Last week I got the new version of REM/Rate, the accredited home energy rating software that we use here at Energy Vanguard Energy Ratings, and it has the ENERGY STAR Version 2.5 and Version 3 requirements built in. I've checked…
As I mentioned in my review of the first day of this special ENERGY STAR Version 3 training, it wasn’t really a train-the-trainer session, and they admitted as much at the beginning of day 1. What it became instead was…
Last night I arrived here in Raleigh, North Carolina for a two-day train-the-trainer session on the ENERGY STAR Version 3 guidelines for new homes. This is the third of four that the guys from EPA's ENERGY STAR new homes program…
I've been involved in the home energy rating field since 2003 and have witnessed a lot of growth. When I went through the HERS rater class, there were only a handful of HERS rater training providers and maybe a couple…
Geothermal heat pumps. Tankless water heaters. Spray foam insulation. Because of all the hype around 'green' products, it's easy to focus on the details and miss the big picture. Geothermal heat pumps. Tankless water heaters. Spray foam insulation. Because of…
I just read "How I (Almost) Saved the Earth" by Scott Adams, the cartoonist who created Dilbert, and, although it was funny, it was also a sad and telling account of the home energy rating industry. Adams recounted the frustration…
Yesterday, our first HERS rater class students had their first shot at the national HERS rater test. I'm happy to report that 100% passed the test, and the high score was 98%. Yesterday, our first HERS rater class students had…
The ENERGY STAR homes program has grown tremendously since it was introduced in the mid 1990s. In the initial program, version 1 of the guidelines, most homes were certified through a home energy rating and a single inspection that occurred…
Last night down at the Brick Store Pub, I ran into someone I know from the gym, and, as it turns out, he lives on Drexel Avenue. Naturally, I asked, 'Do you know Mike Barcik?' Of course, he did. Everyone,…
Yesterday I gave some general advice about how to choose a HERS rater training class, and one of suggestions I made was to contact former students of each HERS training provider you're considering. Testimonials in the trainer's marketing materials may…