Solar Energy and The Inconvenient Truth

[weressl]

Electricians Against the Explotation of the Sun Unite.

 

[satcom]

Electricians Against the Explotation of the Sun Unite.

Thank you, I needed a little laughter today.

 

[satcom]

they license solar contractors in california? Im in jersey hope they dont attempt that here you do need a nabcef certified person on the job to collect the rebate I believe.

Not to worry, you can have the Easter Bunny or Santa certify it, same powers as the nabcef.

 

[iwire]

Not to worry, you can have the Easter Bunny or Santa certify it, same powers as the nabcef.

You can laugh at NACEP all you want but I am going for it as the biggest PV jobs require it per specifications.

 

[growler]

Not to worry, you can have the Easter Bunny or Santa certify it, same powers as the nabcef.

You can laugh at NACEP all you want but I am going for it as the biggest PV jobs require it per specifications.

I think it's called NABCEP. I couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about, I thought they may have come out with some new and improved certifications.

 

[satcom]

You can laugh at NACEP all you want but I am going for it as the biggest PV jobs require it per specifications.

It is great that you are intrested in the solar field, but NABCEP is only recommended as a source for solar education, the NABCEP is trying to lay ground work to become the leader in the solar tech and marketing trainning business, right now the big jobs and most states only recommend them. When states require their trainning, they will have a program worth something, for now they do list course offerings for everything from net metering, to some standard practices, plenty of room for their program to grow.

 

[satcom]

I think it's called NABCEP. I couldn't figure out what you guys were talking about, I thought they may have come out with some new and improved certifications.

The B was dropped, but Bob is right the NABCEP will be a required Cert program in the near future,

 

[revolt]

The solar industry and other energy programs that go through the BPU for rebates or credits and are over $12,000 now have to be prevailing wage. Gov. Corzine signed it into law in July I think. One and two family homes are exempt. Solar, wind, lighting retrofits, bio mass etc.. If you go through the Board of Public Utilities (NJ Smart Start Program) even if it's a private sector job, it has to be prevailing wage. It will be in effect as soon as the Labor Board and the BPU figure out who is going to monitor it. They went from the public sector to the private with a stroke of a pen. We quoted a job and the ROI went from less than five years to a little over eight. They told us to forget it.I no longer push any energy saving programs. The state killed the industry. No wonder people are leaving NJ likes rats off a sinking ship.

 

[growler]

Bob is right the NABCEP will be a required Cert program in the near future,

After doing a little reading I can agree with this. I don't see where it would do any good for a non-electrician or non-electrical contractor to even take the course to be certified. They will still need a license and permits so only a licensed electrician can actually install the system.

Probably a good line of work to get into but doing all that roof work will probably up the heck out of workman's comp for a comapany ( like roofers ) and you would need to do it full time to make this increase cost effective. Just a thought.

 

[okeefe]

In NY State to get the rebates or incentives for PV, you must be a NYSERA elgible Installer (New York State Energy Research and Development Authority)
In general, incentives for a typical residential or commercial system cover approximately 40-45% of the installed cost of a PV Systems. It is a sweet deal for the PV contractors.

 

[cowboyjwc]

Electricians Against the Explotation of the Sun Unite.

You laugh, but the County here once told a home owner who was trying to go green that "the sun is not considered a reliable source of energy".:roll:

 

[iwire]

The B was dropped, but Bob is right the NABCEP will be a required Cert program in the near future,

Not the future, .... now.

The biggest PV jobs in MA require NABCEP certification per specification, not by law.

We have already done a 500 KW PV job and are looking to do more large projects like that.

 

[iwire]

Probably a good line of work to get into but doing all that roof work will probably up the heck out of workman's comp

I bet your right, I do not know.

I do know we had to invest a lot of money in fall protection equipment. The company had a lot before but if you have a lot of people working on the roof your really going to need a lot of barrier systems.

 

[weressl]

You laugh, but the County here once told a home owner who was trying to go green that "the sun is not considered a reliable source of energy".:roll:

And they are correct EXCEPT the solar cells will generate energy even if just exposed to daylight, eg. cloudy days. The sizing of the system is the tricky part, since the cells will generate various levels dependent on the exposure level. Relying on solar cells alone is difficult because either you need storage batteries, or the more convenient way have the utility as a backup. From the overall energy distribution viewpoint you are at work and you are using electricity from the utility and your home solar feeds the utilty in your absence. When you go home you supplement your solar with utility and entirely on utility at night without local storage.