HERS Whole-House Home Energy Rater certification requires the student to attend a two day class. The course focuses on how to perform a California Whole-House Home Energy Rating. This course will teach students how to properly gather information on the energy-consuming features of a home, how to perform diagnostic testing and evaluate the validity of the information gathered. Students will learn how to perform field verification and diagnostic testing of Solar (PV) systems specifically for the New Solar Homes Partnership (NSHP) program. This course describes the installation specifications and equipment HERS Raters will use for a solar verification. Finally, this course will teach students how to use the California Energy Commission-approved CalRatepro software to estimate the energy consuming features of a home using the information gathered on site and to complete cost-effectiveness evaluations.

To complete a Whole House Rating on an existing home in California you must use “approved” software. Currently, there is only one allowable software that can be used to officially rate a home’s energy use, CalRatePro**, a module within EnergyPro software. If you do not already own EnergyPro you will need to acquire it plus the CalRatePro module to be able to model a home’s energy use, legally certify homes, give it a HERS Index score, perform Energy Efficient Mortgages, or meet other program requirements such as Energy Star, LEED, GreenPoint Rated, etc. The purchasing of and licensing fees for this software is NOT included in this course.

**$300 “CalRATEpro” (CalCERTS licensed software.) Payment made to EnergySoft. Please contact Gina Dodd at EnergySoft: 415-897-6400 x 300 or sales@energysoft.com
There is an additional $200.00 for the EnergyPro Interface if you are NOT already an EnergyPro user. You will need EnergyPro Version 5 for the CalRATEpro software.

Similar to any other HERS Rating, there will be an upload charge to generate official certified rating reports from the CalCERTS registry.

Prerequisites: You must be a Certified HERS Residential Alterations Rater
(Complete and Pass HERS Basics, HERS Hands-On-Lab, HERS Residential Alterations, and HERS Residential Alterations Field House Exam), and hold a current HERS Residential New Construction Certification.

Course Duration: 16 clock hours

Text Book: CalCERTS HERS Whole-House Home Energy Rater Training Manual

Learning Objectives:

• Explain the steps that are required to perform a California Whole-House Home Energy Rating or a California Whole-House Home Energy Audit.
• Identify how to properly gather information on the energy-consuming features of a home.
• Use the California Energy Commission-approved CalRatepro™ software to estimate the energy consumption of a home.
• Explain the special tests and inspections for solar systems.
• Complete the Title 24 Compliance Forms for solar inspections.

Learning Outcomes: At the end of this course, students will be able to:

• Identify the steps that are required to perform a California Whole-House Home Energy Rating or a California Whole-House Home Energy Audit.
• Properly gather information on the energy-consuming features of a home.
• Use the CalRatepro™ software to estimate the energy consumption of a home.
• Perform HERS Field Verification and Diagnostic Testing of a home and evaluate the validity of the information gathered.
• Explain the installation and performance specifications for a solar installation.
• Complete the Title 24 Compliance forms for solar inspections.

Topics Covered in This Class:

• An Energy Audit’s Purpose
• Understanding Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning (HVAC) Energy Use, Heating Energy Use, Lighting Energy Use, Appliances, Ancillary Energy Uses, and Renewables
• Field Data Collection and Reporting
• Hands on Examples of performing an energy audit
• CalRatepro™ Software
• The New Solar Homes Partnership Program
• The People Involved in the Process and Their Responsibilities
• Equipment Verification
• Verify Installation Specifications
• Verify Performance Specifications using a pyranometer and other equipment.
• Verifying the tilt and azimuth of solar arrays.
• Perform Shading Analysis
• Reading and verifying kW output on different PV inverters
• Title 24 Compliance Forms for Solar installations
• California Flexible Install

How skills are measured: Standardized exam at the conclusion of the course and a Whole- House Home Energy Field House exam. This class is not a substitute for either of the required Whole House Field house exam.  This course prepared students for the required field house exam.