In a recent post I wrote that an Electrician license alone – even a Master Electrician license – does not qualify you to design and install solar systems. I totally respect the fact that a Master license is a great achievement that requires significant experience and training, but it’s not solar specific. Some took exception…
Category: West Virginia

Clarification from NABCEP
In an earlier blog post, I referred to the relatively new NABCEP Associate program and called it an Associate Certification. Since then, I’ve received the following clarification from NABCEP: NABCEP’s Associate exams provide qualified applicants with a credential, not a certification. Unfortunately, while the difference may seem small to some, it is significant…

Why don’t more solar installers offer ground mounts?
We do a lot of ground mount systems each year, and over the last year or so we did an even higher percentage than usual. The list below features a dozen recent ground mount systems – ten as part of battery backup (bimodal) systems. Ground mounts are a particularly good option for battery backup systems…

Get ready for more West Virginia snowfall (and more outages) this winter
Meteorologists are predicting a colder, snowier 2016-2017 winter, thanks to a weakened La Nina. According to thewinterforecast.com La Nina is here but it’s on the weaker side as of September. We see this weak La Nina to peak now but get a second burst in December and January before moving to a…

How much should an hour of electricity cost?
About 3 PM Monday, May 12, a substation equipment failure knocked out power in Cumberland, MD, and Mineral County, WV. It wasn’t until 4 PM that Potomac Edison sent repair crews to the scene. And it wasn’t until 7 PM – four hours later – that all 3,000 customers who’d been without electricity got it…