Student And Teacher'S Aid
I’ve just completed Energy 141 “Electrical & Mechanical Applications for Solar Installers” and Energy 142 “NABCEP Entry Level Test Review” in my third semester of the American River College Solar Technology program. I have received excellent training and instruction from another extremely knowledgeable and experienced PV practioner, Brad Price. As the Owner of Valley Solar and an NABCEP Certified Installer, Brad brought industry insight and experience into the class room.. He also brings enthusiasm, humor and practicality to the learning experience. While it seems impossible to teach to the exam, as it is so well guarded, I did receive an excellent grasp of system theory, design, performance and documentation. I enjoyed his class and hope to heck I passed the PV Entry Level Exam issued by the NABCEP I took last week. After studying the textbook “Photovoltaic Systems” by James Dunlop, the NEC and the lab work and review we had completed, I felt confident going into the exam. I must say I was surprised. Who writes the exams? Some questions were so poorly or perhaps purposely puzzling, I couldn’t even be sure if I knew what they were asking. Are all the trick questions and obscure wording really necessary? Now, I’ll just have to wait with the rest of my test mates to see if we guessed right.Last is Energy 143, “Design, Installation and Troubleshooting of Solar PV Systems” with Nick Lowrie. My understanding is that Nick is the Sacramento Operations Manager of SolarCity. As I am a “teacher’s aid” in the Solar Tech program at ARC, I’ve already had the opportunity to meet and talk with Nick briefly. He seems like another sharp guy that I am going to learn a lot from. Hopefully, the summer class I am registered for is not canceled due to lack of enrollment. That was the rumor going around when I aced my EN 141 final last week. Wish me luck people. Better yet, refer me to a hot job lead with a PV integrator, manufacturer, distributor or installer!!
