Electrical industry publishes first PV systems textbook        
BETHESDA, Maryland, USA, July 25, 2007. The first comprehensive guide to the installation of solar energy systems has been released by the associations for electricians and electrical contractors in the United States.

The National Joint Apprenticeship & Training Committee for the Electrical Industry says ‘Photovoltaic Systems’ is a groundbreaking work, and the textbook covers the principles of photovoltaics and how to effectively incorporate it into stand-alone or utility-connected electrical systems. It contains detailed illustrations to clarify the concepts behind PV system operation, and photographs of installations to show how components are integrated to form complete PV systems.

The textbook also has a CD-Rom to provide interactive worksheets, quizzes, calculators, video clips and animated graphics depicting PV principles and operation, as well as links to additional resources. The work is published and available through American Technical Publications.

“Renewable resources such as solar power have become increasingly important, but no authoritative reference to the design, installation and evaluation of photovoltaic systems existed within the industry,” says Todd Stafford of NJATC. “This work is not just the first but the only textbook currently available in the field.”

“The new textbook is the culmination of years of experience, and now stands at the centre of our training, together with other specially developed course materials,” adds Stafford. “Our journeymen come to the course with thousands of hours of experience in wiring and general construction; our course marries those skill sets to the creation of state-of-the-art solar energy systems. It’s the only course of its kind in the industry, and it’s producing the highly skilled workers creating today’s efficient and cost-effective PV systems.”

NJATC is a joint program of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) and the National Electrical Contractors Association (NECA). It has been training journeymen in the design and installation of solar energy systems for the past decade. IBEW and NECA have a joint marketing organisation, the National Labor-Management Cooperation Committee (NLMCC), to help their 750,000 members in the US$100 billion industry.

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