News Release Distributed 09/21/15
BATON ROUGE, La. – The LSU AgCenter LaHouse Resource Center will offer classes in October that address new residential energy code requirements for Louisiana contractors, builders, inspectors and prospective code verifiers.
A Duct and Envelope Tightness (DET) verifier certification class will be held Oct. 6 to 7 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day. People can also enroll in “HVAC for Home Performance,” which includes the two-day DET class and an additional day of instruction on Oct. 8.
“These classes will help participants meet the new provisions of Louisiana’s residential building energy code so homeowners can enjoy the benefits of greater energy efficiency, comfort and indoor air quality,” said Claudette Reichel, AgCenter extension housing specialist. “We’ll also discuss concepts to help them choose methods appropriate to our climate to avoid problems.”
Participants who complete the DET course and written and field exams will be designated Southface Energy Institute-certified DET verifiers. The certification allows them to perform diagnostic testing and report building and duct tightness testing results to verify compliance with the 2009 IRC energy code.
LaHouse is an authorized provider for Southface DET training and certification.
The HVAC class includes the DET course and certification testing as well as instruction on building science concepts and preventing heating, cooling and ventilation problems in Louisiana’s climate.
“DET certification is especially beneficial to HVAC contractors because it provides more options for duct tightness code compliance that are not available to those who are certified only in using duct test equipment for ‘total leakage’ measurements,” Reichel said. “DET verifiers can do both ‘total leakage’ and ‘leakage to outside’ tests.”
Participants will receive a handbook, online tutorials, classroom instruction and hands-on practice in addition to the DET exams. The classes also count for CEU hours for Louisiana residential contractors.
Registration and more information are available at www.lsuagcenter.com/LaHouse on the Seminars and Events page. Professionals who already have DET, BPI or RESNET certification can register for the HVAC-only session on Oct. 8.
LaHouse is located at 2858 Gourrier Ave. in Baton Rouge, across from LSU Alex Box Baseball Stadium.
Olivia McClure