How to become a Geothermal Technician 2024

Geothermal Technician Perform technical activities at power plants or individual installations necessary for the generation of power from geothermal energy sources. Monitor and control operating activities at geothermal power generation facilities and perform maintenance and repairs as necessary. Install, test, and maintain residential and commercial geothermal heat pumps.

Geothermal Technician is Also Know as

In different settings, Geothermal Technician is titled as

Geothermal Service Technician
I and C Technician (Instrument and Controls Technician)
I and E Technician (Instrumentation and Electrical Technician)
I C and E Technician (Instrumentation, Control, and Electrical Technician)
Operations and Maintenance Technician (O and M Technician)
Operations Technician
Operator Technician
Plant Electrical Technician
Plant Mechanic
Plant Technician

Education and Training of Geothermal Technician

Geothermal Technician is categorized in Job Zone Two: Some Preparation Needed

Experience Required for Geothermal Technician

Some previous work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is usually needed. For example, a teller would benefit from experience working directly with the public.

Education Required for Geothermal Technician

These occupations usually require a high school diploma.

Degrees Related to Geothermal Technician

Training Required for Geothermal Technician

Employees in these occupations need anywhere from a few months to one year of working with experienced employees. A recognized apprenticeship program may be associated with these occupations.

Related Ocuupations

Some Ocuupations related to Geothermal Technician in different industries are

What Do Geothermal Technician do?

Identify and correct malfunctions of geothermal plant equipment, electrical systems, instrumentation, or controls.
Install, maintain, or repair ground or water source-coupled heat pumps to heat and cool residential or commercial building air or water.
Monitor and adjust operations of geothermal power plant equipment or systems.
Adjust power production systems to meet load and distribution demands.
Backfill piping trenches to protect pipes from damage.
Calculate heat loss and heat gain factors for residential properties to determine heating and cooling required by installed geothermal systems.
Design and lay out geothermal heat systems according to property characteristics, heating and cooling requirements, piping and equipment requirements, applicable regulations, or other factors.
Determine the type of geothermal loop system most suitable to a specific property and its heating and cooling needs.
Dig trenches for system piping to appropriate depths and lay piping in trenches.
Prepare newly installed geothermal heat systems for operation by flushing, purging, or other actions.
Identify equipment options, such as compressors, and make appropriate selections.
Install and maintain geothermal system instrumentation or controls.
Maintain electrical switchgear, process controls, transmitters, gauges, and control equipment in accordance with geothermal plant procedures.
Maintain, calibrate, or repair plant instrumentation, control, and electronic devices in geothermal plants.
Perform pre- and post-installation pressure, flow, and related tests of vertical and horizontal geothermal loop piping.
Apply coatings or operate systems to mitigate corrosion of geothermal plant equipment or structures.
Collect and record data associated with operating geothermal power plants or well fields.
Determine whether emergency or auxiliary systems will be needed to keep properties heated or cooled in extreme weather conditions.
Install and maintain geothermal plant electrical protection equipment.
Integrate hot water heater systems with geothermal heat exchange systems.
Operate equipment, such as excavators, backhoes, rock hammers, trench compactors, pavement saws, grout mixers or pumps, geothermal loop reels, and coil tubing units (CTU).
Prepare and maintain logs, reports, or other documentation of work performed.
Test water sources for factors, such as flow volume and contaminant presence.
Weld piping, such as high density polyethylene (HDPE) piping, using techniques such as butt, socket, side-wall, and electro-fusion welding.

Qualities of Good Geothermal Technician

Near Vision: The ability to see details at close range (within a few feet of the observer).
Problem Sensitivity: The ability to tell when something is wrong or is likely to go wrong. It does not involve solving the problem, only recognizing that there is a problem.
Deductive Reasoning: The ability to apply general rules to specific problems to produce answers that make sense.
Perceptual Speed: The ability to quickly and accurately compare similarities and differences among sets of letters, numbers, objects, pictures, or patterns. The things to be compared may be presented at the same time or one after the other. This ability also includes comparing a presented object with a remembered object.
Arm-Hand Steadiness: The ability to keep your hand and arm steady while moving your arm or while holding your arm and hand in one position.
Control Precision: The ability to quickly and repeatedly adjust the controls of a machine or a vehicle to exact positions.
Selective Attention: The ability to concentrate on a task over a period of time without being distracted.
Visualization: The ability to imagine how something will look after it is moved around or when its parts are moved or rearranged.
Information Ordering: The ability to arrange things or actions in a certain order or pattern according to a specific rule or set of rules (e.g., patterns of numbers, letters, words, pictures, mathematical operations).
Flexibility of Closure: The ability to identify or detect a known pattern (a figure, object, word, or sound) that is hidden in other distracting material.
Oral Comprehension: The ability to listen to and understand information and ideas presented through spoken words and sentences.
Multilimb Coordination: The ability to coordinate two or more limbs (for example, two arms, two legs, or one leg and one arm) while sitting, standing, or lying down. It does not involve performing the activities while the whole body is in motion.
Extent Flexibility: The ability to bend, stretch, twist, or reach with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Visual Color Discrimination: The ability to match or detect differences between colors, including shades of color and brightness.
Inductive Reasoning: The ability to combine pieces of information to form general rules or conclusions (includes finding a relationship among seemingly unrelated events).
Speech Recognition: The ability to identify and understand the speech of another person.
Written Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in writing so others will understand.
Oral Expression: The ability to communicate information and ideas in speaking so others will understand.
Far Vision: The ability to see details at a distance.
Trunk Strength: The ability to use your abdominal and lower back muscles to support part of the body repeatedly or continuously over time without "giving out" or fatiguing.
Reaction Time: The ability to quickly respond (with the hand, finger, or foot) to a signal (sound, light, picture) when it appears.
Speech Clarity: The ability to speak clearly so others can understand you.
Written Comprehension: The ability to read and understand information and ideas presented in writing.
Manual Dexterity: The ability to quickly move your hand, your hand together with your arm, or your two hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble objects.
Time Sharing: The ability to shift back and forth between two or more activities or sources of information (such as speech, sounds, touch, or other sources).
Finger Dexterity: The ability to make precisely coordinated movements of the fingers of one or both hands to grasp, manipulate, or assemble very small objects.
Category Flexibility: The ability to generate or use different sets of rules for combining or grouping things in different ways.
Rate Control: The ability to time your movements or the movement of a piece of equipment in anticipation of changes in the speed and/or direction of a moving object or scene.
Auditory Attention: The ability to focus on a single source of sound in the presence of other distracting sounds.
Depth Perception: The ability to judge which of several objects is closer or farther away from you, or to judge the distance between you and an object.
Mathematical Reasoning: The ability to choose the right mathematical methods or formulas to solve a problem.
Number Facility: The ability to add, subtract, multiply, or divide quickly and correctly.
Fluency of Ideas: The ability to come up with a number of ideas about a topic (the number of ideas is important, not their quality, correctness, or creativity).
Originality: The ability to come up with unusual or clever ideas about a given topic or situation, or to develop creative ways to solve a problem.
Hearing Sensitivity: The ability to detect or tell the differences between sounds that vary in pitch and loudness.
Speed of Closure: The ability to quickly make sense of, combine, and organize information into meaningful patterns.
Memorization: The ability to remember information such as words, numbers, pictures, and procedures.
Response Orientation: The ability to choose quickly between two or more movements in response to two or more different signals (lights, sounds, pictures). It includes the speed with which the correct response is started with the hand, foot, or other body part.
Static Strength: The ability to exert maximum muscle force to lift, push, pull, or carry objects.
Gross Body Equilibrium: The ability to keep or regain your body balance or stay upright when in an unstable position.
Gross Body Coordination: The ability to coordinate the movement of your arms, legs, and torso together when the whole body is in motion.
Stamina: The ability to exert yourself physically over long periods of time without getting winded or out of breath.
Dynamic Strength: The ability to exert muscle force repeatedly or continuously over time. This involves muscular endurance and resistance to muscle fatigue.
Wrist-Finger Speed: The ability to make fast, simple, repeated movements of the fingers, hands, and wrists.
Sound Localization: The ability to tell the direction from which a sound originated.
Spatial Orientation: The ability to know your location in relation to the environment or to know where other objects are in relation to you.
Night Vision: The ability to see under low-light conditions.
Peripheral Vision: The ability to see objects or movement of objects to one's side when the eyes are looking ahead.
Glare Sensitivity: The ability to see objects in the presence of a glare or bright lighting.
Speed of Limb Movement: The ability to quickly move the arms and legs.
Explosive Strength: The ability to use short bursts of muscle force to propel oneself (as in jumping or sprinting), or to throw an object.
Dynamic Flexibility: The ability to quickly and repeatedly bend, stretch, twist, or reach out with your body, arms, and/or legs.

Tools Used by Geothermal Technician

Adjustable hand wrenches
Adjustable pipe wrenches
Air monitoring equipment
Air wrenches
Alignment clamps
Butt fusion machines
Channel lock pliers
Claw hammers
Coil tubing units
Deburring tools
Depth meters
Desktop computers
Grout mixers
Grout pumps
Laptop computers
Pavement saws
Personal computers
Phillips head screwdrivers
Pipe cutters
Pipe squeeze off tools
Portable welding equipment
Programmable logic controllers PLC
Protective respirators
Pyrometers
Ratchet sets
Safety glasses
Safety gloves
Socket wrench sets
Straight screwdrivers
Tracked excavators
Trench compacters
Valve wrenches
Well drilling rigs
Wire cutters
Wire strippers

Technology Skills required for Geothermal Technician

Autodesk AutoCAD
ClimateMaster GeoDesigner
Distributed control system DCS
Email software
Geographic information system GIS systems
Geothermal Properties Measurement Tool
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Office software
Microsoft Word
SAP software
Thermal Dynamics Ground Loop Design GLD
WaterFurnace International Ground Loop Design PREMIER

US Universities

How to become Geothermal Technician in 2024