Online Solar Training
Looking for online solar training resources? Look no further…
Below are a few sites to check out, but first I have to plug the Solar Living Institute in Hopland, California because I took one of their On-Site Solar Training Workshops a couple of years ago and it was great. I’m not sure how their online solar training is, but if it’s anything like the on-site classes I’d recommend them any day.
Online Solar Training Websites:
- Solar Living Institute: SLI provides a self-paced online solar course that includes PV Design and Installation at abot $600 for the entire course. The great thing about this course is you can jump ahead or hang back depending on your experience. For instance, electricians might want to skip all of the basic theory stuff on electricity and get right into the practical aspects of designing and installing a photovoltaic system, while someone like me would need to get the basics down first.
- Solar Energy International: has been providing hands-on workshops and online courses since 1991. They partner up with a lot of solar installation companies to provide training for employees, but also have classes for self-employed or unemployed students. Prices vary depending on if you’re with a group/company or as an individual.
- Step Up Education: provides solar classes online that can be completed in as little as 90 days. Prices range from $1,500 to $3,000 and cover everything from PV industry basics to design and installation.
- Allied Schools: has a green jobs training website that offers course-by-course training including – Business of Solar, Introduction to Photovoltaic Systems, and Advanced Principles of Photovoltaic Systems Installation.
- Boots On The Roof: has a very good self-paced online solar training course that takes about 40-60 hours to complete. It doesn’t include certification, but prepares you for future certification tests. This introductory class costs about $1,000.
- Sun Pirate, Inc: has several courses to choose from, including Fundamentals of Solar Water Heating and PV System Design and Installation. The 120-day PV Solar Training Course costs about $600.
Do you have another online solar training provider to add to this list? Please put the name of the company and a description in the comment section below.
We have recently installed a solar and wind system (off-grid) and it’s all running fine. Is there a resource to help me understand what I’m seeing in my Outback/Magnum system? As I watch day-to-day it’s all starting to become more understandable but I would love to know exactly what I’m looking at. Yes we have the manual but it doesn’t have instructions for the number of batteries we have, the fact that we’re also plugged into wind, etc.
Danny,
You might get some help by integrating your system with PV watch: http://www.pvwatch.com . They have lots of cool graphs and charts telling you what’s going on with your system.