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At least in the U.S., in jurisdictions I have worked in, an installer can
connect "plug and play" connectors. If a wire is to be
cut, pulled or connected to a terminal, an electrician is needed.
<br><br>
<br><br>
<br>
At 04:11 PM 10/14/2010, you wrote:<br>
<blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">Wrenches,<br>
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....<br><br>
<br>
LETTER--<br>
<font color="#1F497D">'Colleague' - next week Alberta’s “major
municipalities” electrical chief inspectors are getting together to talk
about issues. One item I have asked to put on the agenda is
qualifications of solar installers. I hope to see a start on forming some
type of agreement on is who is qualified to do what work on a solar
installation and what is considered electrical work that only
electricians can perform. There seems to be courses popping up all over
to teach everyman to be a solar installer, but what work is clearly
reserved for electricians to do? The Safety Codes Act speaks to
Electrical Systems, CE (Canadian Electrical) Code defines</font>
electrical installation and electrical equipment.<br>
<font color="#1F497D"> <br>
What I hope we accomplish is a stance we can take to the EIAA
(Electrical Inspectors Association of Alberta) conference then to
Apprenticeship and Industry Training who </font>ultimately enforces who
does work in the trade.<br>
<font color="#1F497D"> <br>
To me the PV module racking can be done by anyone, but almost all
of the rest of the installation – from wire pulling to interconnecting
modules, mounting of the</font> inverters etc falls clearly into the
scope of practice for electricians.<br>
<font color="#1F497D"> <br>
One of the bigger players in the industry is saying “its now
getting to be all plug and play”</font> and anyone can be an
installer.<br>
<font color="#1F497D"> <br>
Hoping an agreement like this can make it a</font> level playing
field and consistent across the Province.<br>
<font color="#1F497D"> <br>
What are your thoughts?<br>
</font><br>
<br>
BACK TO ME<br>
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.<br><br>
<br>
the following paragraph is from recent past EIAA technical conference
minutes.<br>
"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."<br><br>
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?<br><br>
cheers,<br>
benn<br><br>
DayStar Renewable Energy Inc. <br>
benn@daystarsolar.ca<br>
780-906-7807 <br>
HAVE A SUNNY DAY<br>
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