NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (Solar PV) course ()

This Solar Photovoltaic course is open to anyone wishing to gain further skills in the design, installation, commissioning of Solar PV systems - however **only a registered full scope electrician must make the final grid connections and testing before the system goes live.  Therefore to achieve the full installers certificate on this course, candidates must hold a Part P Full Scope and 17th Edition Wiring Regulations qualification..  We offer the Bpec Part P Full Scope Electrical course and the City & Guilds 17th Edition Wiring Regulations course which will provide the qualifications required to achieve the full installation certificate and assessments.

The course will cover:

• Environmental background
• Different types of solar PV technology
• Design and specification of solar PV systems
• Commissioning and testing systems
• Maintenance of solar PV systems
• Government FITS and funding bodies

The PV course covers the majority of small scale Solar Photovoltaic systems currently installed within the British Isles.  It will also cover information required to design, install, commission, service and fault find.  It is not intended to cover every aspect of every possible scenario.  It will also not cover areas that form part of the main prerequisites. PPL work with Solar PV installation companies such as SolarPanels4U and can offer candidates work experience in PV, if required, subject to availability.

The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) have announced a review of the feed in tariffs for solar PV down to 21p/KW for domestic retrofit installs (from December 12th 2011). There is currently much protest within the solar PV industry about these change to the PV feed in tariffs. To put it in prospective you (the PV installer) can buy a 4KW complete system for around £5K, the solar PV installation takes 2 days (3 persons) and you charge the consumer around £9K for the solar PV system (inc VAT @ 5%), this still gives the consumer around £900 pa tax free (Feed in Tariffs and the use of generated electricity) for 23 years linked to inflation i.e. a return of 10% tax free! and you the installer gets £3.5K gross profit after paying for the kit - so there is still very good money to be made in PV, even at 21p /KW feed in.

We provide the following manual to use whilst on your course: Planning and Installing Photovoltaic Systems: A Guide for Installers, Architects and Engineers (Planning and Installing Series). 

You can purchase a copy of this manual from our shop - please click here for more details.

The installation of Solar PV will naturally involve working at heights and the manual handling of potentially heavy equipment.  It is for that reason that NICEIC, the certification body, has included the prerequisite qualifications of NICEIC Working at Heights, NICEIC Manual Handling and NICEIC CoSHH.  This can be taken as assessment only (free of charge as part of the 3 day package) or a separate one day training and assessment session.  If you do not hold the NICEIC Working at Heights and Manual Handling qualifications, please contact our booking department on 01904 870486 to discuss your needs.

NEWSFLASH - Proposed changes from April 2012 mean properties MUST have a Energy Assessment carried out to qualify for the Feed in Tariffs - you must use a qualified and registered Domestic or Commercial Energy Assessor OR gain the qualification yourself and register. This is a 6 day course with PPL please click here

For further information on the Energy Peformance Certificate / DEA please follow the link.

** for full NICEIC Solar PV certification, candidates must possess a Part P Full Scope qualification and 17th edition wiring regulations as a minimum.

Non-electricians can sit the non-installers version of this solar pv training course for £510 + VAT, please call to book your place.

The PPL MCS Quality Assurance Training and Manual course gives a step by step guide to attaining the MCS standard - (an independent scheme that gives a mark of competency demonstrating that you can install to the highest quality). In addition to gaining knowledge of the processes involved in setting up a Quality Management System, delegates are also supplied with all relevant templates, files and technical specifications needed to comply with the requirements of the MCS Scheme.  Please follow the above link to find out more about MCS.

NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course theory overview:

The theory content of this solar pv course covers the following topics:

• Solar PV course Outline
• MCS & CPS
• Environmental Technologies Available
• Different types of Solar PV Technology
• On-grid and Off-grid systems
• Commissioning and testing systems
• Government grants, funding bodies
• Energy assessment requirements from April 2012

For further information on this NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course, please view the practical overview tab.

NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course practical overview:

The practical content of this course covers the following topics:

• Assessment - covering On and Off grid installations
• Practical Assessment Workbooks
• Oral Questions
• Knowledge and Understanding (underpinning knowledge)

For further information on this NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Course, please view the FAQs tab.

NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course Frequently Asked Questions:

Key course facts:

Course times: 9am to 4.30pm 
Course duration: 3 days
Payment: £200 Deposit with balance in first day of course 

Q - Do I need any qualifications to attend this course?

A - To obtain the NICEIC certification for this course, you must hold the following pre-requisite qualifications:

• Part P (Full Scope)
• 17th Edition Wiring Regulations (Full Scope)
• NICEIC Working at Heights
• NICEIC Manual Handling

Q - What if I don't hold some or all of the above qualifications?

A: If you wish to obtain the NICEIC certification for this course, you will need to obtain these qualifications.  These are all available through PPL.  Alternatively, should you prefer to sit this course as a Solar PV Awareness course, you can do this for £510 + VAT where you will just receive a Certificate of Attendance instead.

Q - What if I hold an equivalent Working at Heights or Manual Handling qualification that is not through NICEIC ?

A - NICEIC stipulate that in order to obtain the certification on this course, candidates must hold the NICEIC  Health & Safety qualification.  If you hold an equivalent qualification, you can take an assessment only (Free of charge as part of the 3 day PV course) or a separate 1 day training and assessment course.

Q - What are the course times?

A - 9am to about 4.30pm with an hour for lunch

Q - How much deposit is required?

A - £200

Q- How do I get more information about the NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course?

A - Call us on 0845 2600 966 or request a brochure pack

Q- How do I book a place on the NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) course?

A - Book online for your chosen date or call us on 0845 2600 966.

Q - Do you have other training centres offering the NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Course?

A - Yes, we run this course regularly at York, but also have training sessions at Reading, Birmingham, Wigan, Sunderland, London.

Q- Where do people come from to take this NICEIC Solar Photovoltaic (PV) Course?

A - We train people from all over the UK for the Part P course; York, Leeds, Newcastle, Barnsley, Hull, Sheffield, Manchester, Scunthorpe, Nottingham, Chesterfield, Stockport, Liverpool, Bolton, Oldham, Warrington, Huddersfield, Dewsbury, Halifax, Harrogate, Derby, Middlesbrough, Sunderland, Darlington, Rotherham, Doncaster, Nottingham, Yorkshire, North Yorkshire, West Yorkshire, South Yorkshire, East Yorkshire, Humberside, Grimsby, Cleveland, Lancashire, Lincolnshire, Lincoln, Cumbria, Derbyshire, Northern England, Midlands, Birmingham, West Midlands; they come from national plumbing and heating companies, self-employed plumbers, builders, gas engineers, solar electrical engineers and renewable energy engineers, London, South East, Bristol, Birmingham, UK.

For more general frequently asked questions please see our main FAQ page.