Solar Education

Looking back on the first week of class

I’m just now sitting down today to do my blog post.  Today is Friday but it’s been a busy day!  We did our recycling trip and had a wonderful lunch out, then did some water system maintenance and filled some orders.  I’ve been slow to get to my blog posts this week because I’ve been staying pretty busy with things.  For example, I have my Electrical Wiring book to study.  I have my notes from Basic Wiring class to study.  I have orders to do maybe 2-3 times a day.  There are meal times that take up some time, errands to run, and other household things that need doing. I get a nap for 2 hours a day, which is much needed in the early afternoon so I can make it into the evening. During my free time, I like to use my iPad to surf the web, and that probably takes up at least an hour a day, maybe two.  So I stay pretty busy during the day.

Thinking ahead to Solar Technology

But right now, as I sit at my iPad, I am developing some warm thoughts about my upcoming Solar Technology class.  I’m really waiting for that class to start.  It won’t start until February 7, which is 24 days away.  Basic Wiring is nice, but we won’t get to cover anything directly related to solar energy in that class.  The focus is primarily on residential wiring.  It is lots of useful and practical information that electricians working on houses will have to know all the time, but I want to know how to install and wire up solar panels.  The closest I think I will get is wiring up a cable to a service panel, which will be necessary to do in order to install inverters and AC disconnects. Read more…

First day at Durham Tech

Yesterday I had my first class at Durham Tech. I got up at 6 AM sharp, then got ready to leave around 6:45. It wasn’t too hard to get ready to go at all, since I had practiced it a number of times. And although I had only tried the drive to Durham Tech’s main campus once, I made it today taking a new route just fine. I went down a road that was much less traveled for about half the time, then took Highway 147 the other half of the time. I got to campus at 7:15, and secured the third parking spot in front of the building.

I walked inside, and the classroom was still closed. I next checked out the lounge for internet access, which was very easy to find. I sent my husband an email to test out my connection. I didn’t stick around too many minutes; about the time that I was getting ready to leave another person walked in and asked if that was the student lounge. I said yes, and went on my way. Little did I know that he was one of the students who would soon be in my class.

The classroom door finally opened a few minutes later, but nobody was inside. There were 2 people outside though, probably waiting to go in. I went inside and took some pictures of the class because of all the interesting equipment that was laying around. Read more…

Last day before school

Well, it looks like this is the last day I will have to wait before I go back to school! I’ve been reading through my textbook for Basic Wiring I, and I’ve downloaded a copy of the NABCEP PV Installer study guide to my new iPad to study in my free time (it has more content than the NABCEP entry level exam, which is the one I will be taking, but it won’t hurt to know the extra information especially when I might be taking the NABCEP PV Installer exam someday).

I decided to try a new route to school tomorrow, and leave 30 minutes earlier than i did last time to avoid the sun shining in my eyes while driving. It will take me through a less-traveled portion of town initially, then output me right onto Highway 147.

Class will start bright and early at 8 AM tomorrow, and last until 11:35. I’m excited – we’ll see how it goes!

My first trip to Durham Tech’s main campus

More than enough excitement for the day

Today was the most tiring day in a while. I woke up at 6:35, left around 7:15, and took 25 minutes to get to Durham Tech’s main campus in a drive that just fell short of harrowing at times. The traffic was not any heavier than usual, but what made it so difficult was having to adjust to the changing light conditions at first. Then came the full blazing sun, shining right in my eyes for long stretches of time while I was traveling 55 mph on Highway 147.

I could barely see ahead of me, not to mention the cars coming in from the side, or the lines marking which lane I was in. I had maybe about 1 second of visibility in front of me at any one time while I was facing the sun directly. It’s quite a demand to place on my poorly functioning processors so early in the morning. Needless to say, afterwards I was quite run down. I didn’t regain my energy until 11:30 this morning, well after I had gotten back from Durham Tech and stopped to run a few errands.

Still looking on the bright side

Although I was wiped out by my early morning drive, it has not greatly impacted my excitement at being able to take my Basic Wiring class. I will just have to leave earlier in the morning (about half an hour earlier, I’m thinking) so the sun won’t have risen above the horizon yet. Then I will be one of the first cars on campus, and can claim my parking space right beside the front door. Read more…

New textbook for first class 6 days from now

I’m finding it imperative that I do my blogging at my first sign of quality free time. Tonight I finished my orders at 8:15, and I immediately ran upstairs to my computer. I have to go to bed on time tonight because tomorrow morning I’m making my first dry run of my morning trip to Durham Tech’s main campus. It’s January 4, and class starts bright and early at 8 AM on January 10.

My textbook for Basic Wiring I arrived promptly this morning. It’s Electrical Wiring Residential, 17th Edition by Ray Mullin and Phil Simmons. We ordered it yesterday from Construction Book Express and because they were based in South Carolina, I got my book today! I’ve been carrying it around everywhere so I can get a chance to read it when I find bits of free time. I showed my husband the table of contents so he could see how useful the knowledge was that I would be learning this semester.

The textbook is based on the 2011 National Electrical Code (NEC), which is like the bible for electricians – anything you need to know about proper safety and electrical installation, you can reference it in the NEC by article number.  The textbook has all kinds of useful information like how many conductors can fit in a box, calculating voltage drops, understanding electrical symbols, how to wire all the different rooms in a house, and of course the all-important section on electrical safety, which is absolutely important so I can ensure that I’m physically able (like being alive) so I can keep working with electricity. There’s nothing worse than getting to enjoy one’s work one moment and then pzzzzt… Read more…

Calculating when I’ll be doing my Durham Tech co-op

I have calculated that I will very likely be able to do my co-op during spring semester 2012, which will be exactly 1 year and 22 days from now if spring semester 2012 starts on the same day as spring semester 2011. That’s a year and 22 days before I get to work at an actual job!

I’ve placed my calculations below, with the number of credit hours in parentheses. I need 39 credit hours to graduate.

Taking this semester:
ELC 113 Basic Wiring I (4)

I get transfer credit for the following courses:
CIS 110 Introduction to Computers (3)
MAT 121 Algebra/Trigonometry I (3)
ENG 111 Expository Writing (3)

after taking Solar Technology (continuing education), pass the NABCEP entry-level exam to get credit for ALT 220 Photovoltaic Systems Technology (3)

Total after this semester: 16 hours Read more…

Starting Spring 2011 at Durham Tech

Today was a breakthrough day as far as my solar education was concerned.  I called the operations director at about 10:30 this morning just like he told me if I hadn’t received my PIN number for course registration yet.  He got back with me at 2 PM this afternoon, and we set an appointment for 3 PM (my husband and I were having a late lunch and visitors simultaneously).

I drove over to the Orange County Campus (OCC) for the second time ever starting at around 2:30, and got there right on time.  It’s only a 20 minute drive from where I live, and I checked the odometer upon arrival: 12.4 miles one way.  I walked in, and there was a different receptionist this time.  I said I was there to see the operations director again, and she sent me over to his office.

Having my advising session

There, we had a brief advising session where he took a look at my transcripts from Duke and UNC, and said I would be getting credit for three courses.  That’s 3 that I don’t have to take, which will lower the cost of my education.  Unfortunately, those were most of the ones offered during spring semester, so there was only one other class I could take.  Fortunately, it was Basic Wiring I which will give me a huge start on the electrical knowledge I will need to work in the solar field.  Unfortunately, Basic Wiring I meets at 8 in the morning, but fortunately that’s only the case twice a week (Monday and Wednesday), and it lasts until 11:35 AM because of the lab component in addition to the lecture class.  I will be immersed in wiring knowledge – that’s guaranteed given the 3-hour lab each day. Read more…

Preparing for the Renewable Energy Diploma

Today I asked my husband what he thought about me going back to school and doing the Renewable Energy Diploma at Durham Tech.  I mentioned what I had learned the other day while I was there, and how excited I was about the program.  He was excited that I was so excited, and saw it as a good investment to make for the future.  So it looks like I will be doing the Renewable Energy Diploma this fall (or maybe even this spring, if I can get courses taken!).

Measuring my level of excitement

I haven’t touched my physics since really getting into solar power.  If you know me, then you know nothing stops me from thinking about physics all day.  Except for this…I think it’s become a practical replacement for an otherwise theoretical line of work.  I’ve been thinking to myself that if there’s any subject that can possibly be exciting enough to replace theoretical physics, it must be good for me.  Solar is still physics in a way; when I look at solar panels I am fascinated by the way they can convert light to electricity.  All that light has to travel 93 million miles, which is 8 light minutes to get to that panel.  Then it has enough energy to knock electrons across their semiconductor band gap, and electricity is made.

About the Program: Plan of Study

I have here in my hand the Plan of Study for the Renewable Energy Diploma.  The receptionist at the Orange County Campus (OCC) gave it to me while I was visiting this week. Now from what I learned after meeting with the operations director, it didn’t matter when I took some of the courses.  So theoretically I could start this spring! Read more…

Applied to Durham Tech’s Solar Technology Course

It took me a while, but yesterday I went to Durham Tech’s Orange County campus and completed my application for the Solar Technology course.  The two people I spoke with were enormously helpful, and I ended up submitting my application as a visiting student also – to get my foot in the door for the fall semester.  So today, I’ll write about my experiences at the campus, some information about the programs offered, my consideration of the Renewable Energy diploma, and then some thoughts toward the future of solar power.

The Campus

The Orange County campus building is absolutely beautiful.  It was more than I had expected it to be, and I already had high expectations from what I had read on Durham Tech’s website.  Once you turn off Highway 86 onto Waterstone Drive, you’re on a big but otherwise empty road through forested and open parkland until you drive around a gentle curve, and there before you the building emerges up on a hill.  Approach the building from the other direction (Old Highway 86) and you see the very front of the building, decked outside with its triple array of solar panels.

The building is a green building, with lots of natural skylight indoors.  There is also an expansive park-and-ride lot to enable easy public transportation to and from the building.  The parking lots themselves were also expansive compared to the number of cars that were actually there that day; I’m sure there will be more in the future as more students sign up for the Sustainable Technologies program.   Read more…

Solar Technology at Durham Tech

Last night I went through the Continuing Education magazine that Durham Technical Community College sent to my mailbox.  I’d been getting these schedules for a long time, in addition to other material since about the time I left UNC with my master’s in ecology.  I had already become familiar with Durham Tech’s website as well as their Sustainability Technologies program well before I opened yesterday’s magazine, since I had really been thinking about doing the Renewable Energy diploma.  It was going to be a long wait until fall semester 2011 though, for the diploma program to open up.

So it was really exciting to see the Solar Technology course in the Continuing Education magazine.  It will be on M, T, and Th from 6-9:30 pm from February 7-May 17, 2011.   I’m very much thinking about signing up; it leaves my days open in case I did get a job, and if I don’t, it will give me something good to do with my days until the Renewable Energy diploma program opens up in fall 2011.

The course teaches students a basic understanding of the terms and operational aspects of a photovoltaic (PV) system.  Students prepare to take the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV entry-level exam and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) exam.  The book “Photovoltaic Design and Installation Manual by Solar Energy International” is the required textbook, and the course is 150 hours long.  Durham Tech also awards credit for ALT 220 – Photovoltaic Systems Technology, a Sustainability Technologies curriculum course at Durham Tech, for students that successfully pass the NABCEP entry-level exam.