Program Details
Earn HERS Rater certification online with live instruction from our expert trainers!
Southface Institute’s online, instructor-led training puts you face-to-face with industry experts to help you master challenging content and become a certified HERS Rater.
With Southface, you can become a Certified Home Energy Rater, one of the highest residential energy credentials that can be earned by an individual. We offer a live online version of our long-respected Home Energy Rating System (HERS) training, developed and maintained by the Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET).
Curriculum
Southface will present 10 live, instructor led half-day online sessions with experienced HERS trainer Mike Barcik, who has taught this course over 100 times since 1999. The training will conclude with all required RESNET evaluations, and the price includes proctoring costs for each RESNET exam. Because Southface is a nonprofit, your course fees help support our mission.
The course requires completion of prerequisite online training modules, which must be completed prior to online instructor-led sessions. Content includes homework problems and practice test questions, as well as practice using rating software and combustion safety and rating simulator tools.
The assessment phase includes all three RESNET required tests (the 55-question National Rater Exam, the RESNET Combustion Appliance Simulation Test and the RESNET Rater Simulation Practical Test), as well as a proctored “oral exam” of blower door, duct leakage testing and ventilation air flow, as well as an actual projected rating of a home based on plans.
The course must be completed within two months of starting, but all coursework and assignments are designed to be completed comfortably within one month.
Upon successful completion of the course, students will be able to connect with a Certified Home Energy Rating Provider and complete the necessary provisional ratings to begin performing certified Home Energy Ratings.
Takeaways
As a Certified Home Energy Rater, you will be able to produce energy rating reports that will help home buyers and homeowners qualify for financing incentives through a variety of private and government loan programs. Raters provide the documentation for home builders to receive credit for beyond-code construction and with more modern energy codes, raters can help builders demonstrate compliance via the Energy Rating Index (ERI) pathway.
By applying a building science-based knowledge with industry approved energy modeling software and enhanced diagnostic tools, Certified HERS Rater is one of the highest residential energy credentials that can be earned by an individual. Home Energy Ratings can be performed on both new and existing homes and are utilized by numerous energy and green building certification programs including ENERGY STAR, EarthCraft House, LEED for Homes and National Green Building Standard, as well as many utility rebate programs and energy code compliance efforts.
This training complies with RESNET’s Mortgage Industry National Home Energy Rating System Accreditation Standard, which has been adopted by Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac and the National Association of State Energy Officials. For more information about the Home Energy Rating industry, visit www.resnet.us.
