When you are investing in solar, you want to make sure that you are get the highest-quality panels. You also want the most qualified electricians installing your panels. This is a huge investment. It is also an investment that you want to last a long time. You don't want someone who isn't experienced in the field installing your solar panels. If fact, you want the most experienced electrician installing your panels. The truth is, if you want the highest-ranking solar installers working on your roof, then you want a NABCEP certified solar installer.

What does it mean to become NABCEP certified?

NABCEP (The North American Board of Certified Electrician Practitioners) offers several different certifications for electricians in the Solar Industry.  Each of these certificates represents a different level of expertise in the field. The PV Installation Professional Certificate is the highest of all these certifications. In other words, an electrician with this certificate has the highest available training in the solar industry. In order to reach this qualification, candidates have to take an in-depth exam covering a lot of electric and solar work. The exam is only offered two times a year and requires a lot of training in order to pass it.  There aren't many people in our country who have gone through this process. In fact, there are only 5 NABCEP certified technicians in the state of Arkansas and only 30 in the state of Missouri!

How to become NABCEP certified?

You may be wondering, if this exam shows which electricians are the most qualified, then what do they have to do for the test? In technical terms, candidates for the PV Installation Professional Certificate must:

• Participate in a minimum of 58 hours of solar PV training
• 40 of the 58 hours must cover advanced solar PV installation/design concepts
• If the candidate passes the NABCEP PV Associate Exam, the remaining 18 hours can come from entry-level Associate coursework
• Have an OSHA 10 hour construction industry card or equivalent
• Document 3-5 solar installations where they have acted in the role of a contractor, lead installer, foremen, supervisor, or journeyman
• Pay for and complete an application by the exam deadline.

In other words, they have to go to about 60 hours of training about the solar industry. They also have to have experience with playing several roles at a solar installation and be well-versed in OSHA standards. After all this training and the exam, these guys know every angle of solar installations.

Shine Solar’s NABCEP certified electrician

Bud, one of Shine Solar's electricians, is a certified PV Installation

Professional. We are so proud to have him on our team. He is a professional who is dedicated to high quality work. In addition, Bud is committed to giving the very best service to our customers. We want to formerly congratulate Bud on achieving this certification. Thank you Bud for all of your hard work and enthusiasm for the solar industry!