This spring the first cohort of Building Energy Masters Series students completed the six-week Passive House training, taught by Paul Eldrenkamp and Mike Duclos.  They got a phone call from the instructors on the first day of the class and received a packet with the text book and other NESEA-related materials, then worked their way through a series of videos, reading assignments, quizzes, and homework.  Here’s what they said about the training:

• “The course load averaged 5 hours per week.  There was a lot of variability in my schedule so I was glad the format was so flexible.”
• “I learned a ton, but also have new-found respect for how much there is to know to do Passive House the right way.  I can definitely apply what I learned to my job.”
• “Great instructors – I felt lucky to have their attention for such a sustained period.”
• Biggest opportunity for improvement: “…deeper and more frequent interaction between the students and the instructors.”

So – a pretty good start, we think.  This summer we’re working on integrating a discussion wall into the course page to promote more interaction within the course, and we’re also going to roll out progress trackers so the instructors can see who’s engaged and who’s not.

A revised and improved version of the Passive House Training will be available this fall, along with two new Building Energy Masters Series Offerings:

1. Zero Net Energy Homes with Marc Rosenbaum.
2. Innovation Workshop: Developing & Implementing Nature-Inspired Ideas with Randall Anway.

In parallel, we’re developing a certificate program to for the Building Energy Masters Series – our goal is to build a sustainable program that facilitates the dissemination of deep expertise.  We’ll continue to keep the community informed, and always welcome volunteers or feedback.   If this sounds interesting for any reason, let Mary or Travis know how you’d like to get involved.