The house as a system: heat, air and moisture through the envelope, blower door testing, psychrometrics, ventilation, filtration, humidity control and energy auditing.

12 skills in 6 sections · listed in learning order

Building science fundamentals

1. Building science fundamentals

   How heat moves through a building, what insulation does and why a tight house behaves differently from a leaky one.

   Foundation No courses yet

2. Moisture and vapour control

   Understand how water vapour moves, where it condenses and how HVAC and envelope choices create or prevent moisture problems.

   Core No courses yet

Envelope testing

1. Blower door testing

   Set up and run a blower door, calculate ACH50 from conditioned volume and interpret the leakage result.

   Core No courses yet

2. Building pressure diagnostics

   Use pressure pan, zonal and room pressure tests to find where air leaks and how duct leakage drives the house.

   Advanced No courses yet

Psychrometrics & comfort

1. Psychrometrics fundamentals

   Dry bulb, wet bulb, dew point and relative humidity: measure them and understand what each line on the psychrometric chart represents.

   Foundation No courses yet

2. Psychrometric chart plotting

   Plot points and processes on the chart and calculate sensible, latent and total heat and the sensible heat ratio.

   Core No courses yet

Ventilation & filtration

1. Ventilation strategies

   Choose and size exhaust, supply, balanced and energy-recovery ventilation to meet residential standards.

   Core No courses yet

2. Filtration

   Select filter media by MERV rating and pressure drop and keep filtration from strangling airflow.

   Foundation No courses yet

3. Air purification and pollutant control

   Identify common indoor pollutants and apply UV, purification and CO detection where they help, and know where they do not.

   Core No courses yet

Humidity control

1. Humidification and dehumidification

   Size and install whole-house humidifiers and dehumidifiers and understand how cooling equipment affects latent load.

   Core No courses yet

Energy efficiency

1. Energy auditing

   Perform a residential energy assessment that identifies conservation measures and prioritises them by life-cycle cost.

   Advanced No courses yet

2. Efficiency standards and incentives

   Know the federal and regional efficiency requirements and the rebates and tax incentives that change what a customer can buy.

   Core No courses yet