FAQs
- What is ImagineSolar?
ImagineSolar founded the first licensed school in the State of Texas dedicated to the solar and smart grid industries. We are accelerating the transformation of the clean, smart, and renewable energy industries through professional courses, hands-on workshops, corporate advisory services, and workforce training programs. Our school is licensed by the Texas Workforce Commission (license # S3736,www.twc.state.tx.us) and we offer almost 200 contact hours of classes and workshops.
Our clients include commercial accounts, contractors, project developers, new ventures, utilities, investors, government agencies, and non-profits, as well as individuals who want to build their careers in the solar and smart grid industries.
- What products or services does ImagineSolar provide?
ImagineSolar is your single source for all solar PV training, whether you are an individual, business, or local government. Our accredited courses in solar PV are taught by certified instructors and cover fondation PV knowledge through master training and PV economics and sales. We also offer custom training to companies, government agencies, and educational institutions.
ImagineSolar’s training classes and solar courses include, but are not limited to:
- Entry level solar PV training with real-world hands-on labs
- Advanced training for experienced solar professionals
- Specialized training for electricians, architects and engineers
- Training is led by ISPQ certified instructors and NABCEP Certified PV Installers
- Courses with ISPQ accreditation
- Courses that fulfill the education requirements for NABCEP certification
- Design Support – End-to-End Design and Engineering Support Services
- Consulting Support – NABCEP Certified Installation Consultants
- Marketing Support – Websites, Collateral, Business cards, Co-branding
- How do I become NABCEP Certified?
NABCEP requires 58 hours of educational credits, of which 40 must be advanced hours, to sit for their PV Professional Installer exam. Our PV201 (and our online PV201e) is a foundation course that allows someone to sit for the NABCEP Entry Level exam. Passing the entry level exam gives you 18 hours of NABCEP educational credits. Our PV320e provides you with 60 advanced hours of educational credits and PV321 provides 20 hours of advanced credit.
In addition to the educational requirement, NABCEP also has an experience requirement. Depending on a person’s history they will need 3-5 installations in which they play a decision-making role to sit for the Professional Installer exam. ImagineSolar can offer this experience credit directly to electricians via PV330, other students find experience by working for a solar installation company or building their own systems.
NABCEP defines decision-making role as follows:
- Individuals who make important decisions during the installation from start to finish.
- The beginning process: (the design, ordering supplies, making sure they arrive and are installed properly).
- The installation: on the roof installing the system and supervising other employees though the entire process, the electrician.
- The final process: inspecting the installation.
Here is the link to NABCEP requirements for the installer exam. We can only offer guidance, they are the final determiner of who can sit for their exam.
- How long has ImagineSolar been in business?
ImagineSolar was founded in 2002 and has been licensed by the TWC (S3736) since 2009.
- Where is ImagineSolar located?
Our training center is at 4000 Caven Road, Austin, Texas 78744.
- What if I miss a class due to a scheduling conflict?
Contact our Registration Coordinator to establish the best time for you to make up your class.
- What type of solar equipment is used in your training?
We educate and train with a variety of brands allowing students to receive hands-on experience with many types of systems.
We incorporate high-tech solar panels from Canadian Solar, Kaneka, Kyocera, Seimens, Sharp, and Solarland. We use installation equipment from GE, Landis & Gyr, Midnite Solar, Schletter, SMA, Solmetric, Square D, and Sunnyboy.
We invite you to tour our solar photovoltaic training lab to see our equipment firsthand. Make an appointment with us at info@imaginesolar.com and (888) 514-1972.
- How do I purchase your courses?
You can pay online through our shopping cart, in person at our Austin facility, or mail us your payment. When paying online, you may use Visa, MasterCard, American Express or a PayPal account. If mailing your payment or paying in person, please send your check or money order to ImagineSolar at 4000 Caven Road, Austin, Texas 78744.
- What is NABCEP?
The North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) is a volunteer board of renewable energy stakeholder representatives that includes representatives of the solar industry, NABCEP certificants, renewable energy organizations, state policy makers, educational institutions, and the trades. Each member of the board was chosen because of his or her experience and involvement in the solar energy industry. NABCEP’s mission–to support and work with the renewable energy and energy efficiency industries, professionals, and stakeholders–is intended to develop and implement quality credentialing and certification programs for practitioners.
NABCEP’s goal is to develop voluntary national certification programs that will:
- Promote renewable energy
- Provide value to practitioners
- Promote worker safety and skill and
- Promote consumer confidence
NABCEP is committed to providing a certification program of quality and integrity for the professionals and consumer/public it is designed to serve. Professionals who choose to become certified demonstrate their competence in the field and their commitment to upholding high standards of ethical and professional practice.
- What courses should I take to sit for NABCEP's Entry Level Exam?
To sit for the NABCEP Entry Level Exam, you must have a total of 48 hours in NABCEP approved coursework and hands-on labs. Our PV201 or PV201e Online courses prepare you to take the Entry Level Exam.
- When and where are NABCEP exams given?
ImagineSolar proctors the NABCEP Entry Level Exam at our Austin training facility: 4000 Caven Road, Austin, Texas 78744. Visit our NABCEP Entry Level Exam page or contact our Registration Coordinator for specific dates. Computer-based tests are also provided by Prometric exam centers across the USA.
The NABCEP Professional Exam is given twice a year, usually in the spring and fall. Please contact our Registration Coordinator for specific dates and locations or visit NABCEP for details.
- What is the PV Technical Sales Certification?
The NABCEP PV Technical Sales Certification is a voluntary certification that provides a set of national standards by which PV Technical Sales Professionals with skills and experience can distinguish themselves from their competition. Certification provides a measure of protection to the public by giving them a credential for judging the competency of practitioners.
The target candidate for NABCEP certification is a person with job descriptions such as inside or outside sales person, application engineer, financial or performance analyst, or site assessor.
The NABCEP PV Technical Sales Certification has been developed in accordance with the certification field’s best practices and is based on a comprehensive Job Task Analysis (JTA) that was developed by a wide range of leading industry professionals. In order to qualify to take the comprehensive NABCEP PV Technical Sales Exam candidates must meet certain qualifications. In addition to basic requirements that include signing a code of ethics and demonstrating safety training candidates must provide documentation that verifies a combination of training and experience.PV Technical Sales Job Task Analysis
The foundation document for any certification program is a detailed description of the job involved. This is referred to as a “Task Analysis” or “Job Task Analysis.”
The NABCEP PV Technical Sales Job Task Analysis defines a general set of knowledge, skills and abilities typically required of Solar PV Salespersons who are responsible for site analysis, system design, ethical presentation, and accurate analyses and projections of electrical, environmental, and financial performance of PV systems.
It covers all aspects of the residential and light commercial sales process. The JTA is broken into eight major topic areas:- Qualify the Customer
- Site Analysis
- Conceptual Design
- Financial Costs, Incentives, and Savings
- Financial Benefit Analysis and Financing
- Non-financial Benefit Analysis
- Performance Analysis
- Prepare Proposals
- Are there other solar installer certifications available?
Yes, UL University offers a solar installer certification.
- What is renewable energy?
Today, ‘renewable’ and ‘non-renewable’ refer to the type of resources used to produce energy. Non-renewable energy resources are fossil-fuels: gasoline, coal, oil, natural gas, diesel, and so forth. Fossil fuels are considered ‘non-renewable’ because the length of time it will take for natural processes to create these resources is long, if the right mix of conditions even align to make it possible. Some fossil-fuels, like coal, are in more abundant supply than others right now. Even though the US has 275 billion tons of coal (about 250 years more of use at today’s levels), once it is gone, it is not replenished quickly, if at all.
Renewable energy resources are naturally re-occurring and replenished sources: solar energy, wind power, hydropower (water movement as in dams, waves or tides), and geothermal (natural heat generated from below the earth’s surface). Some people classify nuclear energy as a renewable energy resource, but it is not a true renewable energy source because some of the materials needed to make nuclear energy, like uranium cake, are actually not renewable.
Benefits of renewable energy sources:
- Most environmentally aware use of natural resources
- No harmful waste is produced so environmental impact is diminished
- Protect the environment and the Earth for future generations and nature conservancy
- Improve national security by reducing dependency on imported fossil-fuels
- Most renewable energy production does not produce carbon emissions
Why are Renewable Energy Sources Important?
Different energy sources release different levels and types of waste material in the production of energy. Some of these waste materials or byproducts are harmful to the earth and the atmosphere, some are not. Fossil-fuel based energy sources release carbon in the process of being burned to produce energy. Carbon emissions are a direct contributor to greenhouse gases that compromise the earth’s atmosphere and climate. Renewable resources also produce emissions, but not carbon emissions. Generally these emissions are low noise, or excess heat or steam (especially at geothermal sites).
So, why are renewable sources important? 24% of carbon emissions in the United States come from the fossil-fuel based power sector! That is a staggering amount. The US is primarily a fossil-fuel based energy producer. This fossil-fuel dependence is worrisome not only because of carbon emission levels, but also because the US is reliant on other countries to supply the fossil-fuel resource demands we have today. The reliability of US electricity is considered a national security issue. Being dependent upon other countries to ensure we have electricity to power our cities, government, industries, businesses and homes is a real national concern. It has been a federal government goal to move the US towards energy independent since the Carter administration established a national energy policy in the early 1970s.
Today, thanks to the dramatically lowered costs of the materials and hardware needed to harness naturally renewable energy sources, each consumer of electricity can help make the US energy independent, reduce carbon emissions (‘carbon footprint’), AND save money and the earth’s resources in our own backyards, work places, and rooftops.
- What are the various types of energy sources?
- Fossil fuels
- Coal
- ‘Clean coal’
- Natural gas
- Fuel oil
- Oil shale
- Nuclear
- Uranium cake and nuclear fission
- Renewables
- Solar photovoltaic (PV)
- Steam turbines
- Wind
- Geothermal
- Hydroelectricity
- Dams, wave and tidal
- Biofuel/biomass
- Crops
- Bio-waste
- Landfill methane
- How is energy made?
Electrical energy is commonly generated by electro-mechanical generators driven by:
- steam produced from fossil fuel or biomass or biowaste combustion, landfill methane combustion, or
- steam extracted from geothermal sites (e.g., hot underground rocks or water) to power a steam turbine, or
- waste heat from industrial production facilities, or
- steam created from the direct heat released from nuclear reactions, or
- solar heat captured through photovoltaic panels, or
- from other sources such as kinetic energy extracted from wind or flowing water.
Different energy sources release different levels and types of waste material in the production of energy. Some of these waste materials or byproducts are harmful to the earth and the atmosphere, some are not. Fossil-fuel based energy sources release carbon in the process of being burned to produce energy. Carbon emissions are a direct contributor to greenhouse gases that compromise the earth’s atmosphere and climate. Renewable resources also produce emissions, but not carbon emissions. Generally these emissions are low noise, or excess heat or steam (especially at geothermal sites).
- What is solar PV power?
Generally speaking, solar systems consist of solar modules that convert the sun’s energy into electricity. Solar energy for home and/or commercial purposes is most commonly harnessed through photovoltaic (PV) cells, these are aligned into modules on solar or PV panels. These panels are attached to roof tops, on “solar trees” (large tree-like structures with solar panels facing upward), in open fields (‘solar farms’), as well as other architectural options designed to maximize the solar energy capturing ability (in other words, the amount of time the panels face the sun).
Solar energy is converted directly to electricity. The photovoltaic (PV) effect uses semi-conductor technology to produce electricity. Typically, a home is served by an array of solar PV modules or solar PV panels and an electric utility. At night, and when solar energy is low, all the power is supplied by the utility. As solar energy increases, PV output increases and the amount of power supplied by the utility decreases proportionately. When the solar array produces more power than the house needs, the extra electricity can be fed back into the electric grid. PV systems can include batteries and generators for backup power and can incorporate other renewable energy sources like wind turbines and micro-hydroelectricity.
Benefits to solar PV electricity:
- Reduces electric bills
- Very low maintenance
- Durable and reliable (average lifespan of Grade A panels is 20-30 years)
- Contributes to energy independence for you and the nation
- Can be configured to provide reliable power during utility outages
- Where are solar PV panels used?
A wide variety of PV panels are available today for fixtures (such as public trash compactors, parking meters, etc.), boating, homes (rooftops), and commercial sites. There are many PV options, from rigid to flexible materials, design-in PV materials for roofing that is flush with or replaces the existing roofing, and elevated panels attached to structures and roofs.There has been significant material, engineering, design and cost improvements in PV panels recently, making this renewable energy source more and more available to all types of electrical customers, from home owners to businesses, medical, government and educational buildings, as well as manufacturing and industrial facilities.
The optimal solar energy system is installed on a completely unshaded roof and facing due south. The system will perform best if it’s oriented approximately at a 10 to 40 degree tilt angle. Shading compromises the output of a system in a somewhat non-linear way based on the time of day and time of year that the shading occurs. Orientations that are due east or due west will have outputs approximately 10 to 30% less depending on tilt angle. In some cases though, unshaded east or west roof areas are better than partially shaded south facing roofs. - What is energy efficiency?
One of the most important steps toward sustainability and energy independence is making the most efficient use of every watt and BTU generated. Building performance and building science include a variety of disciplines aimed at maximizing the energy efficiency of residential and commercial structures. Some of these disciplines are building design and site planning, energy use auditing, weatherization and renewable energy systems design and installation. Residential energy efficiency retrofits, through programs like Energy Star, take a whole-building approach. The development of net-zero buildings, which produce as much energy as they consume, is a growing aspect of building science.
Benefits of energy efficiency include:
- Reduce energy waste
- Lower utility bills
- Most effective way to directly reduce use of fossil fuel for energy production
- Greatly increases the effectiveness and impact of renewable energy sources
Energy Audit
A home energy audit is the first step to assess how much energy your home consumes and to evaluate what measures you can take to make your home more energy efficient. An audit will show you problems that may, when corrected, save you significant amounts of money over time. During the audit, you can pinpoint where your house is losing energy. Audits also determine the efficiency of your home’s heating and cooling systems. An audit may also show you ways to conserve hot water and electricity. You can perform a simple energy audit yourself, or have a professional energy auditor carry out a more thorough audit.
- What is the smart grid?
Smart Grid 101 offers students an introduction to smart grid concepts and technologies in the electric power industry. The course examines challenges facing the US electric grid: aging infrastructure, growing demand, poor efficiency, a lack of automation, and incompatibility with newer, cleaner generation technologies. Methods and technologies currently being deployed to meeting these challenges are discussed, as well as future areas of research and development. Topics range from smart meters and demand management to electric vehicles and energy storage.
The ‘smart grid’ is the next stage of our electricity grid. To build the new smart grid we need to:- Add new transmission (i.e. power) lines
- Upgrade the existing system by adding two-way communication between users and their utility through smart meters
- Enhance transmission and distribution of electricity to provide higher quality power with fewer outages
- Enable distributed generation sites (e.g. home, business and other local electricity generation through renewable sources that can be put back onto the grid)
- Significantly increase the digitization of the grid to improve monitoring, managing and safe-guarding electrical power distribution and generation
These changes and improvements are not just nice to have, they are absolutely critical. The smart grid is important, not just because of green concerns, interest in renewable energy or because of critical national security problems arising from an outdated electrical grid. The old grid is simply inefficient and that inefficiency is costing the US in terms of national security, excess emissions, lost revenue by businesses and industries from power interruptions, and wasted/lost electricity.
- What is the electrical grid?
Think for just a moment about how different life is today in the US from 1882. That is the year that the US electrical grid was built. Since then, the grid has remained relatively stagnant outside of adding more lines. No real upgrades, no substantive changes, mostly maintenance and necessary renovations paid for through surcharges of “transmission and distribution” on utility bills.
If solar panels were placed on the White House during the Carter Administration in the 1970s, why is it taking almost 40 years for panels to be more available to commercial and residential customers? Mostly, because the electrical grid is not equipped to handle electrical flow that is not of the constantly flowing type from 1882. We don’t work, live or think about our world as we did.
- Where do I find solar rebate information for my address?
Visit the following website: http://www.dsireusa.org/
- Does ImagineSolar offer tuition assistance or payment plans?
ImagineSolar does not offer payment plans where the student may make partial payments with interest during our educational programs. We do not have loan programs nor participate in tuition assistance and grant programs at the state and Federal levels.
The details of these programs are subject to change. Contact ImagineSolar for further details.
- What are current coworking opportunities with ImagineSolar?
ImagineSolar is accepting applications for individuals and businesses interested in coworking at our centrally-located 4000 Caven Road, Austin, TX location.
We are a clean energy entrepreneurial community with office and lab space, classrooms, warehousing, loading docks, and a large parking lot with easy access to Austin-Bergstrom International Airport and Downtown Austin.
Our coworking packages provide desks, Internet access, client meeting space & more – starting at $100/month. Visit us weekdays from 8 AM to 6 PM to tour our facility or call today with questions at (888) 514-1972.