According to Houston Neal, of Software Advice, a website that reviews electrical estimating software, electrical contractors should be preparing to step to a whole new job description as “energy contractors.”

With a dramatically increasing demand for energy efficient, or “green” construction, the types of tasks electricians can perform are also on the rise. To keep up with the demand, Neal says that electricians will need to diversify their skill-set. Some of the possible new jobs for electricians:

• Building retrofits. For example, 2.2 million commercial buildings in the U.S. have antiquated lighting systems. In addition, all federal buildings are required to switch to ENERGY STAR lighting products by the end of 2010.
• Mass transit, including light rail
• Solar photovoltaic installations
• Wind turbine installations
• Smart electrical grid transmission systems

Here are a few new places electricians may be working in the future:

• Parking lots, installing electrical outlets. A state bill in Minnesota will require half of new parking facilities to include outlets to charge electric vehicles. If this effort is successful, other states and cities may follow suit.
• In auto shops, as electrical vehicle electricians. Electricians may need to be trained in auto mechanics or auto mechanics will need to be trained in electrical contracting in order to meet the demand for electric vehicle maintenance.
• Wind turbine factories. According to a report from the American Solar Energy Society (ASES), a typical 250-person wind turbine manufacturing company has two electricians as employees.
• On LEED Building crews. Projects applying for Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) status are growing just as fast as the rest of the green construction market. Many of the credit coursework for LEED revolve around work electric contractors are capable of performing, giving electricians the opportunity to win work on these projects. Electricians can consider becoming a LEED accredited professional, a selling point when bidding on jobs.

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