Individual Course Offerings
Business Communication (45 hrs.) (Board approved elective)
Provides thorough coverage of written and verbal communication principles and practices, including social media. Topics include communication foundations and analysis; communication through electronic, voice, and written messages; communication through reports and business presentations; and communication for employment. The course includes online resources.
Controls I: Residential Wiring (45 hrs.) (core course)
An introductory course in practical wiring with an emphasis on residential wiring. It examines basic wiring practices including wiring methods, outlet and switch boxes, conductor selection, electrical devices and equipment, wire connections and splices, overcurrent protection, appliance and special outlet wiring, and grounding for safety. Residential services and feeders, and all electrical and electronic systems normally found in dwelling occupancies are also discussed. This is an NEC®-based course and will involve some use of the most recent edition of the NEC® text.
This course is modified for students pursuing certain limited electrician’s licenses.
Controls II: Industrial Wiring (45 hrs.) (core course)
Emphasis is on electric motor control. Topics include safety, electrical symbols and diagrams, logic, line diagrams, contactors and motor starters, reversing motor circuits, relays and solid-state starters, timers and counters, and reduced-voltage starting. Drawing of motor starting and control circuits is a course component. Power distribution systems and other elements of industrial wiring are also examined.
Electrical Estimating (30 hrs.) (personal enrichment course)
Designed to teach the fundamentals of electrical estimating. The course discusses the estimating process for order of magnitude estimates, square foot and cubic foot estimates, systems (or assemblies) estimates, and unit price estimates, with emphasis on unit price estimates. The textbook is based on the companion RSMeans estimating publication RSMeans Electrical Cost Data, but the course will prepare the student to use any cost data and estimating system, including computerized estimating.
Electrical Print-Reading & Sketching (45 hrs.) (core course)
Introduces basic drawing and sketching techniques, projections, perspectives, scaling, dimensions, and construction types. Electrical and other symbology used on drawings is examined. Site plans, floor plans, elevations, details, sections, and schedules are discussed. Residential, commercial, and industrial prints and specifications are studied.
The CD supplement provides easier reading of prints contained in the text.
This course is modified for students pursuing certain limited electrician’s licenses.
Electricity I (45 hrs.) (core course)
Commonly referred to as “Introduction to Electricity” or “Introduction to DC Circuits.” Safety, atomic structure, electrical quantities, static electricity, small sources of electricity, and resistors used in series, parallel, and combination circuits are introduced. Circuit laws and theorems are explained. Operation of digital and analog meters, conductor sizing, voltage drop calculations, and magnetic induction are discussed.
Electricity II (45 hrs.) (core course)
Commonly referred to as “Introduction to AC Circuits” or “AC Circuit Theory.” Building on the basic principles studied in Electricity I, Electricity II explains the basics of AC and introduces inductance and capacitance. Basic trigonometry and vectors are explained. Series and parallel circuits containing resistance, inductance, and capacitance are analyzed. True power, reactive power, apparent power, and power factor are examined.
Introduction to Business (45 hrs.) (Board approved elective)
A thorough examination of the basic principles of business. Topics include the business environment, economics, business ethics and social responsibility, business formation, small business and entrepreneurship, accounting, finance, and financial markets. Marketing and managing a business are also discussed. The course includes online resources.
Introduction to Electronics (45 hrs.) (core course)
Introduces semiconductors and describes their function in a wide range of circuits and systems. Tuned circuits and RLC networks, diodes and power supplies, tubes, transistors, amplifiers, integrated circuits, digital circuits, and oscillators are discussed. The course also provides an introduction to radio communications, television and video display units, fiber optics and lasers, personal computers, and microcontrollers.
Motors (45 hrs.) (core course)
Introduction to DC and AC rotating machines. Topics include the construction, operation, and connection of direct current generators, direct current motors, three-phase alternators, three-phase motors, and single-phase motors. Motor and generator types are explained.
National Electrical Code® (45 hrs.) (core course)
Examines Chapters 1-4 of the NECâ and other articles from Chapter 5 – Special Occupancies and Chapter 6 – Special Equipment. Details of many Code topics relevant to residential, commercial, and industrial wiring applications are studied. The course covers branch circuits, feeders, load calculations, services, grounding, wiring methods and materials, motors and transformers, hazardous locations, and other special occupancies and equipment. The course serves as preparation for the electrician’s licensing exam. It is also appropriate for electrical engineers.
This course is modified for students pursuing certain limited electrician’s licenses. For students seeking licensure in low energy, the course provides coverage of Chapters 1-4 of the NECâ and a low energy component.
Photovoltaics (45 hrs.) (Board approved elective)
Introduction to photovoltaics. Topics include site assessment, system design, system installation and inspection, and maintenance and troubleshooting. This course will prepare the student for the North American Board of Certified Energy Practitioners (NABCEP) PV Entry Level Exam. The course includes online resources.
Technical Mathematics (45 hrs.) (core course)
Introduces and reviews basic math concepts and applications required for technology students. Topics include whole numbers, fractions, decimals, percentages, signed numbers, exponents, the metric system, ratios, and proportions. Also covered are basic algebra, plane and solid figures, graphs, and trigonometry limited to right-triangle applications. Calculator steps for calculations are described.
Telecommunications Cabling (45 hrs.) (Board approved elective)
Up-to-date premises cabling of copper, fiber, and wireless media in structured cabling systems. Cabling standards, networks, and jargon are examined. Topics include installation, termination, testing, and wiremapping of twisted-pair cables. Applications and terminations of coaxial and fiber-optic cables are discussed.
An alternative version of this course contains an online component of videos, tutorials, and quizzes.
Transformers (45 hrs.) (core course)
Introduces three-phase circuits, connections, calculations, and power factor correction. Single- and three-phase transformer types, construction, and operating principles are examined. Transformer polarity, maximum current, testing, and impedance are discussed. Three-phase delta and wye connections, the T connection, Scott connection, and zig-zag connection are covered. Transformer calculations and harmonics are also included.
Note to Course Descriptions
The Maine Electricians’ Examining Board requires core courses to be completed for licensure. Applicants for limited electrician’s licenses are not required to complete all core courses. See the study programs for limited licenses. Board approved electives (3) fulfill the elective requirement for master and journeyman training programs.