Get Your Hands on Solar

Get plugged in to the exciting realities of photovoltaics, whether just to learn the basics or maybe to find a new career.

August/September 2003
By Laurie Guevara-Stone 
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Participants in a Solar Energy International photovoltaic workshop wire up some PV modules.
SOLAR ENERGY INTERNATIONAL
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Consider signing up for an online introductory course if you are new to renewable energy. You simply pay the course fee, log on and learn at your leisure. Most online courses provide discussion forums and downloadable text; some, like SoL Energy of Carbondale, Colorado, include solar sizing-and-design software. Expect to pay from $150 for an online overview of photovoltaic (PV) systems to $500 for a comprehensive online class on system design and installation. Course duration can span from several weeks to many months, depending upon the course requirements and your motivation. This chart highlights various groups that offer online introductory courses.

If you're planning to install your own solar power system or explore a possible career installing or selling solar, get hands-on training. Wiring together PV modules, raising wind towers and programming inverters is the best way to learn the trade.

You may be able to master the basics of designing and installing a home PV system in a matter of days if you're mechanically inclined and a quick study, although the more practice you have, the better.

Several organizations conduct weekend-long classes on PV systems. Besides learning about solar, participants who attend the Solar Living Institute's (SLI) one- and two-day workshops in Hopland, California, get to experience renewable energy firsthand. SLI's beautiful 12-acre renewable-energy powered and permaculture-landscaped campus features a small 3-kilowatt wind generator and 10-kilowatts of solar power. The Midwest Renewable Energy Association (MREA), in north central Wisconsin, also holds two-day and longer workshops. Students choose from a multitude of different solar electric workshops tailored to various levels - from beginner to advanced. Many of the workshops are taught in a solar- and wind-powered classroom facility, on 5 acres just outside of Custer. Fees for these short courses start at $150.

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