City of Madison – Contractor Licensing

Although the State of Wisconsin does not have any specific laws for contractors dealing with renewable energy, the City of Madison has issued rules for contractor licensing and equipment standards for solar thermal installations. In the City’s Heating, Ventilating and Air Conditioning Code is a requirement for a Class A-4 license for “a person desiring to enter into the business of installing, altering or repairing active solar heating equipment” as well as fee and examination details. As a result of a 2008 amendment (Ordinance No. 08-00122), the A-4 certification is not required if the contractor is certified as a solar thermal installer by the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP). In addition, the MadiSUN program web site notes that single-family homeowners installing systems on their own owner-occupied homes may perform the work themselves and do not require the otherwise applicable licenses.

Installation standards for solar thermal equipment cover subjects such as orientation of the collector, system configuration, material degradation, sensors, piping and insulation, fluids, storage, monitoring and manuals. The 2008 legislation made certain changes to these standards in order to bring them up to date with current technology and practices (Madison Code of Ordinances § 30.05).