A Training Program for Residential Solar Water and Pool Heating Design, Installation and Troubleshooting with Supplemental Sessions on Commercial Systems.

Course Description

This three day course covers the essentials of residential solar system design, installation, troubleshooting and operation procedures for residential water and pool heating. The emphasis is on water heating. This workshop is targeted to contractors, building officials, decision makers, government organizations, practitioners who install solar water heating systems and interested parties. The material will be presented in such a manner that is understood by all.

The course format includes classroom instruction and in component demonstrations.

Topics covered will include

• Solar water heating system applications
• Basic solar fundamentals
• Site determination and selection
• System types
• Choosing a system type
• System sizing options
• System components
• System installation
• Structural considerations
• Commercial solar water heating systems
• System troubleshooting steps
• Solar pool heating
• Safety in the workplace
• Collector and system certification (FSEC and SRCC)
• Certifcation program installation guidelines (FSEC and SRCC)
• System monitoring

What Should You Bring

Attendees should bring a notepad, a simple calculator and pen or pencil. Presentation, reference manual and additional hand-out material will be provided. Dress is casual as there will be outdoor activities.

General Information and Prerequisites

Prerequisites for this course include a fundamental understanding of plumbing materials and methods (i.e., piping, soldering, etc.). Familiarity with basic electrical concepts is also useful (i.e. use of multimeters, etc.).

Workshop Location

This workshop is offered at the Florida Solar Energy Center, 1679 Clearlake Road, Cocoa, FL, located approximately 45 miles east of Orlando International Airport and 3 miles east of I-95. A map, directions and listing of local hotels are available here.

FSEC Training and How It Relates to Installer Certification

Any testing or learning assessment associated with this course should not be confused with national testing and certification offered by NABCEP, or with construction trade licensing offered by state and local jurisdictions. Although some states and municipalities may require that installers receive some form of a certification of completion from a training institution (such as FSEC), these certificates do not provide certification or license of any kind. They are merely intended to recognize successful completion of this training course.

The FSEC Solar Water and Pool Heating Manual is listed as an approved reference standard for the Construction Industries Licensing Board – Solar License. The CILB document reference sheet states that “the answers to the examination questions will be based on the editions listed below (FSEC manual being one of the references). Some of the questions will also be based on field experience and knowledge of trade practices.” For this reason, the FSEC presentation material will be based strictly on the FSEC manual with supplemental material provided as required. In addition, the workshop material also strives to cover the various tasks listed in the national NABCEP Solar Thermal Task Analysis. This course does not provide any type of installer certification. A certificate of completion of this course will be provided. Currently, this course does not offer any continuing education credits.

Registration

The registration fee for this workshop is $600 per person and includes all course materials, lunches and refreshments. Registration for each course is limited to 100 participants. *Payment is required three weeks prior to the scheduled date* In the event that you become registered for a course less than three weeks before the beginning of the course, payment is required immediately. This course is non refundable under any circumstance. However, if you are unable to attend the course for which you originally signed up, we will move your registration to a future course offering once, after that, your registration fee is forfeited.

This course is non refundable. (no exceptions.)

Technical contact
John Harrison
Florida Solar Energy Center
Email John Harrison

Registration contact
Kelly Snavely
Florida Solar Energy Center
Email Kelly Snavely

Please include “Thermal Workshop” in subject line for all email messages.

Date	Location	Price
There are no upcoming offerings of this course.

Workshop Presenters

John DelMar is a Senior Solar Research Engineer with the Florida Solar Energy Center (FSEC) in Cocoa, Fl.  Mr. Del Mar’s is currently working on solar hot water system certifications and thermal modeling, and is involved in projects with the Solar America Board of Codes and Standards (Solar ABCs) and Solar America Cities.  Mr. Del Mar’s primary interests are in the design and modeling of commercial and residential solar thermal systems. Mr. Del Mar has in the past provided engineering consulting and design services to clients including the U.S. Department of Energy, Sandia National Laboratory, Los Alamos National Laboratory, and the National Energy Technology Laboratory.  His experience involved complex CFD modeling and analysis on thermal and hydrologic environments.  Mr. Del Mar also acted as a test engineer for several testing programs.

Bill Guiney is the Program Manager for Renewable Energy Solutions at Johnson Controls, Inc. His areas of responsibility include both photovoltaics and solar thermal technologies. Mr. Guiney has 27-years of experience in the solar industry as a contractor, educator, distributor and manufacturer. Mr. Guiney has provided Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency training programs and currently is an instructor for solar thermal energy systems at the North Carolina and Florida Solar Energy Centers. Bill is on the solar thermal technical committee of the North American Board of Certified Energy Professionals (NABCEP) and provides the Solar Thermal Exam preparation training for the Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).

John Harrison is currently a Senior Research Analyst at the Florida Solar Energy Center. He has been employed at the Florida Solar Energy Center since 1980. He has managed a variety of solar programs at FSEC. These include solar implementation, educational development, solar product certification and system monitoring. Mr. Harrison has also been responsible for directing the activities of the FSEC solar system certification programs as well as numerous other solar and energy related projects and programs. He also provides technical assistance to the national Solar Rating & Certification Corporation (SRCC) in the development of training programs and ancillary SRCC activities. He has provided solar system installation consulting and training to numerous Florida, national and international organizations. Mr. Harrison has published numerous articles, documents, and manuals related to solar water heating.

Henry Healey is a professional engineer, general contractor, and educator with extensive experience in the application of commercial and industrial solar systems. Mr. Healey has been responsible for the design and refurbishment of numerous successful solar projects covering the spectrum of solar technologies including active, passive, heating, cooling, solar electric (wind and photovoltaic) and biomass applications. Healey assisted in the development ASHRAE’s commercial solar publications Active Solar Heating Systems Design Manual, Active Solar Heating Systems Installation Manual and Guide for Preparing Active Solar Heating Systems Operation and Maintenance Manual. Mr. Healey routinely provides design, consulting and training services related to the development and installation of commercial solar applications. He has provided solar training and assisted in the development of training and O&M materials for numerous Educational and Professional organizations and including ASHRAE, NREL, FSEC, and the UN.

Colleen Kettles is the Executive Director of the Florida Solar Energy Research and Education Foundation.  She formerly served as the Associate General Counsel and Director of Institutional Affairs for the Florida Solar Energy Center.  Colleen has more than 30 years of legal and policy research, program development and implementation in the field of solar energy and energy efficiency.  Colleen has also served as a contractor to the Florida Energy Office, Florida Solar Energy Center, National Renewable Energy Laboratory and Department of Energy.  She has provided policy analysis for issues before the Florida Public Service Commission and committees of the Florida Legislature on matters related to solar energy.  She has published and presented numerous papers on the range of issues dealing with solar energy and energy efficiency policy.  Colleen is a graduate of the University of Florida College of Law and is a member of the Florida Bar and the American Bar Association.  She serves on the board of directors of the Florida Solar Energy Industries Association and the Florida Renewable Energy Association, and was a founding director of the Florida Green Building Coalition.