Does anyone know what it would take to become a certified energy auditor. By certified I mean by HERS or RESNET. Would it even be a practical thing to consider living in So Cal? After all I would be trying to make a living. And does anyone in California know if there is a specific license classification other than a D65 Weatherization and Energy Conservation that would be state required?
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Last time I checked it will be 1500 dollars and a week long class. Followed by a very difficult test to the tune of another 50 bucks. Upon completion you will need to find a HERS provider to rate the houses that you do. You will pay them a flat fee per house or a set annual fee.
I believe it is worth it because you can do a lot of things with it.
Another 2000 bucks will get your provider licsense.
Due to the recent state of the economy, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off
Thanks bambam. Do you do audits for a living?
Not as a HERS Rater. My ex proffession was weatherization but they cut the contract by 30% and most of us bailed. It was the commercial private sector were we did mostly apts. There for a while they thought about making us all HERS Raters but there is another class that is only 2 days called Whole House Diagnostic that cost about 300. It is just a crash course in the HERS Raters.
My brother took the class and told me about it. The other class will teach you the basics. I have been using a blower boor since '89 but they wouldnt grandfather me for the class.
As far as the duct blaster, you can get by without one for a while if money is tight at first. There are ways to check the duct pressure without it but IMO it is not as accurate. It is (I believe) still acceptable though. As has been said though you can still do audits without being a HERS Rater as long as you know how.
Due to the recent state of the economy, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off
Well its just something Ive been thinking about anyway and I appreciate the feedback. Not sure if I can swing that investment right now and being an uncertified isnt something Id want to do. Again, thanks for the info.
I believe the utilities are deregulated in Cal. You can find a contrator there that may certify you while you sub from them. Provided they havent done like the Texas otilities and cut their contracts. Even the sub work can be very nice money. You can look up your investor owned utliity and they will give you a list of companies.Due to the recent state of the economy, the light at the end of the tunnel has been turned off
I'll try that too thanks
one of the multiple choice questions is guessing how to speel Anergy....
but u got that already
HEEEEEEEEEEE funny!
There's always one in every family
BamBam was right about the cost and the hard test. Only one person out of ten passed it when I took it. I failed by 1 question and haven't retaken it yet.
HERS seems to be geared towards new construction. You may want to look at BPI certification. Depends on what you want to do. I chose HERS but in hindsight should have gone down the BPI path
You also have to look at equipment. A thermal imager will set you back $5K and a blower door/duct blaster another $3500. You also have to get a provider- who is your QA/QC outfit - $300 a year. To be HERS Rater you also need professional liablity insurance, in addition to general liability. That can run $1500 a year.
BTW you don't need a license/certification to do energy audits. At least not on federal level nor in my sorry state of MD.
If you do go for a cert, study the book "Residential Energy" by Krigger, well in advance.
I'll look into that BPI also thanks. I guess I already knew most of this info, just trying to see if there is anything else I needed. Oh and it seems the state of California requires a license if you look at a house crossways, gotta have that revenue.