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Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about what they do.

Install or repair solar energy systems designed to collect, store, and circulate solar-heated water for residential, commercial or industrial use.

Related: Heating, Air Conditioning, & Refrigeration Mechanics & Installers Insulation Workers, Floor, Ceiling, & Wall Insulation Workers, Mechanical Solar Energy Systems Engineers Solar Photovoltaic Installers

Industries: Construction

Summary
Details

Apply ultraviolet radiation protection to prevent degradation of plumbing.
Connect water heaters and storage tanks to power and water sources.
Identify plumbing, electrical, environmental, or safety hazards associated with solar thermal installations.
Design active direct or indirect, passive direct or indirect, or pool solar systems.
Perform routine maintenance or repairs to restore solar thermal systems to baseline operating conditions.
Determine locations for installing solar subsystem components, including piping, water heaters, valves, and ancillary equipment.
Install solar thermal system controllers and sensors.
Cut, miter, and glue piping insulation to insulate plumbing pipes and fittings.
Test operation or functionality of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and control systems.
Demonstrate start-up, shut-down, maintenance, diagnostic, and safety procedures to thermal system owners.
Install monitoring system components, such as flow meters, temperature gauges, and pressure gauges, according to system design and manufacturer specifications.
Install heat exchangers and heat exchanger fluids according to installation manuals and schematics.
Assess collector sites to ensure structural integrity of potential mounting surfaces or the best orientation and tilt for solar collectors.
Install solar collector mounting devices on tile, asphalt, shingle, or built-up gravel roofs, using appropriate materials and penetration methods.
Cut, miter, and glue piping insulation to insulate plumbing pipes and fittings.
Install copper or plastic plumbing using pipes, fittings, pipe cutters, acetylene torches, solder, wire brushes, sand cloths, flux, plastic pipe cleaners, or plastic glue.
Test operation or functionality of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and control systems.
Fill water tanks and check tanks, pipes, and fittings for leaks.
Install circulating pumps using pipe, fittings, soldering equipment, electrical supplies, and hand tools.
Test operation or functionality of mechanical, plumbing, electrical, and control systems.
Fill water tanks and check tanks, pipes, and fittings for leaks.
Apply operation or identification tags or labels to system components, as required.
Apply weather seal, such as pipe flashings and sealants, to roof penetrations and structural devices.
Install plumbing, such as dip tubes, port fittings, drain tank valves, pressure temperature relief valves, or tanks, according to manufacturer specifications and building codes.
Cut, miter, and glue piping insulation to insulate plumbing pipes and fittings.
Install flat-plat, evacuated glass, or concentrating solar collectors on mounting devices, using brackets or struts.

Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.

Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.

Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition, and grammar.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

High school diploma or equivalent

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

Apprenticeship

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

79070/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

38.02/hr

Currently Employed

13,120

Yearly Projected Openings

1320

Realistic: People interested in this work like activities that include practical, hands-on problems and solutions. They do well at jobs that need:

Attention to Detail
Dependability
Integrity
Cooperation
Adaptability/Flexibility
Analytical Thinking

Adjustable widemouth pliers
Adjustable wrenches
Blow torch
Caulking guns
Claw hammer
Desktop computers
Diagonal cut pliers
Digital camcorders or video cameras
Drill bit set
Forklifts
Front end loaders
Geological compasses
Global positioning system GPS receiver
Hacksaw
Handheld refractometers or polarimeters
Hole saws
Hydraulic pumps
Ladders
Levels
Locking pliers
Masks or accessories
Minivans or vans
Multimeters
Needlenose pliers
Notebook computers
Ohmmeters
Personal computers
Pipe or tube cutter
Pipe wrenches
Pitch measuring instruments
Pocket calculator
Portable data input terminals
Positive displacement pumps
Power drills
Power saws
Protective gloves
Protractors
Pry bars
Putty knives
Round file
Safety glasses
Safety harnesses or belts
Screwdrivers
Socket sets
Solar radiation surface observing apparatus
Soldering iron
Stud finders
Tape measures
Threading taps
Tinners snips
Trenching machines
Tube bending machine
Utility knives
Water hoses
Wire cutters
Wire lug crimping tool

Calendar and scheduling software
Computer aided design CAD software
Computer aided manufacturing CAM software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Development environment software
Electronic mail software
Graphics or photo imaging software
Object or component oriented development software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Word processing software

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Solar Thermal Installers and Technicians

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