High Performance Buildings & Careers – Class 1: High Performance Fundamentals Series

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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.  

Learning Objectives 

After attending this class, participants will be able to: 

• Explain the concept of high performance building and the roles of ‘building as a system,’ building science, and quantitative assessment in achieving high performance 
• Understand the connections between high performance building, human health, resiliency, climate change mitigation, and State energy and climate regulatory trends 
• Enumerate the benefits of high-performance building design, construction, and commissioning, including providing quantitative examples of improvements that can be achieved by adopting a high-performance approach 
• Begin transitioning to high-performance building practices 

1.5 AIA|HSW LU’s available for this course

Instructors:

• Ann Edminster, Design AVEnues LLC