How to Boost Your Income in the Solar Industry During the COVID-19 Crisis

“Get educated and work from home during COVID,” says Sean White, instructor of HeatSpring’s 30-Hour NABCEP Advanced PV Certification Training and CEUs.

With HeatSpring’s courses, solar installers can get off the roof and start working from home, says White, the author of numerous books about solar energy. He was the 2014 Interstate Renewable Energy Council Trainer of the Year.

HeatSpring Graduates Busy and Working

“The people who are educated and took our classes are busy and working,” he says. “They don’t need an office, they can work from home.”

If they’re not installing solar on roofs, they’re less likely to hurt their backs or get too much exposure to the sun. “They can get a job that pays four times as much. With our classes, they work their way off the roof to the computer,” says White.

Earning a NABCEP Certification can help a lot as well, in a recent survey 70% of HeatSpring students ended up increasing their salary after earning NABCEP certification. White’s courses can help make that goal a reality, 86% of past students who took the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification exam said they thought the HeatSpring course helped improve their score and 91% earned a passing score.

Solar industry members who have taken White’s and other HeatSpring courses can manage crews, or do sales, for example.

“Sales is a pretty easy job to do from home, it’s flexible, you’re not required to be in person,” he says.

Getting Educated and Working From Home

Other options for working from home include doing design work or focusing on interconnection, financing, permit packages and making executive decisions.

To help solar industry members move forward in this way, White offers the 30-hour NABCEP Advanced PV Certification Training and CEUs course, among others. The course is for busy people who must complete 30 hours of continuing education to renew their NABCEP Advanced PV Certifications, which is required every three years. This year, the continuing education requirement for the PV Installation Professional certification increased from 18 hours every three years to 30 hours every three years.

The course also helps industry members who have NABCEP’s PV Associate Credential fulfill all of their continuing education requirements. The course provides students with access to a 70-question practice exam and White’s lecture videos. Over 97% of students who took the PV Associate exam after taking White’s course have passed. The exam, like all NABCEP PV exams, can now be taken an home on your own computer via Live Online Proctoring.

People can enroll in the course on demand, start it immediately and finish it quickly to fulfill all of their NABCEP CE requirements.

White’s 40-Hour Advanced PV Certification Training and CEUs course, on the other hand, is the training required for the NABCEP PV Installation Professional Certification Exam, and includes 40 hours of continuing education.

Should You Take the 40-Hour or 30-Hour Course?

“Usually, when people take the 40-hour course, their goal is to pass an exam,” White explains. Students taking the 30-hour course often don’t have time for the 40 hours of continuing education.

Busy students in the 30-hour course may be able to “do a marathon” to quickly finish the course, he says.

Students in both the 30-hour and 40-hour course also gain the benefit of input from Bill Brooks, a solar legend who helped White create the videos in the courses.

Solar Legend Contributes to HeatSpring Course

“He’s pretty famous,” says White. Brooks has helped write portions of the National Electrical Code (NEC) and has participated in code-making panels. In White’s 30-hour course, Brooks addresses the NEC and building and fire codes. He talks about solar panel setbacks, which vary depending on the state. 

Overall, White’s 30-hour course is a quick and pain-free way to complete required continuing education requirements.

“It’s the most painless way to get your 30 hours because you can start the class immediately and it’s very easy to finish quickly,” says White.

Leading Organizations Choose HeatSpring

See why leading organizations like the U.S. Department of Energy Solar Energy Technologies Office choose HeatSpring for Groups as their destination for team learning.