Mark Vender
A suite of online training materials is now available as a result of a collaboration between the National Energy Efficiency Building Project (NEEBP) and several peak construction industry groups and RTOs. The range of materials will be of interest to builders and trades, including those specialising in HVAC&R.
The NEEBP began in 2012 with the aim of supporting consumers, government and industry to achieve better energy efficiency in new buildings, renovations and additions. It is led by the Government of South Australia’s Department of Energy and Mining and co-funded by all Australian states and territories through the Council of Australian Governments (COAG) Energy Council.
In 2015 the COAG Energy Council agreed to a National Energy Productivity Plan (NEPP), recognising that improving our national energy productivity will both deliver greater value from the energy that Australians use and reduce Australia’s greenhouse gas emissions. Under the NEPP, the NEEBP works with industry to improve compliance with the energy requirements of the National Construction Code and embrace knowledge, skills and consumer demand for high-performing energy efficient homes.
Since 2017 the NEEBP has worked with industry groups to co-design and deliver focused skills training in energy efficiency. The training ranges from CPD-earning short courses to brief YouTube videos covering, for example, techniques of good building design and orientation, product selection and supply chain management, building seal technology and diagnostics, correct installation of insulation, wraps, fixed services, window systems and thermal breaks.
For HVAC&R professionals, there is information on achieving and checking for good building seal and thermal envelope when designing, specifying, installing and maintaining HVAC&R. The training also encourages greater awareness of the interface between smart home design and specification for residential thermal comfort and the specification of HVAC systems to augment home comfort, affordability and health.
“We have had an enthusiastic response from builders, trades and design and building students to the online materials,” says NEEBP manager Sabina Douglas-Hill. “We’ve recently worked with the Master Builders Association and Adelaide Sustainable Building Network in Adelaide to host two 60-person seminars on the ‘Fundamentals of Building Science’, following this workshop’s delivery to over 350 industry people in the eastern states. This has now been videoed and we are developing both an online course and short YouTube instructional videos.”
NEEBP training materials are available online. The Fundamentals of Building Science workshop can be delivered by arrangement.
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