New member needs advice

[PRplumb82]

CES - sorry forgot to reply, Thanks very much for the advise.. yeah i wont be signing my own work off for a little while yet, my company wont let me sign my own stuff off on their ticket, so for the moment il only be signing work of i do for my company which isnt alot.. so i am gonna look in to getting my own ticket in about 6 months then il be able to fit appliances and sign them off myself. I also already have public liaibility ins..

 

[unguided1]

thanks for feed back lads, dunno why your shocked unguided1 you obviously didnt understand my question, i have recently moved to a new company, the company i now work for rarely does gas work we pretty much only install reniewables, ive trained to become a gas engineer at my former company finally passed my acs and now im not really working on or installing gas appliances ect, i was just seeing what you experienced guys thought and if u thought it was a good move, thats all...

and fuzzy i dont get what your trying to say.. when i was training to become a gas engineer gathering my evidence for acs portfolio i fitted several boilers but i always has a supervising gas safe engineer on site to check over work i had done and sign off the installations for the company i was working for..hope this answers your question

Hi PRplumb82

Yes I did fully understand your question but the point I am making is why should you be forced to choose between gas and renewables you should be able to do both, I understand why, its the physical overall cost that is forcing you to specialise. Now this is not too bad at the moment as you are working for a company and they will be paying for it all but what if in the future you want to go out on your own.

and as for the actual question you asked the government are promoting renewables because if they do not meet their targets by a certain date the UK will be fined by europe so renewables are well worth doing.

 

[tm plumbing]

thanks for feed back lads, dunno why your shocked unguided1 you obviously didnt understand my question, i have recently moved to a new company, the company i now work for rarely does gas work we pretty much only install reniewables, ive trained to become a gas engineer at my former company finally passed my acs and now im not really working on or installing gas appliances ect, i was just seeing what you experienced guys thought and if u thought it was a good move, thats all...

and fuzzy i dont get what your trying to say.. when i was training to become a gas engineer gathering my evidence for acs portfolio i fitted several boilers but i always has a supervising gas safe engineer on site to check over work i had done and sign off the installations for the company i was working for..hope this answers your question

Well done PRplumb82 on passing your acs. my advice would be keep working with your renewable company and see if you can get your solar thermal cert & your heat pumps certs.gain some experience in this field then set up your own company to cover all services,(gas & renewables) who knows you might even be able to sub contract some work from your current employers when you go it alone.
Thats what i,d do as the gas/plumbing industry is not a huge earner at the mo,and staying put for now lets you learn & earn til your ready.

Hope this helps & good luck.

Trev TM Plumbing

 

[fuzzy]

get you now trev, good luck

 

[Kimou]

Hi PRplumb82

and as for the actual question you asked the government are promoting renewables because if they do not meet their targets by a certain date the UK will be fined by europe so renewables are well worth doing.

Is that the 2020 40% commitment? There was the Cancun summit last year when their was talk about the so called fifth fuel, energy you don't use. i.e; insulation, behavioural usage of energy etc. They reckon 10-20% is easily achievable.
I think there has to be some lax in the renewable market so trained plumbers can get piece of the pie. It's the only logical reason for allowing so many new plumbers released into the fray. Cost of PV is coming down fast. Once the gov't starts gettig fined, then they'll take the monopoly away form the big guns or at the very least make it competitve for small businesses. And then we'll all be rolling in it.

 

[unguided1]

Is that the 2020 40% commitment? There was the Cancun summit last year when their was talk about the so called fifth fuel, energy you don't use. i.e; insulation, behavioural usage of energy etc. They reckon 10-20% is easily achievable.
I think there has to be some lax in the renewable market so trained plumbers can get piece of the pie. It's the only logical reason for allowing so many new plumbers released into the fray. Cost of PV is coming down fast. Once the gov't starts gettig fined, then they'll take the monopoly away form the big guns or at the very least make it competitve for small businesses. And then we'll all be rolling in it.

Thats the one and when you go on the electricians forum they appear to be far in advance of us with talk of PV whereas here on the plumbing forum we appear to be extremly slow on the uptake and I blame the fact that our industry is being further splintered by the creation of another expensive and beuracratic regulatory body

 

[Kimou]

I'm not sure, but perhaps they're more advanced due to the stringent statutory laws that came into force. And they've claimed back their industry. We have laws but mainly in gas. And the domestic plumbing goes largely unchecked.
There is a fusion of the trades to be had here. Once it really kicks off they'll be as common as televisions in households. And possibly some legislation will only make the feed-in tariff plausible if it's installed by qualified installers. Like the MCS but without the unaffordable price tag. There was a time when we only had overpriced BT now look. I think it's down to the big boys having first dibs to set up there name and claim massive revenue, then it'll filter down through some loop-hole or pressure group.

 

[Kimou]

There may be the opinion that PV is less obtrusive. As it's only panels and cables, not much has to be done for the install? Running pipes for thermal store or digging massive shafts in your garden is not so appealing along with the uncertainties and debates going on.

 

[unguided1]

or may be its just down to the fact that there is more money to be made from a typical PV install

 

[northcarr]

I did my solar thermal 4yrs ago i thought it was the right thing to do as the goverment were supposed to be forcing new build developments,to have a percentage of renewables fitted that did't happen.To date only managed to do 1 i do think that it is starting to happen at last, but as always with this industry mcs the new corgi to much pappework to much cost for the small trader.I agree with others we need one voice only in this industry :crazy:

 

[Rosie @ CAT]

Hi all,

Good to hear so much support for going into renewables. It is definitely the right area to be in at the mo. With the Green Deal, Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed In Tariffs coming in this year there has been a surge in demand for renewables. This surge is also leading to a surge in demand for qualified, experience installers.

At CAT we can offer you training in renewable technologies to meet the skills demand. We have courses in solar PV, solar thermal, biomass and heat pumps all accredited by C&G, BPEC and the Energy Institute for a full listing please see our online brochure:
CAT Short Courses

We have an incomparible 35 years experience in renewables and working examples of solar PV, solar hot water, CHP & biomass on site, with a full 'mock roof' for use in practicals.

We are currently offering members of the UK Plumbers Forum 15% off our BPEC Solar Hot Water course running from 31st July - 4th August.

To book or for more info please contact [email protected] or 01654 705 952

 

[unguided1]

Hi all,

Good to hear so much support for going into renewables. It is definitely the right area to be in at the mo. With the Green Deal, Renewable Heat Incentive and Feed In Tariffs coming in this year there has been a surge in demand for renewables. This surge is also leading to a surge in demand for qualified, experience installers.

At CAT we can offer you training in renewable technologies to meet the skills demand. We have courses in solar PV, solar thermal, biomass and heat pumps all accredited by C&G, BPEC and the Energy Institute for a full listing please see our online brochure:
CAT Short Courses

We have an incomparible 35 years experience in renewables and working examples of solar PV, solar hot water, CHP & biomass on site, with a full 'mock roof' for use in practicals.

We are currently offering members of the UK Plumbers Forum 15% off our BPEC Solar Hot Water course running from 31st July - 4th August.

To book or for more info please contact [email protected] or 01654 705 952

Hi Rosie

Dont you think it would be more polite to be a UKPF sponsor rather than turning up like a bad smell touting yer wares