EERE Programs Briefing

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Training and Equipping an Expanded
Weatherization Workforce
2006 NASCSP Mid-Winter Training
Conference Washington, DC February 3, 2006
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Position Description Current Quantity Anticipated Number Required
Crew workers/installers 5,700 39,000
Crew chiefs 1,500 4,000
HVAC contractors ?? 1,000
Energy auditors 1,000 3,000
Inspectors 900 2,000
Local agency coordinators 900 3,000
Technical monitors 125 350
Program/admin monitors 125 350
Client education specialist 250 750
Intake/Eligibility 1,000 4,200
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• How do we train them?
• What do they need to know?
• What equipment do they need?

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How Do We Train Them?

• Conferences
• Training centers
• On-site training
• Online training

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Conferences

• Pro
• Peer-to-peer exchange
• Meet the experts
• Many topics
• New ideas
• Current issues

• Con
• Travel cost
• Production loss
• Many may not be able to attend
• Time constraints limit depth/detail
• Hands-on opportunities are limited

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Training Centers

• Pro
• Comprehensive, standardized training on selected
  topics
• Furnace labs equipment set-up allow more
  hands-on training
• Required attendance
• Environment lends itself to certification if
  desired

• Con
• Time expense building /or setting up facility
• Travel cost
• Production loss

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On-Site Training

• Pro
• Local housing stock tools
• More hands-on action
• Training site can count towards production
• Less travel required

• Con
• Huge trainer effort, burnout worries
• Training site can be less than ideal
• A lot of scheduling prep work required
• May try to tackle too much
• Class size very limited
• Possibility of bad weather

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Online Training

• Pro
• Aside from bandwidth, there is no limitation on
  class size
• No travel required
• Content and instruction are consistent across
  country

• Con
• No hands-on component

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How Do We Train Them?

• 10 Weatherization training centers listed on
  WAPTAC
• Corporation for Ohio Appalachian Development,
  Ohio
• CASE Training and Energy Services Center, West
  Virginia
• Indiana Community Action Association Training
  Center, Indiana
• PGE Stockton Training Center, California
• Weatherization Training Center, Pennsylvania
• Montana Weatherization Training Center, Montana
• Kansas Building Science Institute, Kansas
• New River Center for Energy Research Training,
  Virginia
• Association for Energy Affordability, New York
• Southwest Building Science Training Center,
  Arizona

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Other Training Centers

• NYSWDA Training Center, Syracuse, NY
• Mobile Home Training Center, Lynchburg, VA
• Community and Economic Development Association
  (CEDA), Chicago, IL
• Linn State Technical College, Linn, MO
• The Learning Center at Sun Power, Denver, CO
• Building Performance Center, Opportunity Council,
  Bellingham, WA
• The creation of a few more training centers were
  being considered even before talk of ramp up
• While not having official training centers, many
  states use local agencies to host standardized
  weatherization training courses throughout the
  year

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Training Centers

• How much can existing training centers
  realistically increase capacity?
• How many new training centers are needed?
• Who establishes new training centers?
• Existing training centers establish new satellite
  offices?
• State uses TTA funds to create new training
  centers?
• Private, for-profit companies create new training
  centers?

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Training Center Ramp Up

• Increasing production from 150,000 to 1,000,000
  per year represents a multiplier of 6.7
• 16 existing training centers x 6.7 107
• Start-up costs
• (107 16) x 180,000/center 16,380,000
• Ongoing operating costs
• 107 x 290,000/center 26,390,000/year

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Training Centers

• How large should a typical new training center
  be?
• How many trainers does a training center need?
• Where are new training centers most needed?
• How long does it take to establish a new training
  center?
• How much does it cost?
• Facilities?
• New construction, conversion of existing
  building, existing vocational tech facility?
• What equipment and layout are best?

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Other Training Resources

• Private companies and non-profit organizations
  that provide weatherization training
• R.J. Karg Associates, Topsham, ME
• Saturn Resources Management, Helena, MT
• Vermont Energy Investment Corporation,
  Burlington, VT
• Wisconsin Energy Conservation Corporation,
  Madison, WI
• A small network of independent trainers offer
  varying forms of on-site training
• State technical monitors
• Peer-to-peer trainers
• Circuit rider
• Local weatherization agency association trainers

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On-Site Training

• What is the existing capacity of this delivery
  mechanism?
• How many people new to Weatherization could the
  existing on-site training capacity get trained in
  6 to 9 months?
• How many traveling trainers could be added from
  the existing training network?
• How much would this increase training capacity?

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On-Site Training

• Where can we find new trainers capable of
  providing comprehensive, hands-on, on-site
  training?
• How many do we need to hire?
• How long will it take to train the trainers?
• What do they need to be trained on?
• What vehicles and equipment will traveling
  trainers need?
• Fully outfitted crew truck or trailer and tow
  vehicle?
• Multiple manometers and combustion analyzers so
  more than one student can push buttons and see
  screens at a time?
• Training props

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On-Site Training Ramp Up

• Non-training-center portion of the training
  infrastructure must also increase almost 7 fold
• This crude estimation likely under-predicts need
• Existing training infrastructure is struggling to
  meet current need in some areas
• Many new trainees will be starting from scratch
  instead of being on the job for several weeks or
  months

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Online Weatherization Training

• Online Weatherization training has many
  advantages
• No travel
• No limitation on class size
• Many trainees can quickly become familiar with
  the Weatherization Program and whole-house
  weatherization basics
• Subsequent hands-on training can start at an
  advanced level
• Saturn Resource Management has developed online
  courses for Weatherization providers, BPI
  certification, and HERS raters
• Based on core competencies developed by
  Weatherization Trainers Consortium
• Available at http//srmi.biz/bpt/
• A separate, pilot online training module on zonal
  pressure diagnostics will be also be available
  online later this month

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Distance Learning

• Pennsylvanias Weatherization Training Center and
  others have offered distance learning on
  Weatherization and building science over the
  internet
• Model could be used by other training centers and
  independent trainers to extend their reach and
  capacity

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Hands-On Training

• Online training and distance learning are only
  part of the answer
• Hands-on training and on-the-job apprenticeship
  are vital components to effective Weatherization

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What do they need to know?

• Core competencies
• Standardized curricula

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Core Competencies

• Specialized knowledge and skills are required at
  the local, state, and federal level to run an
  effective Weatherization Program
• While there is a general understanding of the
  competencies required, these had not been
  articulated on a national scale
• The Weatherization Trainers Consortium published
  a set of core competencies to increase awareness
  and raise expectations
• The competencies that a weatherization worker
  should possess depend on their position
• For example, an auditor needs to conduct
  diagnostic testing that may not be required of an
  installer

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Core Competencies

• The point of entry also dictates which core
  competencies are required
• An entry-level installer requires a minimum set
  of competencies.
• This installer must acquire additional skills to
  become a crew chief, and still more to become an
  auditor
• A new auditor hired off the street must already
  possess auditor-level competencies as a condition
  of hire
• These increasing levels of competency also
  provide a career or development path for agency
  and contractor personnel
• The core competencies document and matrix is
  available on http//waptac.org/si.asp?id1259

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Core Competencies

• Provided for the following topical areas
• Basic competencies
• Safe work practices
• Building evaluation
• Measure installation
• Final inspection
• Consumer education
• Monitoring
• Program management
• Training

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Definitions

• Competency means the possession of a minimum
  level of knowledge and proficiency required to
  collect appropriate information, make informed
  decisions, and physically take the needed actions
  to deliver the high-quality weatherization
  service in question.
• Possess a working knowledge of means to
• Know how a particular topic impacts the
  weatherization process
• Have the relevant information committed to memory
  or be able to locate it in readily available
  sources and
• Use the knowledge to make informed decisions and
  guide weatherization work.
• Demonstrate the ability to means to
• Physically conduct a test, procedure, or
  technique on an actual house, a prop, or in a
  training lab in the presence of someone qualified
  to assess the particular competency.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Prerequisites
• Possess Safe Work Practices, Installer, and Crew
  Chief competencies.
• Possess a working knowledge of building science
  principles.
• Inspection and Measurement
• Possess a working knowledge of
• Air and heat flow in buildings
• Factors that affect building heat loss
• Construction features and critical junction
  points of common housing types
• Insulation R-values
• Different insulation materials and installation
  techniques
• Various air-sealing techniques and appropriate
  materials

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Inspection and Measurement
• Possess a working knowledge of
• Causes of and remedies for existing and potential
  moisture problems
• Causes of and remedies for other existing and
  potential indoor air quality problems
• Residential mechanical ventilation systems
• Minimum ventilation rates/building tightness
  limits based on the appropriate ASHRAE 62
  standard and
• Electric base-load usage.
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Measure the dimensions of floors, walls,
  ceilings, windows, and doors, and compute surface
  areas

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Inspection and Measurement
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Compute the volume of conditioned space of a
  building
• Define the thermal envelope of a building
• Assess the effectiveness of existing insulation
  and the effective R-values and
• Analyze utility bills including breaking out
  base-load usage from heating and cooling usage.
• Diagnostic Testing
• Blower door
• Possess a working knowledge of
• Principles of air movement and how they relate to
  building heat loss

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Diagnostic Testing
• Blower door
• Possess a working knowledge of
• Typical air leakage problems in common housing
  types and
• Minimum ventilation rates.
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Set up a blower door
• Prepare a building for a blower door test and
• Take blower door reading and interpret results.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Diagnostic Testing
• Zone pressure diagnostics
• Possess a working knowledge of
• The air barrier of a building and the importance
  of aligning it with the thermal barrier and
• Primary and intermediate zones of a house.
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Conduct zone pressure diagnostics and interpret
  results and
• Determine the location and effectiveness of the
  air barrier of a house.
• Duct testing
• Possess a working knowledge of
• Problems associated with different types of duct
  leakage.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Diagnostic Testing
• Duct testing
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Determine dominant duct leakage and
• Conduct pressure tests. Potential tests include
• Pressure pan
• Duct Blaster
• Delta-Q
• Seal duct leaks with appropriate materials and
  good workmanship.
• Measure room pressure imbalances in houses with
  forced-air systems.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Diagnostic Testing
• Steam and hot water distribution system testing
• Possess a working knowledge of
• The components of typical steam and hot water
  distribution systems and the characteristics of
  their proper operation.
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Test air vents, steam traps, thermostatic
  radiator valves, and hot water zone valves and
• Estimate the energy impacts of existing
  overheating problems.
• Base-load systems
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Meter electrical devices to determine their
  annual energy consumption.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Combustion Appliance Safety
• Possess a working knowledge of
• CO action levels
• Common code requirements related to
• Vent system sizing, materials, clearances, and
  installation
• Safety shut-off devices
• Gas line sizing and
• Combustion air
• Causes of and remedies to common vent system
  problems.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Combustion Appliance Safety
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Measure the CO level in ambient air
• Measure the CO level of vented and unvented
  combustion appliances
• Measure the CO levels of gas- or propane-fired
  cook stoves (oven and burners)
• Understand the difference between as-measured and
  air-free CO readingsDetect natural gas, propane,
  and fuel oil leaks
• Conduct a worst-case draft test of a combustion
  appliance zone
• Measure the CAZ to assure sufficient volume for
  combustion air

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Combustion Appliance Safety
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Clock a gas meter to determine the actual input
  of a gas-fired combustion appliance
• Conduct basic temperature-rise and
  static-pressure-drop tests on forced-air
  furnaces
• Measure the steady-state efficiency of a vented
  combustion appliance and
• Assess the potential inadequacy of supply and
  return plenum and duct sizes for forced-air
  systems.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Measure Selection
• Possess a working knowledge of
• What materials are allowed to be installed based
  on 10 CFR 440 Appendix A
• The regulatory and policy requirements for
  selecting weatherization measures using
  DOE-approved energy audit software or priority
  lists and
• The interaction between typical weatherization
  measures (e.g., the impact of air-sealing and
  insulation measures on the potential savings of
  heating efficiency improvements).
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Use a DOE-approved energy audit to input accurate
  building data and recommend appropriate,
  cost-effective weatherization measures

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Measure Selection
• Demonstrate the ability to
• If required, use a DOE-approved priority list to
  select appropriate, cost-effective weatherization
  measures
• Prioritize air-sealing effortsEstimate the
  heating and/or cooling load of a dwelling to
  ensure proper equipment sizing if the heating or
  cooling system is to be replaced
• Select the proper CFL to replace an incandescent
  lamp while maintaining or improving lighting
  levels and
• Meter an existing refrigerator or locate its DOE
  tested usage in a database to estimate annual
  energy consumption.

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Energy Auditor Competencies

• Work Scope Development
• Demonstrate the ability to
• Accurately estimate the type and quantity of
  materials required to cost-effectively weatherize
  an eligible dwelling unit and
• Prepare clearly written work orders for work
  crews or contractors.

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Vehicles Equipment Cost
Crew truck 50,000 - 70,000
GPS, battery jump kit, tools for truck maintenance 500
Insulation equipment 12,500
Generator, cords, connectors 2,600
Blower door related tools 3,200
Combustion testing equipment 2,000
Infrared camera 10,000
Other diagnostic equipment, tools, tool bags, etc. 5,000
Hand tools 1,500
Personal protection equipment code books 1,000
TOTAL 88,300 - 108,300
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Vehicles Equipment

• Approximately 12,000 new crews must be outfitted
• 12,000 crews x 88,300/crew 1,059,600,000
• A 7-fold ramp-up may strain equipment
  manufacturers, distributors, and vendors causing
• Delays in purchasing new equipment
• Delays in getting existing equipment repaired or
  calibrated
• Trouble getting parts
• May need to explore alternate vendors
• Effective Weatherization requires heavy-duty,
  commercial-grade equipment
• Maintaining 1 billion in vehicles and equipment
  is no small endeavor

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• Big commercial-sized, truck-mounted machines
  have advantages
• Increased flow rate
• Larger hopper capacity
• Dedicated power supply
• Gas powered, or
• Power take-off
• Some believe the big rigs require less overall
  maintenance and the required maintenance is
  easier to perform