Welcome to this lesson on

pathways to certification. By the end of this video, you should

be able to describe the importance and the of professional certification. You
should also be able to identify
which fields offer certification. Describe NABCEP and and
UL certification programs. As well as explain
the benifits of certification. Let's begin by looking at the differences
between certifications and licenses. Certifications are voluntary and
are available to many professions. Licenses however are state regulated and
include fields such as electricians, plumbers, engineers and architects. While one
doesn't necessarily need
to be certified in full voltaic, there are certain benefits
that we'll discuss shortly. Licensure is required however
to do the electrical work and make the final connections
in a full voltaic system. So let's look at what a certification is. NABCEP, the
North American Board of
Certified Energy Practitioners defines certification as a procedure by which
an independent third party gives written assurance that a professional
conforms to a specified set of standards by holding those professionals to a set
of requirements in a specified field. Verification includes
a written examination, and by meeting the requirements,
and passing the exam. Professionals then
receive the certificate. They can display the certification
publicly to highlight their earned proficiency. Certifications are pretty common in
the field of voltaic installation. So who offers this certification? Well, NABCEP,
again, the North American
Board of Certified Energy Practitioners, is the largest PV certification
group in North America. They offer certifications for
Photovoltaic Installation, Solar Heating, Photovoltaic Technical Sales,
Small and Small Wind Installations. There's also certification being offered
by UL, or Underwriters Laboratory. We'll talk about UL later,
but it's only available for folks who are licensed electricians. As a step into
certification, NABCEP has introduced something
called the NABCEP Associate Program. This associate program is a stepping stone
to full certification, and it's intended for people who are currently working, or
in, or seeking employment in renewables. It could be students, people in
the early stages of their career, or people who have already been in fields
that, say, run parallel to photovoltaics. So for example, if you're an electrician
who hasn't worked in PV and want to become certified in photovoltaics, you can
bring your expertise
in electricity to the field. Or maybe work in the HVAC or plumbing and
have expertise in heating and hot water systems but just getting
started in the solar thermal field. The associate program also recognizes
experience in the field for those without formal training or training
in a different area and allows for pathways to recognize that experience. So how
does one become an associate? In this case,
it involves a course and an exam. Exams are offered in photovoltaics,
solar heating, and small wind. And once you're in the associate program,
it signifies you know how to do a specified set of items,
in a certain job task list. It also covers the fundamentals
of the technology and can be a useful way for
people to recognize your skills, as well as let you know what you need
to learn to become fully certified. The pathway to the associate certification
involves courses like this specialization and hands on in the field training So
what
does it take to become fully certified? Well, the full NABCEP Certification
requires you to simply pass the exam. However to take that exam there
are certain prerequisites. First, you have to be in the field for
photovoltaics and have been responsible for
installing systems. You have to have had a minimum of 58 hours
of advanced photovoltaic training and have the OSHA 10 hour construction safety
industry card or something equivalent. Within those 58 hours of training,
a minimum of 40 of those hours needs to cover advanced topics on
installation principles and practices. Those advanced topics are described in the
NABCEP Photovoltaic Installer
Job Task Analysis Handbook. Many of them are covered
throughout this specialization. A maximum of those 18 of those 58 hours
can be obtained from non-accredited, or non-certified sources, which could
be training from a manufacturer or other source. Coursera is the platform for this
specialization offered by the SUNY College of Environmental Science and Forestry in
accredited higher education institution, so these hours really part of the forty.
Depending on experience, three or
five installations must be completed, each larger than a 1 kilowatt size where
the person getting certified will have the role of contractor, lead foreman,
supervisor, or journeyman. So you have to have both the coursework
and in the filed training. Please review the job task analysis and certification
handbooks in
the supplementory materials. So why would you want to
become NABCEP certified? Well, certification's typically needed
to receive the incentives from state programs. So why you don’t need to be
certified
to install PV, you may be eligible for a significant incentive, which can
then be passed down to the customer. NABCEP is not recognized
by federal tax incentives. So one could still receive
the federal tax credits even if you’re not a NABCEP
certified installer. With that said, certification does not
take the place of permitting or licensing. So even though you may be
a certified installer, you still need to get building permits for
structural changes or electrical permits. You typically would also need
to get a licensed electrician to do the interconnections. But this is based upon
the rules
of the state and the municipality. Another type of certification
is called UL certification. UL certification essentially provides
documented competence then an electrician can safely instal follow tech system
in the compliance with local and national codes. You have to be a licenced
electrician to pass the exam, and then once you're successfully
listed as a certified UL installer, you have to be re-certified every 3 years. You
can do that through getting
continuing education credits, or do 30 hours of professional development. Another
type of certification
that's out there is called the Certified Solar Roofing Professional,
or CSRP. It focuses on roof
integrated solar energy, which is similar to building
integrated photovoltaics. But it specifically certifies people in
the area of roof integrated solar energy, or RISE. These will be people who are in
the fields of roofing, architecture, or system integrators. And becoming a CSRP
indicates
an extra level of knowledge about the system rooftop interaction. So that sums up
the types of
certifications that are available. So in review, you should now be
able to describe the importance and the value of professional certification. You
should be able to identify which
field of certifications are available, as well as the NABCEP and
UL certification program. And explain the benefits of certification. This concludes
this module and course
in renewable energy and photovoltaics. In the next course, we'll learn about
the solar resource in wiring for PV.