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Career Prospects With Green Engineer Training

Would you enjoy helping others to save money and look after the environment? Qualifying as an installer with 'green' certifications will allow you to do that. Whether you want to work in the UK or overseas, you could be installing equipment that saves CO2 consumption and cuts energy bills within months of starting a course. Fuel prices are continuing to rise as gas and oil is steadily running out. Carbon emissions will have to be reduced. Political leaders are striving to guide people towards greater energy efficiency by promoting and incentivising replenishable alternatives.

Those who replace old and poorly performing boilers in the UK can claim subsidies from the government. Moves such as these mean the demand for appropriately certified fitters and installers continues to increase. And so it makes a lot of sense to add some training on renewable energy to any regular electrical or plumbing course you do. Any experienced electricians or plumbers can take short courses in renewable energy solutions.

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What Is Green Technology?

Naturally renewable resources are being converted into usable energy because of developments in 'green' technology. Sunlight, wind, the tides and geothermal heat are all naturally replenishable, and thereby 'Green'.

Windmills and waterwheels have been around for a long time, but modern technology can now take advantage of solar power and geo-thermal energy to power homes and businesses. This is leading to a lot of work for 'Green' electricians.

Energy From The Sun

Solar thermal systems can utilise free heat from the sun to warm up household water. We have a plentiful range of systems to choose from today, as this technology has been developing for many years. They are used in conjunction with conventional boilers or heating systems, and can provide most of the hot water for a UK family throughout the summer months.

If we look at the whole year, roughly fifty per cent of their hot water will come from solar power. Collection equipment comes in the form of the more efficient evacuated tubes, or the perhaps more visually attractive solid flat plates. Installation is quite straightforward - in fact some of the tubular versions can be built whilst actually on the roof.

Another use for solar power is to create electricity. For this, we need photovoltaic or PV panels. When the panels are facing the light, they can generate energy all year round (though obviously the more sun that shines on them the better). PV panels are linked to an inverter that could be installed in the roof space. This solar PV electricity can be used for lighting and for various appliances. Consumers will reduce their electricity bills significantly, as sunlight doesn't cost anything to run.

Obviously savings will start to take effect once the initial cost of the system has been recovered. Equally they can't waste any solar electricity, as the national grid is automatically fed back any electricity that isn't being used. The amount energy suppliers pay for solar electricity has been increased two and three fold in the UK due to government legislation in early 2010. In Britain an average of 850 kWh of electricity a year is generated for every kWp of solar PV installed. Put in perspective, the average household consumes approximately 4,700 kWh a year.

Ground Source Heat Pumps

Solar energy is naturally stored in the ground - in the UK the ground source heat is constantly around 12 degrees centigrade. If land is plentiful the surface ground collector method is used to get the heat out. If it isn't, the borehole collector method is used. Either method requires burying a few hundred metres of plastic piping filled with an eco-friendly liquid. The heat arrives at the connecting heat pump because the solution warms as it flows around. Homes with underfloor heating will notice the biggest benefits that heat pumps can bring. Ground source heat pumps will lower household fuel bills. They need a small amount of electricity to run them, but can produce four or five times as much as they consume.

Training For A 'Green' Career

When you train to work in the green installations industry, you'll pick up a variety of worthwhile skills. You'll be taken through the basics of electrical and plumbing skills in the domestic market, before moving on to specific green technologies. Most courses will also deal with what government assistance is available and how people apply for it. You should acquire the right skills and accreditations to able to work with solar thermal and solar PV systems, and geothermal heat pumps.

However, as technology and the law on environmental construction evolves, so too will training in this sector. Additional options on certain courses could cover biomass, or grey and rainwater harvesting.

Work For Years To Come

Every home being sold in the UK must now have an Energy Performance Certificate which states it's current consumption and advises on ways to become more efficient. Many assessments show huge savings could be made over a period of time if improved systems were installed.

What's more, when householders employ properly accredited installers, they can benefit from generous government grants to help cover the costs of having new systems fitted. And that's not all. In ten years' time the British government aims to be on target for 15 percent of the nation's energy coming from renewables. The time is quickly coming when everyone will be looking for alternative energy solutions for their homes. Demand for skilled installers is about to soar!