PV ACCREDITATION

[Isetech]

What are the facts?

I received an invite from the ECB this morning, offering seminars and training for PV training courses and accreditation.

Are we heading in the same direction as gas and electric fencing, will we an IE or MIE be required to complete one of these courses before we can sign off a solar installation?

IF you have already installed 10 complete installations or maybe even 50+ plus by now, would you be required to complete one of these courses?

If the person who does the job has a P4 certificate can I sign off his installations, considering they are now certified installers?

What do insurance companies require?

If you are a P4 certified installer do you sill need to use a ECSA approve engineer and IE/MIE to sign off the project for registration with the municipalities.

Just so much confusion in this industry at the moment, I wish someone would step up and grab the bull by the horns and get this crap sorted out.

We work in this industry and it is so confusing, just imagine being a customer

Lets start with who is responsible for making decisions with regard to this kind of stuff, the chief electrical inspector?

[Isetech]

In Person, Online and Practical Solar PV Courses

Presented by PQRS - Power Quality & Renewable Resources

• PQRS provides various Solar PV Installation Courses.
• Practical Installers Course
• Excel Course – Intermediate – Large Residential to small commercial.
• Exceed Course – Industrial Installations & Earthing and Lightning.
• Excel Course (L1) followed by the Exceed Course (L2).
• Excel Course content: Click to view details.

• Exceed Course content: Click to view details.
• Excel & Exceed Courses are registered at the Engineering Council of South Africa.
• Registered engineers can claim 2.5 CPD points.
• The Excel Course is designed specifically for:
• Electricians / Master Electricians / Millwrights / Electrical Engineers.
• People with a good understanding of electricity can also attend, such as:
• General Building Contractors, IT, Alarm/Gate Motor installers, etc.
• The Exceed Course registration requirement is a Level 1 AREP test Certificate.

 AREP – Association for Renewable Energy Practitioners - Click to view details.

 PQRS – Subscribes to the Quality Assurance Platform of AREP, known as the
 P4 platform - Click to view details.

 AREP offers Individual Accreditation and Company Accreditation:

 Individual Accreditation:

• The Level 1 test is aligned to the Excel Course Content.
• The Level 1 test = 1 hour theoretical online exam at a cost of R950 per person.
• The Level 1 test certificate is only valid for 12 months as it keeps up to date.
  with a fast-paced technological industry.

• The Level 2 test is aligned to the Exceed Course Content.
• The Level 2 test = 3 hour theoretical online exam at a cost of R1350 per person.
• The Level 2 test certificate is valid for 36 months.

 Once the test expires, re-write the online exam without attending the course again.

 Pass mark is 80%.

 Level 1 Benefits:

• Required by municipalities.
• Required for finance applications / insurance.
• Instils confidence – certificate and AREP membership to be included with
  quotations tenders.
• Accepted by distributors and suppliers of PV equipment.
  (customer discounts / warrantees on products are honoured).

 Company Accreditation:

 The P4 Platform scores contractors involved in the PV sector on performance,
 knowledge and best practice.
 A total of 5 metrics are used to produce a score, which in turn, predicts
 risk associated with a specific contractor.
 2 of the metrics are, test done by individual(s) and installations listed with AREP.
 The lower the score the higher the risk.
 The Company accreditation is R2 500 and billed annually.

 Company Accreditation Benefits:

 Listed as preferred installers on the AREP Website.
 Certain financial institutions require a company registration.

PV Practical Installers Course:
Practical Installers In Person, hands on -    Member R 5190 / Non Member R 5690
PV COURSE - EXCEL:
Excel, In Person, Face2Face -         Member R4595 / Non Member R 4995
Excel, Online, Learn at your own pace -     Member R 3700 / Non Member R 4360
The Level 1 test = 1-hour theoretical test is only done online - R950 per person.
(Exam Fee not included in the Course, member and combo discount applies).
PV COURSE - EXCEED:
Exceed, Online, Learn at your own pace -     Member R 4350 / Non Member R 4750
The Level 2 test = 3 hour theoretical test is only done online - R1350 per person.
(Exam Fee not included in the Course, member and combo discount applies).
PV COURSE - SALES:
Sales, Online, Learn at your own pace -     Member R 2295 / Non Member R 2640

[Isetech]

 Level 1 Benefits:

Take note:


• Required by municipalities.
• Required for finance applications / insurance.
• Instils confidence – certificate and AREP membership to be included with
  quotations tenders.
• Accepted by distributors and suppliers of PV equipment.
  (customer discounts / warrantees on products are honoured).

[Isetech]

The way I see it, if you going to be working in the PV industry best you register with AREP, rather than the ECA or ECB or even the DOL for that matter.

AREP control the industry, if you not registered with them, no municipal registration, no insurance, no supplier discounts, no loan for installations

Why waste time dealing with he electrical industry, it seems the elctrical industry are just trying to get some of the abundance of gravy being shared at the moment

Lets ask the question again, who is in control ?

[Andrew Peters]

This is a very interesting topic, as there are many so called qualified PV Installers who claim to be able to give a COC, although they are not qualified electricians.
The same is applicable for LPG Installations relating to Gas Geysers or Stoves/Ovens.

[GCE]

Only the QCTO can accredited training courses
As far as I am aware neither AREP or Sapvia courses are accredited and that ECA have had the course and training center accredited

[Isetech]

Then how do engineers get credits for attending the training?

Only the QCTO can accredited training courses
As far as I am aware neither AREP or Sapvia courses are accredited and that ECA have had the course and training center accredited

[Isetech]

I dont think the electrical industry know if they are coming or going.


• Exceed Course content: Click to view details.
• Excel & Exceed Courses are registered at the Engineering Council of South Africa.
• Registered engineers can claim 2.5 CPD points.

[Isetech]

The way I see it, its just a matter of time and the solar industry will become a separate industry, like aircon technicians, electric fence technicians, gas installers etc.

We will provide an isolator for the inverter input and and isolator for the inverter output, the solar installers will do the rest.

Electricians will not be allowed to work on solar project unless they are certified by AREP.

I am thinking its time to register with AREP and get certified, otherwise like electric fences, I am going to be sitting on the wrong side of the fence.

Someone asked me the other day if it was worth doing the course with PRQRS, at the time I thought the electrical industry would sort out the mess, however my view has changed, I think it time to sign up with AREP and get some the certification before it too late.

[Derlyn]

What happened to the green card ?

[Isetech]

Good question, if I recall it was around R15000.00- R20 000.00 to complete the courses to get a green card. It looks like this course has replaced it (R6100, including the test)

Something to note, its only valid for 3 years.

The Level 2 test is aligned to the Exceed Course Content.
• The Level 2 test = 3 hour theoretical online exam at a cost of R1350 per person.
• The Level 2 test certificate is valid for 36 months.

PV COURSE - EXCEED:

Exceed, Online, Learn at your own pace -     Member R 4350 / Non Member R 4750

The Level 2 test = 3 hour theoretical test is only done online - R1350 per person.

(Exam Fee not included in the Course, member and combo discount applies).

What happened to the green card ?

[Isetech]

I believe the solar industry is still going to to take a while to iron out all the issues, with regards to certification, regulation and pricing.

Everyday the prices just keep getting lower and lower, the warehouses are full of stock, load shedding seems to be stabilising and quotes for systems are so low that I cant even buy the material, for the quotes being offered fully installed, with a COC.

A customer sent me a quote for an 8 kw Sunsynk inverter/10 kwh Susnsynk battery and 12 x 500 watt panels for R149 000.00 fully installed including a COC, I told them to rather just use them because I can't compete. I also pointed out a few issues with the pictures the company is sharing of completed jobs. I still have more work than I can handle this year.

My thoughts are to contact these people and get them to do the work and project manage and make sure the job is done right. If I charge R10k which is nothing compared to the R150-500k people are throwing at solar, its money for jam.

I am curious to see where they fit the lithium batteries, which regulations they reference.

I would also like to see it they do a lightning assessment, or if they just install "lightning protection" and "bonding" and if they link it all together and link it all to the permanent neutral earth bond that now seems to be the accepted method.

The volt drop calculations, if they run the cables all the way to the garage and back.

Solar cable routes and installation methods.

But my favourite one will be the essential and non essential main DB and circuit split, this is what takes the time, tracing and identifying circuits, to split to prevent all sorts of faults like F56 on the inverter.

[Isetech]

During stage 6 load shedding, it was critical to "keep the lights" on, so a 5/8 kw with 6 panels was the solution, however as the schedule drops to a more consistent stage 2/3/4, we need to change the design from a critical power system to a system which is going to offer some form of savings and keep the lights on.

I think people have realised that spinning back the meter is not a money saving solution and they not going to be getting any ROI or huge savings on the bill, in fact quite the opposite. Those who thought complaining that their monthly bill has not reduced have realised, it's not such a smart move.

Fortunately for some it has paid for all their new material idols, but for others it has created huge debt which is going to take years to pay off and to make matters even worse, the registration process hasn't even started gaining momentum yet, boy is that going to entice the rats and mice.

[GCE]

Then how do engineers get credits for attending the training?

CPD points are allocated by the engineering association awarding the points for a course .
So SAREP would approach Engineering council , pay an application to have material accessed , present the course material - the council them decide how many points get allocated.

You could put a course together and go through the same process - All the different professional association's work on that principle .

[GCE]

The way I see it, if you going to be working in the PV industry best you register with AREP, rather than the ECA or ECB or even the DOL for that matter.

AREP control the industry, if you not registered with them, no municipal registration, no insurance, no supplier discounts, no loan for installations

Why waste time dealing with he electrical industry, it seems the elctrical industry are just trying to get some of the abundance of gravy being shared at the moment

Lets ask the question again, who is in control ?

SAPVIA put the green card together as a training and quality course / document .Carel Ballack was involved at the time

There was a disagreement between suppliers, training centre providers etc at SAPVIA and so there was a split and AREP was formed - Carel Ballack went across and was involved again in putting course together and calling it another name.

I have said it before - When you have an association mainly being run by Suppliers and training centre providers you need to be careful on what the motive is .

ECA is run by Electrical contractors