The term 'HERS' stands for 'Home Energy Rating Systems' and a certified HERS Rater determines the energy efficiency of a residence, just like a car is rated by MPG or Miles Per Gallon. A certified HERS rater understands how to measure and evaluate a residential building plus examines and documents all the energy consuming items involved in the building. Here is a link to a more detailed description of what a certified HERS Rater does: https://energysmartinstitute.com/faqs/

You must first register and pay for a course before you can gain access to a selected course in the EnergySmart Institute catalog of online on-demand courses. Look for the 'COURSE CATALOG' tab at the top of your page or browser.  Once registered you will have a username and password to sign in to the site.  When you sign in, you will see 'My Training Classes' as the first item in the menu bar.  This is where you will find and access your courses.

This is a long course with a lot of information to digest. The length of time it takes is solely up to you, the student, and how much time you can devote to learning each day or each week. There is about 100 hours of training condensed into bite-sized pieces. Students have completed it in time-frames ranging from two weeks to eight weeks.

Yes! Your instructor has a scheduling tool you can use to schedule a meeting where you can drop into a video conference to discuss any course topics.  You will also be provided you with your instructor's email address and phone number for immediate assistance. You have a human being to answer your questions and guide you through any place you get stuck.

It takes self-motivation and self-discipline to get through any self-paced training. Best practice is to schedule blocks of time on your calendar as class time. Treat those appointments as if you had to drive to a campus and be present in order to pass the class. Don't let the appointments get usurped by other things or the course work tends to get pushed out and out and you start losing the information you have already learned. Your instructor can reset your progress so you can start over at any point if you do get side-tracked and you can always revisit and re-watch any unit you like.

No. If you have experience in an area, that is great! However, don't assume you already know the course material and can skip any units. Take all the training and you will find yourself thinking about your skills, former trades, education, or work experience from a whole new perspective. We have heard many times, "I just never thought about it like that! I really learned something new."

Yes. Aside from the textbook, you will find materials at the beginning of many of the course modules. It is a good idea to start a storage system; either a binder if you are a paper person, or a digital folder to store your downloads in. You will want to download, complete, and save your study guides and save your quiz results at a minimum because you are allowed to use all your notes, guides, practice exams, etc. when you take the HERS Rater Exam.

Yes! This course is extremely comprehensive. The cost is lower than other HERS Rater training courses for several reasons. Our training is all on-line and on demand. Other courses are taught as webinars with live instructor involvement at specific times. We don't have to pay to have the instructor train this material live over and over again, you will be watching recorded video segments directed one-on-one to you, the student. Also, we do not charge for the textbook or exams in our fees, those are purchased separately and paid directly to the vendor. We don't mark up the costs for these items.

You may go back and review course units and materials as much as you like during your course.  You continue to have access to EnergySmart Institute courses for a minimum of six months from when you complete the course.  If you purchase another EnergySmart Institute course during that time, the clock resets.  You will retain all your courses in your "My Training Classes" menu until six months after you complete the last course you purchased.

This course currently has a pass rate (including all required RESNET exams) of 98% on the first try.

Not yet.  Once you have successfully completed the course, you will receive a certificate as required by RESNET to prove you have taken and passed an Accredited HERS Rater Training course.  This training is the first step on your certification journey.  You need to take the next steps (take and pass the national exams, complete probationary ratings for your Rating Provider) to complete your Certification.  HERS Rater Certification is awarded by RESNET Rating Quality Assurance Providers.

Yes, we are a RESNET Accredited Training Provider and can proctor the exams in-person or remotely utilizing a video conference system.  You can also choose to have the exams proctored in-person by a training provider that is close to you if one is available.  Instructions on locating an exam proctor, or using us to proctor your exams, is given in the last unit of the course.

Many small businesses are run out of residential structures or small commercial buildings that use residential heating, cooling and water heating equipment. The information you gain in the HERS Rater class will be very helpful to you in these cases. In addition, you will want to study construction, insulation and lighting techniques used in commercial buildings and ensure you understand the terminology found in utility incentives and other programs for commercial businesses. If you are planning to perform audits for larger commercial structures, you will also want to study commercial HVAC equipment and possibly invest in software used to analyze energy use in commercial buildings. Two such software programs are Energy 10 and Visual DOE.

No. Standards require that to be certified as a HERS Rater, you must complete the full HERS Rater training. Many units will be refresher courses from what you already know as a Certified RFI and/or Energy Modeler; however, the HERS Rater class will add training on heat load calculations, reading and working with building plans and building codes, climate zones, advanced construction techniques, standards regarding calculation and labeling of energy performance, enclosure and system testing, energy codes, local, federal and national energy programs, and reporting.