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Professional training programs focus on providing training for certification and are designed to help professionals increase their knowledge and abilities. There are two main categories of certification courses including new homes and existing homes.

New Homes

Three organizations provide certification courses on new homes. These include:

• Energy & Environmental Building Association (EEBA) is an international organization that provides educational products and services for improved building performance to its members. Members of EEBA have the can register to participate in a "Master Builder" certification program. The program is offered year round through EEBA's Institute of Building Technology. Topics covered in the program include: Building Design Basics, Codes Comprehension, Design Components, Green and Sustainability, Commissioning and Testing, Indoor Environments and Health and Mechanical Systems.
  
  
• Residential Energy Services Network (RESNAT) is comprised of a national group of mortgage companies, real estate brokers, builders, appraisers, utilities and other housing and energy professionals interested in increasing the number of families qualified for homeownership through the expansion of mortgage financing options and home energy ratings. RESNAT in collaboration with other organizations offers its member the opportunity to enroll in a home energy rater certification program based on the HERS Rating Method.
  
  North American Technician Excellence (NATE) offers tests to both Installation and Service technicians. Posted on their website are course descriptions. NATE has a network of hundreds of Testing Organizations across the country, and testing takes place all year.

Existing Homes

A number of state and local government agencies as well as private companies offer weatherization certification programs for their residents. For additional information, please see your local governments' web site or click on the corresponding link above.

Good Installation Practices.

In order to have energy efficient products work well, they need to be installed well. The North American Technician Excellence (NATE) is an independent non-profit that provides comprehensive, nationwide testing and certification for HVAC technicians who work on or install residential and light commercial equipment and systems. NATE training, endorsed by the U.S. Department of Energy, increases the number of technicians skilled in the proper installation and service of HVAC equipment, which ensures that equipment runs at peak efficiency and helps achieve energy efficiency goals.


SOURCE:  HUD

Funding announced June , 2009

California ($74,324,424 awarded today) will leverage a network of over 50 non-profits, local governments, and community action associations to perform weatherization services at over 50,000 homes.

Prior to weatherizing a home, weatherization providers will use national auditing tools to conduct home energy audits that will help inform which weatherization activities should occur in a particular home.

In order to ensure quality, the state will also mandate that a third party inspect all weatherized properties, measuring performance based on the quality of work and the speed in which it is implemented.

Additionally, since the program will greatly increase the demand for jobs in the energy efficiency sector, the state will follow the recommendations of the California Green Collar Jobs Council by employing members of the

• California Conservation Corps,
• Youthbuild,
• and other youth employment groups.

Outreach for the program will be conducted through canvassing neighborhoods, local advertising, and by cooperating with landlords and property managers.

After demonstrating successful implementation of their plan, the state will receive more than $92 million in additional funding, for a total of more than $185 million.

On June 18, 2009, the Department of Energy  announced provision of more than $453 million in Recovery Act funding to expand weatherization assistance programs in 15 additional states.

These funds, along with additional funds to be disbursed after the states meet certain Recovery Act milestones, will help these states achieve their goal of weatherizing more than 165,000 homes, lowering energy costs for low-income families that need it, reducing greenhouse gas emissions, and creating green jobs across the country. 

The following states will receive 40% of their total weatherization funding authorized under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act today:

• California,
  
• Delaware,
  
• District of Columbia,
  
• Florida,
  
• Maryland,
  
• Montana,
  
• North Carolina,
  
• North Dakota,
  
• Nebraska,
  
• Nevada,
  
• Ohio,
  
• South Carolina,
  
• South Dakota,
  
• Utah, and
• West Virginia.
  

Under the Recovery Act, states may spend up to 20% of funds to hire and train workers.

"These awards demonstrate the Obama Administration's strong commitment to  creating jobs and doing important work for the American people--while ensuring that taxpayer dollars are spent responsibly," said Secretary Chu. "Today's investments will save money for hard working families, reduce pollution, strengthen local economies and help move America toward a clean energy future."

DOE's Weatherization Assistance Program will be available to families making up to 200% of the federal poverty level--or about $44,000 a year for a family of four.

Weatherization projects allow low-income families to save money by making their homes more energy efficient, which results in average savings of 32% for heating bills and savings of hundreds of dollars per year on overall energy bills. States will spend approximately $6,500 to weatherize each home.

The funding allocations for the Weatherization Assistance Program follow a stage-gate process: on March 12, funding allocations by state were announced and the initial 10% of total funding was available to states and territories to support planning and ramp-up activities; comprehensive state applications were due on May 12; following a DOE reviews for each state, 40% allocations are awarded; and the remaining 50% of funds will be released when states meet reporting, oversight, and accountability milestones required by the Recovery Act.

This installment adds to the initial 10% of the states' funding allocations that were awarded previously for training and ramp-up activities. Following a review of their comprehensive state plans, these 15 states have now received 50% of their Recovery Act Weatherization Assistance Program funding. Arizona, Kansas, Mississippi and Oregon previously received this 40% funding allocation.

The Recovery Act includes a strong commitment to oversight and accountability, while emphasizing the necessity of rapidly awarding funds to help create new jobs and stimulate local economies.

Efficiency First, a new trade association formed for energy efficiency contractors in 2009, is working with DOL (Department of Labor) and DOE (Department of Energy) to create a new job classification for weatherization worker and weatherization crew chief. This should help in terms of ARRA (American Recovery & Reinvestment Act) funds.

But all stimulus funds do require prevailing wage.

In terms of climate bill. The Efficiency First trade association  has successfully lobbied to exclude REEP from prevailing wage requirements for all buildings except commercial over 6000 sq. Ft.