Efficiency First California

TECH & ESMAC Heat Pump Water Heater Education
2023-10-09 07:00 - 09:00, 2023-09-11 07:00 - 09:00 (America/Los_Angeles)
Manufacturers Heat Pump Water Heating (HPWH) Education session focused on technology features and benefits, appropriate applications, energy efficiency compared to other water heater types, installation techniques, and best practices, service support and warranty, proper maintenance, troubleshooting, and selling strategies.

Heat Pump Fundamentals: Space Conditioning and Water Heating – Class 4: High Performance Fundamentals Series
2023-10-04 15:00 - 17:00
This is class 4 of 6 in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals Certificate series. Earn a 3C-REN certificate of completion after finishing the series and passing short quizzes at the end of each class. This series will be hosted twice throughout 2023.
Having gained a solid understanding of high-performance building enclosures from classes 1 through 3 in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals series, participants are well-prepared for this class, which will provide a foundation in the use of heat pumps for both space conditioning (heating and cooling) and water heating. The class will cover what a heat pump is and explain why heat pumps are essential elements of high performance buildings. Special attention will be paid to refrigerants: how heat pumps use them, how to avoid leaks through proper installation, and why it’s important to avoid leaks due to the damage they can cause to contractor profitability and the planet. An overview will be provided to aid in selecting, sizing, installing, and commissioning heat pump equipment, so that it performs as intended.

Benefits and Installation of Heat Pump Water Heaters
2023-10-04 10:00 - 12:00
The material covers the move to water heating electrification and focuses on the basic questions surrounding the transition in electric residences. Includes several studies and myths and methods for new construction and retrofits. California code issues are covered for both new construction and retrofits. A Webcast with a sample HPWH covering the various features and design elements.

Crafting High Performance Enclosures: Roofs, Walls, and Floors – Class 3 High Performance Fundamentals Series
2023-09-28 15:00 - 17:00
This is class 3 of 6 in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals Certificate series. Earn a 3C-REN certificate of completion after finishing the series and passing short quizzes at the end of each class.
Building enclosures – the roof, walls, and floor – are the first line of defense between nature and people. Enclosure performance is optimized when air sealing and insulation – two underappreciated and typically underperforming features – are done to high-performance standards rather than the status quo. The preceding class in our High Performance Fundamentals program (How Buildings Work; Science and Buildings and Science in Buildings) covered the scientific principles needed to effectively design high-performance buildings. This class covers installation — the practical application of those principles on the job site – the hands-on activities that differentiate ‘business-as-usual’ from high-performance construction. These include best practices for air sealing, insulation installation, and window installation, along with the tools and methods (e.g., blower door testing) used to measure the quality of work, and the metrics against which the work can be evaluated.

Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp
2023-09-22 08:30 - 12:00
Selling Energy’s new Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp is optimized for busy energy professionals. This sponsored training package consists of: two half-day live/online webinars; access to the webinar recordings for a full year; free access to Segment Guides™; and, ongoing live/virtual coaching with instructor Mark Jewell, an award-winning sales trainer and Wall Street Journal bestselling author with 30 years of experience selling energy projects.

Join us for the encore of the Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp on September 22, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon Pacific, live online.

Electric Heat Pumps for Water Heating
2023-09-21 09:00 - 12:00
As our electricity supply becomes cleaner due to an increased use of renewables for generation, along with a growing number of local ordinances prohibiting gas installs in new homes, electricity becomes an attractive fuel source to designers and builders interested in reducing residential greenhouse gas emissions and creating zero carbon homes.
Dan Perunko of Balance Point Home Performance will present on efficiency gains, and overcoming common installation pitfalls from electric heat pump water heaters in new and existing buildings. Class discussion will cover the advantages and limitations of these systems, the available technology and refrigerant types, as well as features like load flexing.

Scaling Heat Pump Adoption: BlocPower’s Electrification Journey
2023-09-20 12:00 - 13:30
BlocPower is a national climate technology company partnered with municipalities and utilities to deliver end-to-end decarbonization retrofits at scale. In this webinar, you’ll hear BlocPower’s approach to stakeholder alignment, community engagement and building long-term, high-value contractor partnerships. Head of Project Operations Leia Sims will walk you through BlocPower’s toolkit for driving decarbonization projects for customers of all income levels and at every stage of the electrification journey—including for buildings that require remediation. You’ll also virtually tour a featured BlocPower electrification project in PG&E service territory.

Building Resilience: Keeping the Lights on in an All-Electric Future
2023-09-20 09:00 - 12:00 | Yerba Buena Room (Bay Area Metro Center), 375 Beale Street, San Francisco, CA, 94105, United States
State and local policies are pushing our built environment toward all-electric buildings in order to save energy and reduce climate impacts, and at the same time we are experiencing challenges such as wildfires, heat events, and brownouts. Join us to hear about building and community scale solutions that can help create a resilient built environment for everyone, including energy efficiency, load shifting, demand response strategies, and more. This Forum is free and open to all, and will be in a hybrid format with options to attend in person or virtually.
Yerba Buena Room (Bay Area Metro Center)
375 Beale Street
San Francisco, CA 94105

Residential Heat Pump Water Heater Technology, Sales and Installation Challenges Part 2
2023-09-20 09:00 - 11:00
This course establishes a clear value proposition for residential heat pump water heater scenarios, while addressing key barriers to their adoption. It also provides targeted sales training to identify customers and opportunities for client-facing staff and stakeholders while delving into key installation considerations including space limitations, noise, condensate management, sizing, operational modes, and error codes.

Residential Heat Pump Water Heater Technology, Sales and Installation Challenges Part 1
2023-09-19 13:00 - 15:00

Regenerative Design in Practice: Zero Net Carbon Design Series
2023-09-19 12:00 - 13:30
The Zero Net Carbon Design (ZNCD) Series, will begin with the background and an overview of carbon in the building industry, then focus content on energy performance and renewable energy, water-savings as energy-savings, embodied carbon, and finally regenerative design.
The courses have been developed to fulfill the new California requirement for architects to have five hours of ZNCD education as part of their license renewal. Although created with architects in mind, the content is broadly applicable across the building industry.
There are 1.0 HSW|LUs available per class, we encourage you to register for the rest of the series for the full 5 hours of learning units.
Class 5: Regenerative Design in Practice

The Green Summit - San Diego (In Person & Online)
2023-09-16 14:00 - 21:00 | San Diego State University, 5500 Campanile Drive, San Diego, CA, 92182, United States
The Green Summit is an afternoon of TED talk style presentations and panels featuring leaders in business, tech, and finance, sharing their vision for a sustainable future, along with networking opportunities, raffles worth thousands of dollars of prizes, and ending with a rooftop happy hour.
Speaking Schedule
3:00-3:15pm – Dylan Welch – CEO of Green.org
3:15-3:30pm – Ellen Spooner – Communications Specialist at NOAA
3:30-3:45pm – Karin Burns – CEO of San Diego Community Power
3:45-4:00pm – Juan Pablo Alcon – Environmental Lawyer
4:00-4:15pm – Natalia King Quick – SD Brew Cycle
4:15-4:30pm – Greg Reid – NY Times Best Selling Author
4:30-4:40pm – Intermission
4:40-5:00pm – Panel – San Diego Community Leaders
5:00-5:15pm – Christina Chang – Head of Sustainability at Adore Me
5:15-5:30pm – Hap Klopp – Founder of North Face
5:30-5:45pm – Don Owens – CEO of Black Carbon Coalition
5:45-6:00pm – Sharon Vidal – Head of Sustainability at Illumina
6:00-6:15pm – Yi Gi – CEO of Renology
6:15-7:00pm – VIP Happy Hour
7:00-9:00pm – General Admission Happy Hour – The Nolan

Upgrading to an All-Electric Home: A Residential Case Study
2023-09-15 13:00 - 15:00
In 2019, Wei-Tai Kwok wondered how hard it would be to get rid of all his gas appliances and upgrade to an all-electric, zero-emission home. He thought it would be difficult and time consuming to change out his gas furnace, gas water heater, gas fireplace and gas cooktop. It turns out that he was wrong and it took him just 45 days. Come join Wei-Tai for a virtual tour of his suburban home, where he will share his experiences, strategies and suggestions for helping you take steps to upgrade your own home to join the all-electric movement and achieve a zero-emission home.

Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp
2023-09-15 08:30 - 12:00
Selling Energy’s new Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp is optimized for busy energy professionals. This sponsored training package consists of: two half-day live/online webinars; access to the webinar recordings for a full year; free access to Segment Guides™; and, ongoing live/virtual coaching with instructor Mark Jewell, an award-winning sales trainer and Wall Street Journal bestselling author with 30 years of experience selling energy projects.

Join us for the encore of the Virtual Selling Mini-Boot Camp on September 15 and 22, from 8:30 AM to 12:00 noon Pacific, live online.

Using Building Science to Design and Build High Performance Homes – Class 2: High Performance Fundamentals Series
2023-09-14 15:00 - 17:00
This is class 2 of 6 in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals Certificate series. Earn a 3C-REN certificate of completion after finishing the series and passing short quizzes at the end of each class.
Description: Most of us either have or would like to forget our high school biology, chemistry, and physical science. But believe it or not, it’s spot on to translate that science into how buildings actually work. This course applies essential building science principles to the design and construction of climate-tuned, resilient, top-value homes that are better for owners, better for the environment, and better for your work as building professionals.
What’s “better value” for owners, the environment, and you? Using science to integrate energy efficiency, thermal comfort, moisture management, durability, and resilience.

Electric Heat Pumps for Space Heating and Cooling
2023-09-14 09:00 - 13:00
As our electricity supply becomes cleaner due to increased use of renewable’s for generation along with a growing number of local ordinances prohibiting installs in new homes, electricity becomes an attractive fuel source to designers and builders interested in reducing residential greenhouse gas emissions and creating zero net energy buildings. Dan Perunko of Balance Point Home Performance will present on efficiency gains and emissions reductions from electric heat pumps in new and existing buildings and will cover the advantages and limitations of these systems, the available technology and refrigerant types. Discussion will touch on interactions with indoor air quality issues and building enclosure considerations.

Installing Heat Pumps: Lessons from the Field
2023-09-13 09:30 - 11:00
Heat Pumps are a big part of the solution to meeting California’s climate goals in buildings. In plain terms, they’re reversible air conditioners and have been around for over 100 years. This session is designed for HVAC contractors, builders, and others who want to understand how to install heat pumps right. We will cover how heat pumps can add value to your business, how heat pumps work and various configurations, and how to overcome common installation hurdles. Hurdles covered include dealing with existing ductwork, filtration requirements, cold weather, sizing, and electrical requirements. We will also discuss first costs, operating costs, and incentives.

10th Annual Net Zero Conference
2023-09-13 - 2023-09-14 | Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 S Figueroa St, Los Angeles, CA, 90015, United States
World-Class Education Sessions
Featuring content on: Agriculture, Biophilia, Buildings, Energy, Fashion, Food & Beverage, Health & Wellness, Materials, Personal Care, Technology, Transit, Waste, Water
Inspiring Keynotes
World-class speakers from multidisciplinary backgrounds have held our conference stage. Previous Keynote speakers from XPRIZE, Edison International, NASA, Seventh Generation, Zero Hour, the U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC), and more.
Networking Across Industriesi
1,500 attendees from 53 countries and 45 U.S. states spanning all industries

How to Electrify Your Home – Planning Considerations
2023-09-12 16:00 - 18:00
Homeowners around the world are beginning to embrace electrification (the switch from gas-fired to electric-powered appliances). When done correctly, home electrification brings a plethora of benefits including better air quality, improved comfort, lower environmental footprint, and in many cases quieter operation.
The path to going all-electric can take many forms. For some, this means upgrading one appliance at a time; for others, it means replacing them all at once and offsetting with on-site solar. Regardless of the timeline, there are some important planning steps that must take place, as well as a continual vision for optimizing efficiency. Special attention should be paid to electrical panel optimization, appliance location, and considerations for maximizing efficiency.

Practical Guide to All-Electric Residential Buildings
2023-09-12 08:30 - 12:30
The case for building All-Electric is stronger than ever. All-Electric homes are cheaper to build and operate, healthier and more comfortable to live in, and have GHG emissions roughly half that of mixed fuel homes. The 2022 California energy code will accelerate adoption of All-Electric building and this class will show why electric homes facilitate easier energy code compliance. Taught by two instructors who have built all-electric homes for themselves and are experts in the field, you’ll get an insider view of how to design and build electric, with examples from their professional work, how to overcome common objections and obstacles, and lessons learned from the field. Attendees will gain a better understanding of the technologies that enable All-Electric homes, including heat pumps, heat pump water heaters, induction cooking, and heat pump clothes dryers.

Introduction to Passive House Retrofits
2023-09-11 09:00 - 13:00
Passive House Standards are not just for new construction. Existing structures can benefit from upgrading airtightness, insulation, reducing thermal bridging, upgrading to high performance doors and windows, and adding energy recovery ventilation. Applying the passive house standards to existing structure, however, has its own unique challenges. In this course, you’ll review the passive house standards and take a closer look at how they apply to retrofitting existing buildings, as well as the EnerPHit certifications for building with successful retrofits.

Getting Past Heat Pump Objections
2023-09-08 08:00 - 11:00
Heat Pumps are quickly gaining traction as a preferred HVAC and water heating technology, but many customers and contractors are unfamiliar with heat pumps or remain skeptical. In order to meet California’s ambitious heat pump goals (6 million by 2030), contractors and other industry professionals must arm themselves with the knowledge (and sometimes the data) to dispel myths about heat pumps. In this webinar, you’ll hear from Larry Waters, an HVAC industry veteran who switched his focus towards home performance in 2010 and towards inverter heat pumps in 2014. With over 400 heat pump installations under his belt, Larry’s heard just about every objection in the book and will relay best practices for responding to such objections.

Retrofitting Homes for Electrification and Decarbonization
2023-09-07 09:00 - 13:00
From alignment with California’s decarbonization goals and local ordinances prohibiting new gas installs, Dan Perunko of Balance Point Home Performance will outline the necessary steps to electrify an existing single-family home and how to manage whole house strategies for successful electrification retrofits. Case studies demonstrating successful electrification projects will highlight the opportunities to overcome challenges presented by existing infrastructure and planning for backup power during PSPS events.

High Performance Buildings & Careers – Class 1: High Performance Fundamentals Series
2023-09-06 15:00 - 17:00
This is class 1 of 6 in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals Certificate series. Earn a 3C-REN certificate of completion after finishing the series and passing short quizzes at the end of each class.
Code compliance is a minimum standard for building performance; by contrast, “high performance” refers to buildings that are designed, built, and commissioned to exceed the performance of conventional buildings in energy efficiency, durability, comfort, safety, and indoor air quality. The magnitude of the opportunity to fill this gap cannot be over-emphasized. For example, field research found that a single-day high-performance retrofit can improve HVAC system performance in new homes by an average of 25%. While the mainstream building industry strives for code compliance, a small fraction of those in the industry adopt high-performance practices and produce homes and commercial facilities with lower energy use, greater resilience, exceptional durability, outstanding comfort, and low to zero onsite emissions. These individuals are consistently in demand, command higher wages, win awards, and have the satisfaction of building a better world for themselves, their families, and communities. The secret sauce? Setting quantitative goals, measuring performance, and marketing the superior outcomes.
This class – the first of six in 3C-REN’s High Performance Fundamentals Program – is an introduction to the opportunities presented by working in the realm of high-performance buildings, and how to create a place for yourself within that realm.

Home Electrification Planning – Class 3: Developing an Electrification Plan
2023-09-05 09:00 - 10:30
As California makes the transition to electrification, careful planning will be crucial for existing buildings. This three-part series will cover the importance of electrification planning, how to optimize existing electrical capacity to avoid costly and often unnecessary panel upgrades, selecting the most efficient equipment that will keep homeowners comfortable and happy, and putting together a comprehensive, detailed, and customized plan that will set homeowners and contractors up for success. The third and final webinar in the series will put all the pieces of an electrification plan together. Building on the heating load calculations and panel optimization covered in the first two trainings, this webinar will focus on selecting the proper type, sizing and location for newly-electrified equipment. It will also discuss how to structure an electrification plan so the information is clear and useful to both the homeowner and contractor.

Reducing Embodied Carbon: Zero Net Carbon Design Series
2023-08-31 12:00 - 13:30
The Zero Net Carbon Design (ZNCD) Series, will begin with the background and an overview of carbon in the building industry, then focus content on energy performance and renewable energy, water-savings as energy-savings, embodied carbon, and finally regenerative design.
The courses have been developed to fulfill the new California requirement for architects to have five hours of ZNCD education as part of their license renewal. Although created with architects in mind, the content is broadly applicable across the building industry.
There are 1.0 HSW|LUs available per class, we encourage you to register for the rest of the series for the full 5 hours of learning units.
Class 4: Reducing Embodied Carbon
This course focuses on embodied carbon, which is the carbon emissions intrinsic to the production and use of construction materials. We’ll discuss the carbon life of materials through all phases – from extraction, transportation, manufacturing, and installation of building materials on site to demolition and end-of-life considerations.
Learning Objectives:

Evaluate methods for calculating carbon depending on project goals
Review Environmental Product Declarations (EPDs) and the various specifications
Compare specific materials and assemblies to identify lower-carbon options
Look ahead to changes in the energy code that will address embodied carbon

The Electrification Course for Professionals
2023-08-29 16:00 - 18:00
Everyone’s talking about electrification, but what’s a practical way to participate in this movement? Home Professionals are asking “how can I clarify the benefits to my customers of electrifying their homes?” And “what about navigating the rebate and new incentive landscape?”
In The Electrification Course for Professionals, we provide the framework for discussing and planning electrification projects with customers. We help you debunk many of the myths that people believe regarding the superiority of fossil fuels and provide a pathway for your customer to transition from gas to electric appliances.
The course also provides a tool that you can use to help homeowners understand the costs and cost savings associated with converting from gas appliances to electric appliances using The Electrification Calculator. Ultimately, the course will highlight the business opportunity associated with developing professional expertise in the world of electrification and provide knowledge and tools to be effective in this rapidly expanding market.

Achieving Super Tight Air Sealing Targets for New Construction, Retrofits, and Passive House
2023-08-29 09:00 - 12:00
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.

Home Electrification Planning – Class 2: Panel Optimization
2023-08-29 09:00 - 10:30
As California makes the transition to electrification, careful planning will be crucial for existing buildings. This three-part series will cover the importance of electrification planning, how to optimize existing electrical capacity to avoid costly and often unnecessary panel upgrades, selecting the most efficient equipment that will keep homeowners comfortable and happy, and putting together a comprehensive, detailed, and customized plan that will set homeowners and contractors up for success. Despite popular beliefs, increasing panel capacity in order to electrify a home is not always necessary. Many homes can be fully electrified on existing panel capacity if the panel space is optimized. The second webinar of the series will focus on determining the existing load, incorporating planned electrification upgrades, and optimizing existing electrical panel capacity, which will save homeowners from having to make costly upgrades, and protect the grid from being overburdened and requiring major infrastructure upgrades.
