Certifications, Certifications....

Wow, do we got certifications.  It seems like every agency out there wants to have a piece of my bank account.

WARNING - feeling sorry for myself session ahead


Even though I was certified through CalCERTS as a HERS provider last year, it turns out that now I had to take another written test and field test, at my expense, to maintain my certification.

My original certification through the Building Performance Institute as a Building Analyst was fine up to this year but now, for the Home Star Program, I have to get Company Accreditation, also.  For that BPI requires another certification with another costly written and field test and extra insurance riders. Then they want $1,500 on top of that as the Accreditation fee - just for the first year - and without it I can't access most of the Home Star funding or business.

PG&E's Whole House Pilot Program requires a different set of requirements to access that program and, of course, more money.

Build It Green has their own classes, tests, and fees.

There's more but that's a taste of the current confused certification picture in California.  Oh, I forgot, each of the above also requires varying amounts of CEUs (continuing education credits) every year, all costing hundreds or thousands apiece and few fulfilling more than one agency's requirements.

OK, OK, enough complaining.

What I've received for all of the above: one fantastic education in building science.  I often think, "If only I had known this years ago.."  The house as a system was hardly considered until less than 10 years ago and 10 years from now it will be de facto for ALL new construction.  The world needs this if our kids kids are to have a healthy future or for US to all live in healthy houses.

Yes, you've just read paragraphs of complaining about how much it's all costing but the work is there, it's fulfilling work, and a living is still to be made doing it. A lot more fresh faces coming in to this field are required for us to meet, or even approach, two of our local Sonoma County goals:

13,000 existing housing units retrofitted by 2012 (!)
Greenhouse Gas reduction to 25% below our 1990 levels by 2015 (!)

Holy Cow, Batman, we need every SuperHero we can muster.