This class will look at specific building examples, covering a broad spectrum of building types and architectural styles in multiple climate zones. We’ll review details to understand the building science behind each project. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of the broad applicability of Passive House for all building types and climates. New & retrofit, Historic restoration, Commercial & complicated.
California’s new Title 24 energy code and Passive House recommends high performance attics. Summer attic temperatures can easily add ½ to 1 ton of air conditioning load. The 2016 and 2019 T-24 energy codes require these loads be mitigated. These codes prescriptively require attics and roofs with multiple layers of insulation in what seem to be in confusing and contradictory locations. This class examines how to design and build high performance attics and roofs assemblies that delivery energy efficiency and
Improved design, installation and commissioning practices lead to a dramatic improvement in building energy consumption, indoor air quality, and comfort. There are six performance factors that can be applied to HVAC design, installation and/or commissioning. In the Optimizing Residential Forced-Air series, we will review how each factor can be specified at design, implemented during installation, and tested/adjusted during commissioning. We will also look at how we can redesign our approach to high performance HVAC systems to support CA climate goals,
Our final class in this series will bring this home to cover the evolution of Passive House design here in California. We’ll review up to four specific projects located in Northern California, including a Sacramento project. Details for each project will be shared to gain an understanding for how this approach varies across our local climate zones, and how Passive House may be cost-effectively implemented in our region. Attendees will leave with a clear understanding of how the Passive House
Comfort problems can occur in homes even when the equipment appears to be working perfectly well. Most comfort problems are related to design issues and can be easily diagnosed using basic design principles and simple diagnostic tools. This class will cover the most common comfort complaints, the diagnostic tests, how to interpret the results and how to use industry standard design principles to suggest solutions. Learning objectives: Understanding the most common symptoms of comfort problems vs. equipment problems Understanding how
Part 1 Setting the Stage: Carbon in the Built Environment This session will take a holistic view of carbon drivers in the built environment. The first part in the series will set the stage for the next two courses, outlining key definitions and drivers and presenting a path towards carbon neutral design. Through case studies we'll explore holistic carbon on recent projects and areas where designers can have the most significant influence.
There are 82 million detached single-family homes in the US, and according to the US Energy Information Administration, there are 6.8 million in California. The average cost of energy in US households is about $2,060 per year according to Energy Star with nearly half of that money going to heating and cooling. The average home also adds 7.5 tons of greenhouse gasses each year. Steve Easley will draw upon his building science consulting experience to illustrate the most cost-effective, best
Experiences and lessons learned from early building electrification market and community development. Since 2015, Revalue.io has been preparing communities for the transition to clean energy through energy-saving building improvements (including insulation, heat pumps, etc.) and removing home health hazards such as lead, mold, pests, etc. Working with local, minority contractors and utility program administrators, Revalue.io provides a full-service custom “No Wrong Door” service for property owners, tenants, and local contractors to access resources such as rebates, grants, and other incentives
Air sealing has emerged as the number one technique to help make our buildings more energy efficient, achieve unprecedented indoor thermal comfort, and produce clean and fresh indoor air control. This session will show the entire air sealing process of a new structure from the ground up or achieving very airtight assemblies in remodels and additions or the compulsory air tightness for Passive House.
Utility energy efficiency programs have a strong record of saving customers energy and money. But today’s urgent challenges—from climate change to inequitable energy burdens—demand that we ramp up these efficiency efforts and reimagine what these programs are capable of, building on the strong foundations in place. Join us at the Energy Efficiency as Resource (EER) conference in Philadelphia, October 16–18, 2023, to explore how efficiency efforts can expand and evolve amid a transforming utility industry.
In this three-day educational experience, TECH Clean CA-approved contractors will learn to accurately complete four stages of system design using NCI principles and Air Conditioning Contractors of America (ACCA) Manuals J, S, D, and T using Elite RHVAC Software package for new and existing homes. This FREE training is open to contractors and technicians in the state of California who are enrolled in TECH Clean California. Not enrolled yet? Click here (opens in new window) to learn more about the program and enroll.
Learn the basics of Static Pressure and Airflow and prepare yourself for more advanced training in the NCI TECH training series with NCI’s simple Air Upgrade approach. This class provides technical training on performing static pressure testing, how to properly install static pressure test ports, and how to measure and interpret static pressures. This FREE training is open to contractors and technicians in the state of California who are enrolled in TECH Clean California.
