Schedule a presentation or workshop with us

NCBPA’s expert staff are available to deliver workshops, webinars, presentations and educational seminars across the state and online on a variety of industry topics ranging from energy code to workforce development and state clean energy policies.  We do this to educate builders, contractors, municipal staff, the general public and many others on the benefits of home and building performance, and how to get involved in our industry.  Contact us or complete the inquiry form for more information and to schedule a presentation, workshop or other event!

Understanding Residential HVAC for Code Officials: 3-Part Series

NCBPA is proud to announce a brand new continuing education opportunity for Code Enforcement Officials!  Our 4-part residential HVAC fundamentals series covers all the basics including Manual J, Manual S, Manual D and Quality Installation with additional emphasis on 2018 NC code requirements, sizing management, air balancing and duct pressure testing.  Each 2 hour course is approved for 2 Mechanical CEs issued from the North Carolina Code Officials Qualification Board.  Courses can be delivered via live webinar or in-person workshop.  Please contact us for more information on how to schedule this presentation for your code office!

Just scheduled!  Click on a link below for more information on these upcoming webinars taking place July 30th, 2020:

• 8:00am – 10:00am: Part 1 – Load Calculation Fundamentals
• 10:00am – 12:00pm: Part 2 – Proper Unit Sizing 
• 12:00pm – 2:00pm: Part 3 – Quality System Installation

Understanding HVAC for Residential Builders: 4-Part Series for General Contractors

The North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors recently added new continuing education requirements  requirements for residential general contractors to meet new legislation passed in 2019 under General Statute 87-10.2.  General Contractors are now required to earn 8 continuing education credits per year.  To help them do so, NCBPA is proud to announce a brand new continuing education opportunity for Residential Builders and Contractors!  Our 4-part residential HVAC fundamentals series covers all the basics that builders need to know including Manual J, Manual S, Manual D and Quality Installation.  Each part is approved for 2 CEs issued from the North Carolina Licensing Board for General Contractors.  Please contact us for more information on how to schedule this in-person presentation for your company or HBA!

For more information on CE requirements for builders and contractors in NC, click here.

Building Energy Efficiency: The Foundation of North Carolina’s Clean Energy Future

Solar rooftops.  Wind farms.  Electric vehicles.  Battery storage.  Grid modernization.  These are the clean energy topics that most North Carolina advocates, policymakers, utilities and consumers are focused on in 2019.  What’s missing?  The largest, least-cost and most impactful sector of our state’s clean energy economy: energy efficiency.  This sector, which employs more than 55% of the clean energy workforce and contributes nearly 4% to the state’s annual gross domestic product, is often overlooked and sometimes ignored entirely.  With buildings consuming nearly 60% of our state’s annual energy usage and wasting nearly 17%, improving building energy efficiency could help to meet our clean energy goals 10 to 15 years faster than current goals of 30 to 40 years from now.  In doing so, the state and its citizens would benefit from lasting job creation, economic development, improved health and safety for citizens and workers, and much more.  Learn how North Carolina can meet its clean energy, renewable energy and carbon emission goals by implementing an #EnergyEfficiencyFirst strategy.

Career Opportunities in Building Performance and Green Building

NCBPA is leading efforts to educate young professionals about careers in NC’s building performance industry.  We frequently speak to students at community colleges, technical colleges and universities about their options in a variety of career paths.  Speaking to high school students is the next step to getting this information out into the minds of students thinking about future job opportunities.  This presentation provides an overview of our industry, defines a variety of career paths available, presents information on credential and certification programs available, and provides a direct link for students to obtain internships and jobs with industry companies.  Here’s a sample description of one presentation we offer:

Students looking for their first job and an impactful career in the “built environment” will find this session particularly useful.  While a career in sustainability may be of interest, oftentimes students find it hard to identify the first step to finding an internship or job they’re interested in, and more often than not, are unfamiliar with career opportunities available to them.  A panel of industry professionals will speak to the various career opportunities in architecture and design, engineering, construction, contracting services, research, policy and more.  Focus areas will include the changing role of “green” and new career opportunities related to resiliency, clean energy integration and healthy buildings.  Panelists will also speak to opportunities for those seeking a more diverse, inclusive and equitable career experience.

Contact us to learn more about the value of this workshop and how to schedule it for your company or region.

Building Performance and Clean Energy Policies Impacting Commercial (or Residential) Buildings in North Carolina

Register to learn how state and local building performance and clean energy policies impact your commercial buildings now and increasingly more in the near future.  Presented by Ryan Miller, Founder & CEO of North Carolina Building Performance Association (NCBPA), this presentation will highlight policies related to clean and renewable energy goals, energy efficiency code requirements, smart buildings and electric vehicles, green building certification programs, utility incentives and more.  A look ahead will be provided based on the state’s new Clean Energy Plan, which amongst many other goals, supports a target of zero net energy new construction buildings by 2042. 

Note: This presentation can also be provided with a residential buildings focused.

Commissioning and Performance Testing for Commercial Buildings

Open to architects, engineers, contractors, building owners, facility managers and industry pros of ALL types, this one-day in-building educational workshop provides expert instruction on how, and why, to performance test a variety of commercial and multifamily buildings.  Learn how to identify and recommend improvements for a wide variety of energy, water, comfort and other performance issues through blower door testing, visual inspection, MEP system commissioning and more.

This workshop is a great opportunity for commercial and residential industry professionals to learn how to prep, test and meet the new NC Energy Code requirements for air barriers and commissioning for commercial and multifamily buildings.  Professionals seeking to move into the commercial sector will receive a comprehensive understanding of the building science of air leakage testing and learn how to make buildings perform well in both new construction and retrofit projects through commissioning. Experienced professionals can sharpen their testing skill set, take a deeper dive into the new commercial energy code requirements and how to optimize building performance and air tightness with various products and design practices.

North Carolina’s new commercial energy code, which came into effect in January of 2019, creates new opportunities for industry professionals to learn these valuable skills and sell their services to customers across the state!

Understanding Energy Modeling (for Non-Energy Modelers): Residential or Commercial Focus

Architects, builders, code officials, contractors and other industry professionals seeking a better understanding of how energy modeling is used in residential and commercial buildings will find this workshop particularly helpful and beneficial.  Instructed by NCBPA member companies that perform residential and/or commercial energy modeling daily, this workshop provides a fundamental understanding of when energy modeling is used in new construction and retrofit projects, how the modeling is performed, how the results are interpreted and used, and more.  In particular, as performance-based code compliance pathways become more common, a focus on how stakeholders can use energy modeling reports for verification will be presented.  This workshop can be presented as a short overview of key items, a half-day workshop or a full-day intensive workshop.

Principles for Building Enclosure Design and Materials (for Residential or Commercial Buildings) 

The intent of this course is to discuss changes in enclosure design over time with a focus on air tightness and material options. The education provided is built on a foundation of building enclosure control layers and includes design detailing approaches.  A basic understanding of architectural design, common construction practices and materials is assumed, but will be reviewed to provide a common vocabulary.

Passive House Design and Construction: Principles, Best Practices and Certification Programs

What is Passive House and how can you use it on your next project? At its core, Passive House is a methodology that any architect, builder or contractor can use to design and build energy efficient and high performance homes and buildings.  The methodology offers practical and cost-effective strategies that lead to significant gains in energy efficiency, comfort, durability, indoor air quality and occupant satisfaction. Schedule a workshop with us to learn how Passive House can immediately offer benefits to your business and its customers.

The Market Value of High Performance Homes

Want to learn about the real market value of high performance homes in your market?  NCBPA offers a 30 minute to 1 hour workshop that can be presented online or in-person answering this question.  Using ten years of market data and two years of sales transactions in metro markets across the state, NCBPA has created a presentation that clearly shows the market trends for square footage and sales prices of high performance homes versus all others.  Builders, realtors, appraisers, lenders and consumers will learn how to take advantage of the higher market value of high performance homes.

Contact us to learn more about the value of this workshop and how to schedule it for your company or region.

Buying and Selling High Performance Homes

Builders and their real estate sales agents can benefit greatly from this workshop that provides detailed steps that can be taken to improve marketing efforts and financial return for high performance homes.  Learn about trens in consumer demand, the differences between certification programs and performance measures, best practices for buying or selling high performance homes, and steps that every Builder and Realtor can take to support improving the financial value of high performance homes in your local market.  Builders, realtors, appraisers, lenders and consumers will learn how to take advantage of the higher market value of high performance homes.

Contact us to learn more about the value of this workshop and how to schedule it for your company or region.

High Performance Options in Building and Energy Code

Available for residential and commercial construction, this workshop provides an overview of minimum building and energy code requirements for all types of homes and buildings, followed by a deep dive into options for high performance products, design specifications and features.  Instructed by NCBPA’s expert staff, builders, code officials, contractors, municipalities and many others will learn how to cost-effectively meet minimum code requirements and implement valuable high performance construction practices.

This workshop is available as a webinar, a one or two-hour overview, or a half or full-day in-person workshop.  Questions answered during this workshop include:

1. How are architects, builders, contractors, product suppliers and others complying with new energy code requirements, particularly with changes to the use of COMcheck and REScheck?
2. What best practices are being used to ensure cost-effective design specifications, product selection and installation?
3. How can residential builders and code officials benefit from the new Energy Rating Index compliance option?
4. How can your company benefit from state, federal and utility rebate opportunities?
5. What’s next for NC’s energy codes?

Contact us to learn more about the value of this workshop and how to schedule it for your company or region.

Crawl Space Encapsulation Specialist Workshop

The Crawl Space Encapsulation Specialist Training is the best opportunity for industry professionals to learn how to design, install and maintain safe, healthy and high performance crawl spaces.  New professionals will receive a comprehensive understanding of the building science of crawl spaces and learn how to make them perform well in both new construction and retrofit homes.  Experienced professionals can sharpen their skillsets and familiarize themselves with the latest ventilation, drying and pest control practices to ensure their crawl space work exceeds code requirements and customer expectations.

Click here to learn more and look for our next workshop under Upcoming Events!.

State of Building Performance in North Carolina

Looking to learn more about our market and what opportunities may exist for your company, your region or part of our market?  Book this workshop to receive a “lay of the land” with regards to our industry.  This presentation is tailored to match specific needs and interests regarding workforce development, policy and legislation, market valuation, code and much more.

Contact us to learn more about the value of this workshop and how to schedule it for your company or region.

How to Take Advantage of HERS Ratings and the ERI Compliance Path

• Participating employers demonstrate their commitment to energy efficiency by hosting the workshop, but also benefit from more healthy employees, increasing worker productivity!

• Participating employees learn about the benefits of home energy upgrades and improvements from industry experts through hands-on training on how to make these upgrades on their own or with a contractor.

For this workshop, member professionals lead a walkthrough of a pre-drywall home to demonstrate energy efficient and high performance construction techniques including air sealing, insulation installation and HVAC design.  Sponsors and other NCBPA member companies join in the conversation to share their best practices and learn from others.

After touring the pre-drywall home and having lunch, attendees watch a live blower door test at a completed home.  With an improved understanding of how and why to use a blower door test, attendees then participate in a discussion led by NCBPA staff about the state’s residential energy code.  Lastly, NCBPA staff present on best practices for earning a higher appraisal value and sale price for energy efficient, green and high performance homes.

Building Science Principles for Residential Homes Workshop

This one day workshop is an excellent learning opportunity for Realtors, Appraisers, Lenders and anyone else looking to better understand the basics of how building science works in homes.  Attendees learn the details of basic building concepts as they relate to home comfort, safety, and utility costs. The class will cover how energy is used and lost in a home, and how to relate that information to your daily job activities. These concepts include energy movement, health and safety, consumer awareness, and energy code compliance techniques. Attendees must take a written exam upon completion to receive a Building Science Certificate from The Building Performance Institute.