The need for certified home energy raters is growing quickly. Excellent full or part-time work for students up to retirement. Control your own schedule.

There are over 8 billion dollars in rebates allocated to improving the energy efficiency of privately-owned residences and another billion to fund upgrades to affordable housing. It is difficult to project how many certified energy professionals will be needed to implement these programs but it is clear that there are not yet enough of these specialists available to meet this growing demand.

The certification time frame for one of these energy professional positions ranges from a few weeks for RFIs to up to a year for a HERS Rater. The time needed depends highly on the motivation of the individual to complete the training, testing, evaluation, and apprenticeship. An individual can also progress through these levels of certifications as a method to expand their knowledge and abilities.

Certified individuals can choose to work as an employee for a verification firm, or start their own business working as an individual or growing their own company. The work can be part or full-time. The types of verification services required cannot be outsourced to other countries as it requires on-site testing and inspections. This opportunity is excellent for students on up to seniors. Perhaps the new year is a time to consider a new career!

Check out this press release:

https://www.einpresswire.com/article/604268294/inflation-reduction-act-produces-urgent-need-for-certified-home-energy-raters-energy-modelers-and-field-inspectors

We hear a lot about Global Warming and the need to save energy.  Energy prices are rising and we are told to conserve.  But, how does one determine how much energy their house, or apartment, or small business is using?  How does one understand what changes need to be made in the pursuit of having more energy efficient and affordable housing?

This is where energy modeling comes in.  An energy model is a digital representation of all the items and equipment in a structure that use or lose energy.  Energy models are generated to determine compliance to energy codes, to understand if a structure meets the goals of a program, and to evaluate whether energy improvements are financially feasible and a good investment.  An energy model is created by a person entering data into a computer program which then compares the data to a reference energy model, and provides the results.  However, energy modeling is much, much more than data entry.  The ability to generate an accurate energy model is one of the most difficult and critical responsibilities of any energy professional.

You have likely heard the saying, “garbage in, garbage out”, meaning that if a system is populated with bad data, the system will produce bad results.  This is very true in this case.  The person generating the energy model really needs to understand not only what data must be gathered to enter in the tool, but also whether that data makes sense.  If incorrect or bad data are input, the results will still be generated, but they will be incorrect, or at least very misleading.  Decisions made using the resulting information could be very bad decisions.

The modeler must know construction math and building science as well as obtain a working knowledge of where the model data comes from and why it is important.  An understanding of what data are gathered in the field, what to expect from that field data gathering, and how to turn that data into modeling information and enter it into the Modeling tools is also required.  This is why it is important that energy models be developed by certified energy modelers.  One such organization is RESNET, the Residential Energy Systems Network, which oversees the quality assurance of HERS (Home Energy Rating System) energy models. RESNET now requires this certification for anyone generating an energy model for a HERS Rating.

You can learn more about this certification training for HERS Modelers at EnergySmart Institute.

Do you find it difficult to breathe?  Not because of your health or your lungs, but because of all the viruses, droplets, and other nasty things we never thought about before?  With the advent of Covid 19, we have been hearing more and more about how viruses spread and more and more about the health of our breathing air.

There is a growing interest in ensuring good indoor air quality in our homes and places of work (now many times one and the same.)  According to the Environmental Protection Agency, Americans spend on average about 90% of their time indoors and the concentration of pollutants in the indoor air are two to five times higher than in outdoor air.  This is because the indoor air is trapped by our walls, ceilings, and floors, so the pollutants found in the air concentrate into higher and higher levels.

While viruses are one pollutant we are worried about; there are other deadly pollutants in our indoor air as well.  If there is anything that burns in your home, you have the opportunity for deadly carbon monoxide to concentrate.  Gas stoves and ovens burn fossil fuels.  Gas furnaces and water heaters do as well.  Cigarettes, candles, and wood-burning or gas fireplaces release smoke that contains deadly chemicals including carbon monoxide.  Cleaners and solvents and paints and even the materials used in our furnishings can off-gas chemicals and gasses that can make us sick and give us cancer.  So, what can you do to breathe easier?  There are three steps to take, eliminate, filtrate, and ventilate.

Eliminate items from your home that have a chemical smell (the human nose is a particularly good test tool.)  Do not bring or build items into your home that can lead to poor indoor air quality.  For example, use a closed cell foam pad under carpeting instead of a cheap carpet pad which will degrade over time, turn into dust, and enter your breathing air every time you walk across it.  Use recycled glass or quartz countertops instead of granite to avoid off-gassing radon into your breathing air.  Use low-VOC (Volatile Organic Compounds) paint and stains.

Filtrate using a good quality filter.  The system that conditions your air includes a filter that it runs your indoor air through as it heats or cools that air.  The filter protects the system, but it also protects your lungs.  A higher MERV number on a filter provides more filtration.  Be sure to have an HVAC professional review your system if you plan to increase your filtration.  If it is harder to pull the air through the filter, you can cause issues with your space conditioning system, and that can be an expensive mistake.  Adjustments can be made to tune your system to accommodate your new filter rating which will keep everything running smoothly and provide more filtration.  It is most important to change the filter on a regular schedule.  Once the filter gets clogged by the pollutants it is trapping; the system will try to pull the air around the filter instead of through it and you have lost all the benefits of having the filter in the first place.  Replace your filter every month or two.

Ventilate to bring in fresh air and exhaust stale air.  The fresh air will reduce the concentration of pollutants in your breathing air.  This can be as simple as opening your windows when the weather allows.  However, that is only a limited solution as there are times during the year when you do not want to open windows; and those with allergies may want to just keep them shut all year-round.  There are several products available that can provide fresh air ventilation.  There are exhaust systems, supply systems, and balanced systems.  The most effective and least expensive to use are balanced systems which exhaust stale air and supply fresh air at the same rate at the same time.  These systems can also recover the heating or cooling from the exhausting air and use it to pre-condition the incoming fresh air.  Unfortunately, the purchase and installation cost of the balanced systems is more expensive up-front.  They are well worth it, however, because they provide fresh, filtered, and pre-conditioned air from a known air source and do not cause pressure differences in the structure which could lead to structural durability issues, comfort issues, and additional indoor air quality issues.

Take some time to learn more about indoor air quality and the pollutants that might be present in your home.  Think about how to eliminate, filtrate, and ventilate, so you can breathe easy.