Why? The answer is because wiring a building to run off of solar power requires very different technologies and skill sets than wiring a building to run off of the local electrical power grid.

Using local grid power, regular home construction electricians are used to accessing a constant, regulated, steady flow of electricity from the local power grid. All they have to do is distribute that constant flow of electricity throughout the building via the standard residential electrical wiring network.

Solar power, however, is much more complex. Under solar power systems, electricity comes not from the local power grid, but from the sun. Solar panels in the roof convert sunlight to electricity. Consequently, the flow of electricity is neither regulated nor constant. To overcome this problem, electricity generated by the solar panels is stored in battery banks. The batteries, in turn, provide a regulated, steady flow of electricity to the building. If the batteries are depleted, the home electrical network needs to be able to switch seamlessly back over to the local power grid.

All this, obviously, adds an extra layer of complexity to wiring a building’s electrical network. Any electrician specialized in dealing with it will be in high demand in the solar power industry.

How will I use my Solar Power Training Certification–What Does a Solar Electrician Do?

In addition to wiring a home or building with the usual electrical network, a solar electricians must also set up the solar energy battery banks. This is not as easy as it sounds. The solar electrician must know what type of batteries to use, and how many will be needed. If there is more than one battery (as with all but the most basic solar power system there will be), the solar electrician will need to set up load-balancing equipment to charge and deplete the multiple batteries evenly. The electricity will also need to be converted from DC power to the 120-volt AC power used in the building’s wall outlets.

Solar electricians also need to be also to install instrumentation to measure the charge in the battery banks, and control mechanisms to switch over to local grid power when the battery banks are almost drained. Today, very few homes are capable of being powered entirely by solar energy. Most use a combination of solar and grid power, using the solar power produced merely to reduce their monthly power bill.

How Do I Become a Solar Electrician?

At least an Associate’s degree in Electrical Engineering or a related field would be the required to qualify as a Solar Electrician. Obviously, a Bachelor’s or Master’s Degree you be preferable. If possible, attend a solar school rather than a community college or a vocational school program to get solar panel installation training. Not only will a solar school train you in the specializations needed to work with solar power systems, but you’ll learn more about solar power in general. Both of these will make your degree more attractive for a solar power company, and increase your chances of being hired.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable Energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Solar PV Installation Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

It is important to point out this is an industrial, not residential, construction job.  Being a residential Solar Fabrication Technician (usually referred to as Solar Installer-Roofers) requires a slightly different skill set.  Residential solar fabrication involves a lot of retrofitting solar power systems into existing buildings.  This most commonly involves setting up solar panels on the roof and wiring them into the building’s electrical power grid.  Consequently, residential Solar Fabrication Technicians are a combination of carpenter, roofer, and electrician.  Industrial Solar Fabrication Technicians, in contrast, work more with metal, concrete, and heavy construction equipment.

Being an industrial Solar Fabrication Technician involves a slightly different set of trade skills than residential technicians.  It involves less carpentry and more metalworking.  Furthermore, on an industrial scale, construction positions are more specialized.  Industrial Solar Fabrication Technicians build and erect freestanding solar collectors and can leave the wiring to the electricians.

Solar Fabrication Technicians need to be proficient in working with metal sheeting and tubing, usually steel and copper.  You must be able to cut, bend, file, drill, rivet, weld, and paint metal, using machine shop equipment such as jigsaws and band saws, drill presses, power brakes, pneumatic drills, and rivet guns.

Requirements for Becoming a Solar Fabrication Technician

A Solar Fabrication Technician is one of the careers in the green power segment that doesn’t necessarily require a college degree.  Work experience and training in construction and the trades are more that sufficient.  You’ll need to complete either a vocational school program, or a trade apprenticeship program in an area such as metalworking or pipefitting.  Even if you haven’t completed such a program, enough years of work experience in the trades may be enough to qualify you for a position as a Solar Fabrication Technician.

That being said, an academic degree certainly doesn’t hurt.  In some sun farms, the solar panels are mobile, designed to be able to tilt and rotate to follow the sun across the sky to collect the most direct sunlight.  In such cases, Solar Fabrication Technician positions might require varying degrees of mechanical aptitude as well and trade skills. An Associate’s or even Bachelor’s degree in engineering or material science would certainly increase your chances of landing a Solar Fabrication Technician position at such a sun farm.  It would also help you get promoted to foreman or other supervisory positions.

If you are looking for a job in the green economy, keep in mind that a Solar Fabrication Technician job is mostly a construction position.  If you take pride in your craft, are willing and able to perform sometimes strenuous manual labor, and don’t mind working outdoors in potentially very hot weather (most sun farms are located in California and the Southwestern deserts for obvious reasons), then you’d be a good fit for the Solar Fabrication Technician job.

Boots on the Roof, a leading Renewable energy training institute, is enrolling students into its Alternative Energy Training classes. For more information on qualifications, Training Dates and Locations, click here.

Solar energy and solar power have been around for some time. When concerns about the state of the environment reached international attention, the scientific community has proposed alternative energy sources, such as the sun and the wind, for a more-sustainable, earth-friendly way to address the world’s energy needs.

In the past 15 years or so, the demand for PV installations has seen steady increase at an average of 30 percent a year. And with the green trend gaining ground, the solar industry has become an multi-billion dollar industry almost overnight. Among many in the construction, manufacturing industry, there’s a growing emphasis on solar install training. Here’s why:

Solar training benefits individual careers. Engineers, architects, R&D professionals and even skilled workers expand their marketability with solar training and certification. As demands for expert knowledge and skilled workers rise, those with technical knowledge and specialized skills that fit the need of the renewable energy industry grow very valuable.

Solar training allows companies to reposition themselves in the market. Construction companies, design firms, PV manufacturers and other businesses are investing in solar training for their staff. When businesses are looking to actively participate in a new market, investing in new technologies and staff training ensures longevity and continued existence.

Solar training protects national interest. Because solar energy is available all over the world, no government can control world energy resources like the OPEC does. Neither is technology a monopoly of tech-savvy countries like Japan. It’s not surprising governments are now pouring investments into research for better and more efficient ways of harnessing solar energy, among other renewable sources.

Solar install training addresses the disparity between the growing demand for trained professionals and skilled workers and the limited supply. The technology is available. The materials are available. The last piece of the puzzle is workforce. At this time, the industry is still young and research remains ongoing. The research and development is focused on finding even more cost-effective ways of harnessing solar energy to power up entire communities. The whole range of services – from research, product development, manufacturing, installation, and support services – require professionals and skilled workers who are thoroughly trained in the various aspects of the solar industry.

Solar Energy in the Future

When the market gets saturated with manufacturers and technical workers, it drives prices down. Even in the solar industry, competition is intense and will grow more intense as more and more players join the market. But it’s unlikely for the solar industry to be live out a short life-cycle. The technology might change, costs will grow very effective and other alternatives will be harnessed. Whatever the trend in the next century will be, the sun remains a readily available source of energy. And as science points out, it lives on long after our planet has gone. It’s not likely for solar energy to be obsolete.

With that in mind, solar businesses are growing all over the world. With government policies and recent legislation supporting the green movement, the solar industry is definitely an attractive prospect for people who see value in acquiring solar install training.