (Correct me if I'm wrong)

You are wrong, wrong, wrong.
First, NABCEP ain't gonna "sweep in" anywhere. If, as in your unique 
scenario, MO required certification to get the gimme money (and you 
can be damn sure that the brotherhood you speak of will have some 
input into that!), we would treat MO electricians just like 
everywhere else. You, for example, would be far more likely to pass 
certification than "regular" electricians.
Second, AGAIN, NABCEP has no influence on nor are we responsible for 
anything a state may or may not do. Truth be told, it probably works 
against us when states come out with these requirements. Look at the 
backlash from you, for example.
Third, offgrid installations absolutely, positively count toward 
NABCEP experience requirements. If ALL your work is offgrid will you 
qualify to sit for a certification test? YES.

>   The same shops that have scraped out a meager living driving 3 hrs 
>one way doing
>installations waiting for solar to take off.  Attended numerous County
>Fairs, never selling a darn thing... Patiently explained to thousands of
>people that conservation comes first and the cost effective applications of
>solar are knowing that it was always going to end with the same statement
>"solar is just too expensive".  The same shops who will be left after the
>money dries up to get calls from really angry folks with dead systems
>installed by big shops who no longer work on solar.   Not to mention there
>will be some real messes to clean up made by folks who were certified.  This
>would describe a lot states, not just my state.

Gee, I think you just made a great case for a real, meaningful 
certification program. Thanks!

>
>Even if the little shop can afford the time and hassle of the certification
>the process, it will take 6 months and probably a year to get certified. 
>By then, all of the big shops from CA will have set up temporary offices in
>the state gobbling up the money as fast as they can (ya dude).

Dude, either your state has no licensing laws or you are way 
paranoid. In the two states I operate, NABCEP certification ain't 
gonna mean squat unless I carry a state license FIRST. I couldn't 
legally turn a wrench. If I apply for gimme money, I have to have a 
signed off electrical permit. To get that permit, I have to either be 
a DIY homeowner or PROVE I have a state license. MO is different, 
perhaps?

>
>NABEC Certification is just plain bad business for most installers and if I
>wasn't so dang busy making real money on the other parts of my business
>(saving loads of kWh's) I might just do something about it.  Why should
>Re-Wrenches undertake something that we don't need, take a test made by
>people who know less about solar than most of us, increase our hourly rates
>to make up for the lost time in training and added additional costs, and the
>list goes on and on.
>
>Whew,  I feel better now.

I'm glad you feel better and I'm VERY glad you took the time and 
energy to express your opinion. If more folks did that we wouldn't be 
stuck with the current regime, ya think? BTW, the test is made by 
folks who know buttloads about solar. A certified installer should 
increase his/her rates the same way a specialist charges more than a 
general practitioner MD. The way I see it, certification is a good 
thing, but even if you disagree with that, you have to admit that it 
appears to be the coming thing. If you agree with that, then it's 
pretty much a case of get on the bus and help drive it or get run 
over by it. Reality sucks.

>
>Asbestos impregnated flame shields up.


We can always agree to disagree and still be RE brothers and sisters, right?
Best, bob-O
-- 
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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