Efficiency First California

BayREN C&S Training: Heat Pump HVAC for Building Departments
2025-11-06 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Heat pumps are an increasingly popular technology that are a highly efficient means of providing heating and cooling in residential and commercial buildings. This course will describe Heat Pump HVAC, when HP-HVAC are allowed under 2022 Codes, code requirements for installation, and how to complete compliance forms.

Conversations on 2025 CA Energy Code Updates for Lighting and Other Electrical Systems
2025-11-06 10:30 - 12:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Course description

By enrolling in this course, you agree to receive text message course reminders. To opt-out update your profile here or upon receiving your first message you will have the option to opt out by replying “STOP”.
This class will present the most common questions being asked about the changes in the 2025 California’s Energy Code for electrical systems including lighting, electrical power distribution, photovoltaics, batteries and electric mechanical systems. Two energy code geeks, Charles Knuffke (Wattstopper Legrand) and Gina Griffiths Rodda (Gabel Energy for Energy Code Ace), will discuss popular topics and the impactful changes that will affect design decisions as our industry prepares for this new code cycle going into effect January 1, 2026.

Overcoming Heat Pump Hesitation
2025-11-06 16:00 - 17:00 UTC
Are you ready to meet the future of clean energy head-on? Then join this free webinar brought to you on behalf of the South Coast Air Quality Management District GO ZERO program!
We’ll provide an overview of practical methods to isolate heating and cooling operational costs using existing meter data, providing powerful insights to support customer conversations. Our experts will break down complex concepts into clear, actionable steps, showing you how to integrate the latest clean energy technologies and practices to build a more resilient, profitable, and sustainable business.

Tools for Making a Home Electrification Plan
2025-11-07 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This course introduces exciting new software tools that are available to make home electrification easier. Trainers will demonstrate in detail an iOS-based electrification planning app that makes a home electrification plan easy to produce. This application prompts users with questions to ask homeowners, guides the collection of onsite data, assists with equipment selection, performs heat pump sizing and electric load calculations and offers detailed project plans for tradespeople, in addition to wiring plans and load calculations in a useful format for securing permits.
Agenda:

Introduction and safety message
Introduction to an iOS-based electrification planning tool
Demonstration of the tool for making a complete plan
Discussion of additional planning tools

The objective of this course is that at the conclusion, participants will be able to:

Download and use at least one available on-line tool for making home electrification plans
Explain how a plan can help make the most of an existing electrical panel
Generate an electrification plan for their own home
List three critical elements of a good home electrification plan
Describe how a plan helps homeowners gain the confidence to get started on electrification and avoid missteps

BayREN C&S Training: How the Energy Code Treats Electrification
2025-11-12 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This course focuses on the Energy and Green Building Code for residential buildings, provides an overview of the current electrification landscape, and highlights how electric appliances are impacted by different aspects of the Building Code as well as planning and zoning.

Hiring Made Smarter: Leveraging Workforce Development Programs
2025-11-12 17:00 - 18:00 UTC | Online
Join us on November 12 at 5 pm for an engaging conversation on workforce development programs featuring MCE and Emerald Cities Collaborative. This session will highlight an overview of their program goals, requirements, and available resources.
Explore partnerships and connect with leading organizations to access fully qualified hires, create career opportunities by investing in local talent, and strengthen your community through collaboration.

US Heat Pump Summit
2025-11-18 - 2025-11-19 | DCU Center, Worcester, MA, United States
The US Heat Pump Summit is a comprehensive event for contracting firm owners and their teams. The Summit brings together behind the scenes business lessons from top contractors with the best technical trainers in the industry, all in a track based program to maximize your organization’s value from attending the event.
Reaching beyond typical training, the Summit hosts contractor centered presentations and conversations with regulators, rebate providers and implementers, energy industry experts, members of the private equity investment community, and more.
Summit attendees and sponsors consistently highlight the high quality of speakers and fellow attendees as a reason they’re making this event a must attend each year.

Air Sealing and Insulating for Electrification Projects (3 Part Series)
2025-11-18 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Part 1 of 3 – November 18, 2025 (9am – 11am)
Part 2 of 3 – November 20, 2025 (9am – 11am)
Part 3 of 3 – December 2, 2025 (9am – 11am)

Air sealing and insulating are foundational to high performance homes, with numerous interactive benefits for the home and occupants. The Air Sealing and Insulating for Electrification Projects series will provide job-ready strategies and techniques for building more durable, healthier, comfortable and energy efficient homes.

Instructor Bio:
Dan Perunko
Dan Perunko is cofounder of Balance Point Home Performance Company. In 2006, along with Gavin Healy, Dan started a successful company providing full service home performance analysis, retrofits, consultations, and trainings. Dan works on new and existing construction designs and hands on installations of enclosures, mechanical, plumbing, and indoor air quality components based on tested performance outcomes. Dan especially enjoys improving existing homes to provide homeowners with levels of comfort and energy consumption that they have not believed possible. Dan is a professional trainer who designs and delivers full and multi day courses for California’s utility companies (energy training centers) and ACI national and regional conferences. Dan brings his experience from construction, design and building analysis, to make his class materials relevant, useful and understandable regardless of the attendees’ level of experience.

Building Electrification: Lessons from the Field
2025-11-18 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Part 1 of 2 – November 18, 2025 (9am – 1pm)
By enrolling in this course, you agree to receive text message course reminders. To opt-out update your profile here or upon receiving your first message you will have the option to opt out by replying “STOP”.
Agenda:

Introduction and safety message
Heat pumps and electrification: necessity and benefits
Heat pump basics
Heat pump considerations
Case studies
Electrification financing resources
Closing thought on heat pumps

Using Wrightsoft for Residential Load Calculations
2025-11-18 11:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Event Description
Software is a powerful and useful tool, but it is not magic, nor does it know if it has been fed accurate information. ACCA Manual J Residential Load Calculation is a detailed and complex procedure with many do’s and don’ts. The various ACCA-approved softwares assist with the math involved, but they cannot produce accurate load calculations if the user does not know the procedures detailed in Manual J. This virtual training will guide participants through the Manual J procedures for a simple house in the MiTek Wrightsoft software. This will be both a beginning learning experience of the Manual J procedures as well as a glimpse into how that procedure is applied within a software program.
Learning Objectives

Participants will experience the creation of a heating and cooling load calculation in the MiTek Wrightsoft Right-Suite Universal software.
Participants will learn that a load calculation is only as accurate as the inputs.
Participants will understand why the survey procedure is so important to producing an accurate load calculation.
Participants will learn what information needs to be obtained about a residence in order to create an accurate load calculation.

Empowering Access: Making Sustainable Technology Affordable for Every Home
2025-11-18 12:00 - 13:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
How do we make sustainability scalable? In this talk, Levven shares how it’s using innovation and design to democratize access to smart, sustainable electrical systems so that every homeowner, regardless of income or geography, can benefit from efficient, connected living.
Learning Objectives:
1. Identify the main inefficiencies in traditional electrical installations.
2. Explore how wireless power and control systems can significantly reduce material costs and labor time.
3. Learn about Levven’s vision for accessible sustainability through design and engineering.
4. Gain insight on how continuity and replication is the key to build efficient construction practices to reduce cost across all aspects.

HRV & ERV IN EXISTING MULTI-FAMILY BUILDINGS
2025-11-19 09:00 - 10:30 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Event Description
Whether compelled by changing code or by market demand for better ventilation, providing ventilation in existing multi-family buildings is a challenge. This training explores how balanced ventilation can be added to current buildings for maximum occupant comfort and energy savings. In this training, learners will:

Obtain a basic overview of balanced ventilation, specifically in multi-family applications
Identify design and installation considerations in HRV choice for multi-family buildings
Utilize information from lessons learned in the field regarding HRV choice and installation in multi-family buildings

Building Electrification: Lessons from the Field - Part 2
2025-11-19 09:00 - 13:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Part 2 of 2 – November 19, 2025 (9am – 1pm)
By enrolling in this course, you agree to receive text message course reminders. To opt-out update your profile here or upon receiving your first message you will have the option to opt out by replying “STOP”.
Agenda:

Introduction and safety message
Decarbonization motivation
Heat pump types & retrofit opportunities
Low temperature operation and refrigerants
Case studies and best practices
Heat pump system design exercise
Looking ahead and wrap-up

Electrify Smarter: Your Step-by-Step Home Upgrade Plan
2025-11-19 18:30 - 20:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Event Description
Thinking about upgrading your home but not sure where to start? Join us for an engaging and practical session designed to help Central Coast homeowners plan smarter electrification projects that save money, increase comfort, and avoid costly mistakes.
In this webinar, you’ll learn:

How to chart your personal electrification roadmap—from heating and cooling to water heating, cooking, and EV charging.
Which upgrades to prioritize first, and how to avoid the common pitfalls that derail many projects.
The five most important steps to prepare your home, including panel readiness, ductwork, and insulation improvements
How to budget, sequence, and bundle projects for maximum efficiency and incentives.

You’ll walk away with a clear strategy to transform your home into a more comfortable, efficient, and resilient space—on your timeline and budget.
Instructor
Larry Waters, Electrify My Home

Air Sealing and Insulating for Electrification Projects: Addressing Common Hazard During Energy Upgrades
2025-11-20 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Course description

Part 2 of 3 – November 20, 2025 (9am – 11am)
Upgrading the thermal and air leakage performance of existing homes exposes a variety of hazards that many professionals either do not know how to address or how to communicate the importance of the issue to the customer. Estimators and installers, including DIY homeowners, take on additional liability when they fail to identify and remediate existing hazards during upgrade projects. In this two-hour class, instructor Dan Perunko of Balance Point Home Performance will cover the most common hazards that are regularly uncovered during energy upgrades and provide some practical strategies for resolving those issues.
Agenda:

Introduction and safety message
What hazards are exposed in typical efficiency upgrades
What is the risk management plan for addressing these hazards
Asbestos insulation
Electrical system faults
Combustion appliance vents and clearance to combustible materials
Combustion appliance vents that do not effectively remove pollutants from the building
Non-IC rated recessed fixtures
Vents that re-entrain gases or moisture in the building
Biological growth on building surfaces
Impact of realigning the air barrier or thermal boundary

The objective of this course is that at the conclusion, participants will be able to:

Identify three or more common hazards that may be uncovered during energy upgrades
List two or more repairs to mitigate common electrical hazards that are uncovered during energy upgrades
Identify the difference between fixtures which can be safely sealed with conventional air sealing material, and those that require high temperature sealant or treatments
Learn one or more key differences between combustion appliances that have single wall metal, double wall metal and plastic vent systems
Identify how targeted air sealing strategies enhance building envelope performance, reduce energy loads, and enable the successful implementation of electrification

Title 24: What’s New in the Residential 2025 Energy Code
2025-12-01 08:30 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
The 2025 Title 24 Building Energy Code is more stringent than prior versions as the CEC aligns Title 24 with statewide clean energy goals. The new standards are intended to pivot the code to emphasize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in California. Martyn Dodd will summarize the new and revised requirements in the 2025 Code for single family and multi-family buildings and direct participants to informational and training resources that provide more in-depth Title 24 information. Architects, engineers, lighting designers, energy consultants, contractors, and building department staff should find this training of interest and directly applicable to their work.

Air Sealing and Insulating for Electrification Projects: Developing a Work Scope for Attic Efficiency Upgrades
2025-12-02 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Part 3 of 3 – December 2, 2025 (9am – 11am)
Effective work scopes help contractors and customers achieve specific performance goals in a home’s attic efficiency upgrade. Developing a comprehensive, goal-oriented work scope can help contractors sell more jobs, differentiate their work from other contractors bidding on the job, and enables customers to prioritize their home upgrades within their budget, allowing for the possibility of future improvements. In this session, Dan Perunko of Balance Point Home Performance will draw upon his contractor experience to discuss how he approaches attic efficiency work scopes, from demolition, material selection and installation, to commissioning.
Agenda:

Introduction and safety message
How is high-performance a different business model
Setting your company standards
How to define cost-effective
Identify the outcomes the customer would like to achieve
Defining outcomes in the work scope
Developing costs for specific outcomes
Using options to define good, better, best
Using notes to clarify limits of what work accomplishes
Negotiating the outcomes in the work scope

The objective of this course is that at the conclusion, participants will be able to:

Specify at least three or more performance outcomes the work scope helps define
Explain one or more ways that a high-performance work scope is different from an industry standard sale process
Synthesize the home performance outcomes the customer would like to achieve
Describe one or more examples of how to itemize the work scope to facilitate a better understanding of cost segregation
Identify how targeted air sealing strategies enhance building envelope performance, reduce energy loads, and enable the successful implementation of electrification

Introduction to Heat Pump Water Heater Education
2025-12-03 07:00 - 09:30 UTC
Manufacturers Heat Pump Water Heating (HPWH) Education session focused on technology features and benefits, appropriate applications, energy efficiency comparison to other water heater types, installation techniques and best practices, service support and warranty, proper maintenance, troubleshooting, and selling strategies.

Electrification & Home Performance Performance Series 4: All About Quality Insulation Installation (QII)
2025-12-03 10:00 - 12:00 UTC
Building electrification replaces fossil fuel systems with electric alternatives. As California shifts to all-electric homes, understanding home performance is essential. Key factors like energy efficiency, air-sealing, and insulation reduce energy use, improve air quality, and increase comfort. High performance homes use less energy, making electrification smoother and more sustainable.
This class is the fourth in a series on Electrification & Home Performance and covers the requirements and concepts behind QII testing.
Enhance your knowledge with a single class or complete the series for a thorough understanding of the relationship between home performance and electrification.

Comprehensive Electrification Training Bootcamp
2025-12-04 08:30 - 2025-12-05 16:30 UTC | 21865 Copley Dr, 21865 Copley Dr, Diamond Bar, CA, 91765, United States
This course provides a robust introduction into residential building electrification. It is designed for construction trade personnel of all levels including owners, sales managers, salespeople, installers, service technicians, and office support staff (primarily Day 1 for support staff). A key distinction of this training is its design and delivery by Electrify My Home, a pioneering HVAC electrification company with real field experience navigating the ins and outs of this exciting new pathway.21865

Debunking Electrification Myths – Addressing Misconceptions about BE
2025-12-08 09:00 - 11:30 (America/Los_Angeles)
Do many of your clients often have the same questions about electrification, and you’re not sure how to respond? This session will address common misconceptions surrounding building and transportation electrification. We will explore life cycle costs associated with transitioning to electrified buildings, discuss the evolving electric grid, highlight efficient technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles, and evaluate environmental impacts relative to fossil-based technologies. Through interactive discussions and evidence-based insights, participants will gain a deeper understanding of the benefits associated with building electrification, enabling them to make better informed choices that promote a sustainable and efficient future.

Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Training at West Lake Village
2025-12-09 07:00 - 08:00 UTC | 31240 Cedar Valley Dr, 31240 Cedar Valley Dr, West Lake Village, CA, 91362, United States
Heat pump water heaters (HPWH) are becoming the standard in California. This free training will prepare your plumbers to install them correctly to avoid callbacks and achieve their full potential in terms of efficiency, capacity, longevity, and customer satisfaction. We’ll cover how they work, the range of models available on the market, the critical detail of air flow, and research on closet installs and condensation risk. You’ll come out prepared to add heat pump water heaters to your business and avoid some common installation hurdles.

Introduction to Heating and Cooling Load Calculations for Electrification Projects
2025-12-09 09:00 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
In this webinar, Judy Rachel will explain what a heating/cooling load calculation is and how it provides essential information for the successful implementation of electrification projects. Beyond providing the essential information for properly sizing a residence’s HVAC system, the heating / cooling load calculation informs electrification project design and planning in significant ways. In addition, this presentation will explore the business case for this important planning step within the construction process.
Accurately calculating the heating and cooling loads for a building provides the information necessary to choose appropriately sized space conditioning equipment. Right-sizing HVAC equipment provides a significant advantage in electrification projects. When pursuing electrification using right-sized, typically, lower capacity HVAC equipment you will frequently negate the need for panel upgrades. This contributes significantly to reducing project costs, while saving on energy consumption and ongoing costs to comfortably condition a given home.

Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Training at Ferguson Santa Maria
2025-12-10 07:00 - 08:30 UTC | 1209 Betteravia Rd, 1209 Betteravia Rd, Santa Maria, CA, 93455, United States

Heat Pump Water Heater Installation Training at Ferguson San Luis Obispo
2025-12-11 07:00 - 08:30 UTC | 4546 Broad St, 4546 Broad St, San Luis Obispo, CA, 93401, United States

Title 24: What’s New in the NonResidential 2025 Energy Code
2025-12-11 08:30 - 11:00 UTC
The 2025 Title 24 Building Energy Code is more stringent than prior versions as the CEC aligns Title 24 with statewide clean energy goals. The new standards are intended to pivot the code to emphasize the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions in California. Martyn Dodd will summarize the new and revised requirements in the 2025 Code for Commercial buildings and direct participants to informational and training resources that provide more in-depth Title 24 information. Architects, engineers, lighting designers, energy consultants, contractors, and building department staff should find this training of interest and directly applicable to their work.

Conversations on 2025 CA Energy Code Updates for Lighting and Other Electrical Systems
2025-12-11 09:30 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
This class will present the most common questions being asked about the changes in the 2025 California’s Energy Code for electrical systems including lighting, electrical power distribution, photovoltaics, batteries and electric mechanical systems. Two energy code geeks, Charles Knuffke (Wattstopper Legrand) and Gina Griffiths Rodda (Gabel Energy for Energy Code Ace), will discuss popular topics and the impactful changes that will affect design decisions as our industry prepares for this new code cycle going into effect January 1, 2026.

Energy Storage Systems for Backup Power
2025-12-12 12:00 - 14:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
Course description

By enrolling in this course, you agree to receive text message course reminders. Upon receiving your first message you will have the option to opt out by replying “STOP”.
While there are economic incentives for grid-interactive customers who combine PV generation with energy storage, customers when polled, said that their primary motivation for using PV and batteries systems is robust, 24/7 backup power on demand.
Nationally, extended utility disruptions caused by floods, landslides, wind storms, ice storms, geomagnetic solar storms, hurricanes, tornados, wildfires, PSPS, earthquakes, aged infrastructure, replacement equipment shortages and deliberate sabotage, populate the news with alarming frequency and severity. Which battery-based backup systems truly deliver, meet, and exceed customers’ expectations during long-term utility power outages?
This class promises to address how variously-scaled PV production and battery energy storage systems coupled with smart, nimble, robust and locally-controlled load management can respond to the ever increasing challenges threatening to shoot out the lights.
In this class, Erik Frye will discuss experiences of owners of micro grids and battery based grid tied PV systems, including systems such as:

Tesla PowerWall
Enphase Ensemble
SolarEdge
Sol-Ark
LFP vs NMC vs NCA
SMA Sunny Island, SMA Sunny Boy, and SMA Tripower Storage
Non Export / Net Zero Self generation to meet self consumption with the added benefit of backup power
Stand Alone micro grids for entirely off grid applications
PGE meter base automatic transfer switch
Future projections

Understanding Heat Pump HVAC and Water Heating
2025-12-16 09:30 - 11:00 (America/Los_Angeles) | Online
This class will cover a basic introduction into the thermodynamics that make heat pumps so efficient. Whether used for space heating or water heating, heat pumps can be up to 300% efficient! How is that even possible? This class will also cover the advantages of heat pumps over gas furnaces as well as some disadvantages. It will cover some important factors that you need to know before selecting a heat pump water heater.
Learning Objectives

Understand how heat pumps use electricity to move heat.
Understand the important concepts related to space heating.
Understand the different kinds of heat pumps for space or water heating
Understand the benefits of heat pumps over gas furnaces
Understand the important factors that affect what heat pump you should choose.

Learning Units

1.5 AIA HSW LUs pending for this course
0.15 ICC LUs pending for this course

Understanding Heat Pump HVAC and Water Heating
2025-12-16 09:30 - 11:00 UTC
This class will cover a basic introduction into the thermodynamics that make heat pumps so efficient. Whether used for space heating or water heating, heat pumps can be up to 300% efficient! How is that even possible? This class will also cover the advantages of heat pumps over gas furnaces as well as some disadvantages. It will cover some important factors that you need to know before selecting a heat pump water heater.
