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Follow on Google News | Building Science Institute 1 of 7 Schools In U. S. Expected To Receive Special Weatherization AccreBSI was just named one of only seven entities in the country to be accepted into a pilot program for weatherization accreditation by the American National Standards Institute (ANSI) and Interstate Renewable Energy Council (IREC).
By: Building Science Institute Previously, an ANSI-accredited curriculum didn’t exist for weatherization (the process of making existing homes more energy efficient). BSI became the first educational provider in the U.S. to ever submit a weatherization program to ANSI for accreditation. BSI is hopeful its weatherization curriculum will be approved for accreditation by late summer, after ANSI reviews BSI’s application and curriculum details. “We expect by August to be fully accredited by ANSI and also meet IREC standards, which means we’ll be the only one in the country to have earned those two distinctions,” The publication “ANSI Congressional Standards Update” is a monthly electronic newsletter designed to provide members of Congress and their staff with timely information on key standards and conformity assessment issues that impact the global competitiveness of U.S. business and the U.S. quality of life. Because of this reliance upon ANSI it is expected that future weatherization training funded directly or indirectly with federal funds will seek curricula that is ANSI-IREC accredited. Timothy Heppner, BSI director of education and board member, said BSI created its weatherization courses In order to provide a way for inner city residents to follow a path for careers in the green economy. By providing a 2 step curricula the students may strive for higher higher career goals first through the Weatherization Specialist of Convective Loss and then on to the Supervisor level. For the past two years, BSI has been teaching the same two weatherization specialist courses that it submitted in its application for accreditation to ANSI: one for beginners and one to train supervisors. Chomko, Heppner and others designed their weatherization curriculum to specifically address convective heat loss, which accounts for typically up to 40 percent of heat loss in the home. “Convective heat loss is the low hanging fruit in terms of weatherization,” BSI students who complete a 40-hour training course learn to become experts in proper air sealing, mitigating heat loss, increasing energy efficiency and improving indoor air quality. “We demonstrate how to operate a blower door, identify areas of convective heat flow, and calculate interior volume to evaluate a home’s fresh air ventilation,” BSI’s weatherization curriculum was developed while working with the City of Chicago and its Greencorps Chicago program, which provides the funding for economically disadvantaged citizens to complete training classes in diverse environmental trades. “We owe our appreciation to Mayor Emanuel and Greencorps Chicago, which helped us fine-tune our curriculum,” BSI also offers courses and custom curriculum that can help a student become a certified RESNET (Residential Energy Services Network) home energy rater, achieve BPI (Building Performance Institute) building analyst status, or earn continuing education credits in a specialized field. “We’ve gathered an excellent team of acclaimed trainers and highly credentialed educators who are renowned innovators and leaders in their respective areas of specialization,” BSI classes are taught at the Chicago Center for Green Technology (www.chicagogreentech.org) End
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