REPV(A): Advanced Design and Installation of Photovoltaic Systems

Instructor Bios

David Del Vecchio has over a decade of design and installation experience in the photovoltaics industry. He earned a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering with Honors from the Georgia Institute of Technology in 1992. He began installing photovoltaics in 1998. He has designed and installed all types of photovoltaic systems from off-grid, stand-alone solar/wind/hydro hybrid systems to straight grid-tied systems with and without batteries.

David became certified by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) as a Certified PV Installer in 2005, the first in North Carolina. David is one of only four IREC ISPQ Master Instructors/ PV on the east coast. Currently David is President of Solar Seed, Inc., a consulting/design company assisting in bringing PV projects from concept through design drawings to installation and commissioning. He is also the lead Design Engineer for CyberBotanics, LLC.

David is a premiere PV trainer in NC, teaching for the NC Solar Center, Central Carolina Community College, and for Solar Energy International based in Colorado.Most recently he has been consulting for larger scale commercial projects, 20kW and above, including the largest rooftop system in NC, 1.3MW for Duke Energy.

Since October 2011, David has been employed as the Senior Engineer for Strata Solar in Chapel Hill. Most work involves design, installation oversight, commissioning and O&M for utility-scale PV farms.

Rebekah Hren will be your instructor for the entire course. Rebekah Hren is a licensed electrical contractor and NABCEP certified solar installer living in Durham, North Carolina. She works as the director of implementation for o2 Energies, a large array developer. Previously she installed and designed photovoltaic systems as the Vice President of Honey Electric Solar, Inc. Rebekah has over thirteen years of experience in green building and renewable energy. She is also a published author; her first book was “The Carbon‐Free Home” and she is currently writing a solar buyers guide for homeowners. Rebekah has been awarded IREC ISPQ Affiliated Instructor Certification for PV including courses in Grid Tied PV, Advanced PV, Women’s PV Design and Installation, and PV Design and Installation. She teaches for the NC Solar Center, Appalachian State University and Solar Energy International, to name a few.