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Wrenches,<div>a colleague of mine is looking for feedback to the following email he received regarding PV installers and electrical work. I have responded to him, however, I am quite interested to hear this list's response....</div><div><div><br></div><div><br><div>LETTER--</div><div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D">'Colleague' - next week Alberta’s “major</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> municipalities” electrical chief inspectors are</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> getting together to talk about issues. One item</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> I have asked to put on the agenda is</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> qualifications of solar installers. I hope to</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> see a start on forming some type of agreement</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> on is who is qualified to do what work on a</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> solar installation and what is considered</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> electrical work that only electricians can</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> perform. There seems to be courses popping up</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> all over to teach everyman to be a solar</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> installer, but what work is clearly reserved for</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> electricians to do? The Safety Codes Act speaks</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> to Electrical Systems, CE (Canadian Electrical) Code defines</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> electrical installation and electrical equipment.</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> What I hope we accomplish is a stance we can</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> take to the EIAA (Electrical Inspectors Association of Alberta) conference then to</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> Apprenticeship and Industry Training who </font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); ">ultimately enforces who does work in the trade.</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> To me the PV module racking can be done by</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> anyone, but almost all of the rest of the</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> installation – from wire pulling to</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> interconnecting modules, mounting of the</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> inverters etc falls clearly into the scope of practice for electricians.</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> One of the bigger players in the industry is</font><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> saying “its now getting to be all plug and play”</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> and anyone can be an installer.</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> Hoping an agreement like this can make it a</font><span class="Apple-style-span" style="color: rgb(31, 73, 125); "> level playing field and consistent across the Province.</span></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> </font></div><div><font class="Apple-style-span" color="#1F497D"> What are your thoughts?</font></div><div><br></div><div> </div><div>BACK TO ME</div><div>my thoughts are similar to the ones above, that the racking alone can be installed by any 'properly trained' person. However pretty much every other aspect of a PV install directly falls under the scope of an electrician and needs to be preformed by a journeyman or apprentice under the supervision of a journeyman electrician.</div><div><br></div><div><br></div><div>the following paragraph is from recent past EIAA technical conference minutes.</div><div> "Alberta Municipal Affairs (AMA) was asked (earlier in 2009 by a Municipality) for an opinion on the Permit Regulation regarding Homeowner Permits. The Permit Regulation states a homeowner may be issued a permit where the electrical system serves that dwelling. A photovoltaic system that is tied to the grid (utility interactive) serves other than that dwelling. The response back from AMA confirmed utility interactive PV systems do serve other than the dwelling and as such permit issuers should not be issuing homeowner permits for utility interactive PV systems."</div><div><br></div><div>My thinking is that this would include the addition of 'plug and play' modules/inverters to an existing system as well ...any comments on this one?</div><div><br></div><div>cheers,</div><div>benn</div><br><span class="ecxecxecxecxEC_Apple-style-span" style="color:rgb(0, 32, 96)"><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="'Franklin Gothic Medium'">DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. </font></span><div><div><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="'Franklin Gothic Medium'">benn@daystarsolar.ca</font></div><div><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="'Franklin Gothic Medium'">780-906-7807 </font></div><div><font class="ecxApple-style-span" face="'Franklin Gothic Medium'">HAVE A SUNNY DAY</font></div></div>
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