New construction course at WNC starts Sept. 18

Courtesy Steve Yingling, Western Nevada College

New energy codes and water conservation regulations have made it necessary for builders to become associated with a certified ratings program.

By enrolling in Western Nevada College’s Special Topics in Construction (CONS 198) class this fall, individuals will be positioned to earn at least two Building Performance Institute certifications that will position them to play a role in an evolving construction business landscape. They’ll meet the Nevada Division of Real Estate requirements for training to become a licensed Energy Auditor and Healthy Home Evaluator.

For the BPI Building Analyst/Energy Auditor certification, individuals will learn how to perform comprehensive, whole-home assessments, identify problems at their root cause, and prescribe and prioritize solutions based on building science. The Building Analyst/Energy Auditor certification verifies one’s knowledge, skills and abilities needed to conduct comprehensive building performance audits, including assessing whole-building ventilation, measuring airflow, combustion safety and testing/data collection.

From identifying asthma triggers and risk of lead poisoning to testing for CO and other health hazards, tremendous opportunity exists to incorporate a healthy home analysis into home performance assessments.

The Healthy Home Evaluator (HHE) certification builds on the BPI Building Analyst (BA), Multifamily Building Analyst, Energy Auditor (EA) or Quality Control Inspector (QCI) certifications. The HHE was developed in partnership with the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative (GHHI). A Healthy Home Evaluator assesses home-based environmental health and safety hazards and provides a prioritized list of recommendations to address those hazards.

The class meets on Tuesdays from 7 to 9:45 p.m. starting on Sept. 18 and will be led by Mark A. Lera of the American Institute of Building Science.

For more information about the class, contact Career and Technical Education at 775-445-4272. For information about becoming a student at WNC, go to www.wnc.edu/starthere/.