Home Energy Retrofit Training | Fremont, CA

Dates Pending

We're currently organizing dates for this course. Check back here soon!

Special Offer:

Purchase any Live Course and receive a 10% discount on any Online Courses! Online Courses must be purchased in the same order as a Live Course.

What if I'm not local?

If you don't live in Northern California or in the New York Metropolitan Area, don't worry. Many hundreds of students fly from all over the continent to attend these boot camps. Both of our locations (east coast and west coast) feature an extensive subsidized travel package that includes hotel stay, free shuttle transportation from/to airport and breakfast+lunch on all days of the boot camp. Our students consistently report that they are delighted with the travel package. 

Why it's important!

If you are working Renewable Energy, it's vitally important to understand Building Performance - even if this isn't your main business. If spending a few hundred on compact florescent bulbs means the customer needs a smaller PV system - a contractor should point that out, or else lose the sale to the contractor who did educate their customer. Besides, the new Federal incentives mean that most customers will be asking questions about Energy Audits, and this boot camp has the answers.

What's included?

Your tuition fee includes instruction, materials, text book, examination fee, labs and daily catered lunch on all 5 days. Labs feature the latest tools and instruments. This course also features field trips to nearby homes and commercial buildings, where we'll perform real energy audits with real building owners, and (of course) real buildings! All students are awarded a course completion certificate on the last day.

• "Like Twenty dollar bills blowing in the Wind", or; how to find the energy being wasted
• Showing the financial returns to the customer
• Applying the power of Building Science & "House as a System"
• The Building Shell and its effect on energy consumption
• Hand-on Lab - Thermal properties of building materials
• Learn the correct procedures - best practices for Energy Audits
• Hands-on Lab: Blower Door & Infrared Imaging
• Field Verification Procedures
• Learn just enough Software to do the job right
• Combustion Safety; the danger of indoor air pollutants and the importance of ventilation
• Hands-on Lab with Model House - modeling testing procedures
• Auditing for Health and Safety
• Procedure for the "Worst Case Scenario Test" for Carbon Monoxide
• Often overlooked energy hogs - Water heaters, and what can be done about them
• Hands-on Lab: hybrid water heaters, tankless water heaters, and more
• Innovative approaches to heating the house - without breaking the bank.
• What does it cost to NOT replace that old furnace?
• Perhaps the biggest energy hog of all - Air Conditioners!
• Strategies for more cost effective cooling
• Duct Blasting for fun and profit
• Airflow / Fan Watt Draw RCA (HERS)
• Hands-on Lab: The importance of shading; Window shading, roofing treatments and landscape models will be covered.
• Dozens of little energy hogs that all add up - lighting
• Hands-on Lab: Explore the Wall of Lights
• Energy Star! Appliances and Energy use
• HOMESTAR
• Green Building
• Energy Audits in the larger context of Renewable Energy
• Mega-Lab: bringing all of the pieces together

This 5-day course provides a solid foundation for both accepted standards in this field:

• 1st level certification from the BPI - Building Analyst
• 1st Level certification for the Home energy Rating System - the HERS Basic

No prerequisites necessary.