Training Services

Britt/Makela Group develops curriculum tailored to meet your needs.  From energy and building science basics, preparing for code exams, to above code building techniques, we can meet your needs.  Our target audiences have included small on-site sessions with local building departments, auditorium style stand-up training, and webcasts for over 1,000.  And frankly, we realize we get a little more excited about the energy codes than the average person...if you have a training need, let us know how we can help you.  We bring to training:

Eric Makela is available to train on the 2006 Residential and Commercial applications of the IECC, using the new curriculum first presented at the National Codes Conference in Denver, earlier this month.  We can develop a custom program to meet your needs, download the .pdf versions for your review.  If you would prefer to use the training materials yourself, order the Power Point presentations for only $30 for the set of residential and commercial training.   The complete presentation has easy to use hyperlinks - taking the speaker and audience through the critical tables and associated information, as well as more detailed information on special issues and concerns.

Training Materials are Available for Download - FREE!

If your training needs are similar to others, chance are we have already developed training materials.  When developed with public funds, they benefit everyone.  Training materials that have been used across the country are now available for downloading.  The Crawlspace Webcast was prepared with U.S. DOE funding in partnership with Pacific Northwest National Laboratory.  All other resources that are presented on this page were created under a U.S. DOE Codes and Standards Grant through the Nevada State Office of Energy, and   These resources are available to the building and enforcement industry and all interested parties that would like to learn more about the International Energy Conservation Code.

Additional information specific to the State of Nevada is also available.

Crawlspace Webcast

Commercial Plan Review - 2003 ICC IECC

Residential  Plan Review - 2003 ICC IECC

Commercial  Field Inspection - 2003 ICC IECC

Residential  Field Inspection - 2003 ICC IECC

Overview of COMcheck-EZ

Overview of REScheck

Crawlspace Webcast

The webcast entitled "How to Construct Unventilated Crawlspaces to Meet the Provisions of the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) and 2003 International Residential Code (IRC).” was produced in June of 2004 in response to regional construction practice in Southern Idaho and Northern Nevada.  The regional practice of installing insulation on the crawlspace wall and providing passive ventilation via foundation vents per the building code.  The IECC disallows this practice by requiring crawlspaces to be mechanically ventilated, or provided with conditioned air, if insulation is placed on the foundation stem wall.  The crawlspace is not allowed to communicate with outside air with this installation.

Best practice for constructing a mechanically ventilated crawlspace is under review through grants by the Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance to the State of Idaho, and the U.S. DOE to the State of Nevada.  Crawlspace configurations are under review that use mechanical ventilation with insulated stem walls, or foundation vents with insulation installed in the raised floor.  Crawlspace design(s) that meet the code provisions of the IECC and IRC, and effectively reduce or eliminate potential moisture problems, were presented in the one-hour Webcast, it covered the following topics: 

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:      

Webcast Crawlspace Insulation Presentation (PDF)

Course Title:  Plan Review for the Commercial Provisions of the 2003 ICC International Energy Conservation Code

 The one-day session focuses on the commercial provisions of the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code.  Plan review issues are covered in addition to the role of the residential plan reviewer.  The session covers the following topics: 

Scope and Application –Discusses the types of buildings that must comply with the commercial provisions of the code and those that are exempt.    

Building Envelope – This portion of the training provides an overview of the mandatory requirements, energy conservation features that must be installed in the building regardless of the level of insulation installed and the type and quantity of glazing.  Following this will be a discussion of how to determine the required insulation and glazing requirements for a project.   

Mechanical Systems – The training provides an overview of the requirements of the building mechanical system focusing on unitary, single zone systems.   

Lighting Systems – Lighting mandatory requirements are reviewed first followed by a discussion on determining the lighting budget for a building.  Retail lighting is  discussed to show how to increase the lighting budget to take into consideration display lighting. 

Overview of the COMcheck-EZ Energy Code Compliance Tool – The COMcheck-EZ tools will be demonstrated for use in documenting compliance for commercial buildings.  

 Downloadable Resources for this Topic:

2003 Nevada Commercial Plan Review - PDF of Power Point Presentation

COMcheck Plan Review Guide

Course Title:  Plan Review for the Residential Provisions of the 2003 ICC International Energy Conservation Code

The one-day session provides an overview of the residential provisions of the 2003 International Energy Conservation Code and includes a discussion of the energy provisions within the International Residential Code.  Plan review issues are focused on throughout the day’s discussion in addition to the role of the commercial plan reviewer.  The following topics are discussed in the overview:

Scope and Application – This discussion defines the types of residential construction that fall underneath the residential provisions of the IECC.

Mandatory Requirements –  The mandatory requirements for residential must be installed regardless of the level of insulation and type and quantity of glazing installed.  These requirements focus primarily on sealing the building envelope and minimum HVAC requirements.

 Insulation and Glazing Requirements – The methods for demonstrating compliance for insulation and glazing will be discussed.  An overview of the performance approach of Chapter 4 and the prescriptive methods of Chapter 5 and 6 are provided with an emphasis on the Prescriptive Specification Method.

Overview of the REScheck Energy Code Compliance Tool – The REScheck Energy Code Compliance Tool is demonstrated.  This tool allows trade-offs for insulation levels and glazing U-factors and area with HVAC efficiency levels.  

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:       

2003 Nevada Residential Plan Review Course - PDF of Power Point Presentation

2003 Residential Plan Review Guide

Course Title:  Field Inspection  for the Commercial Provisions of the 2003 ICC International Energy Conservation Code

The objective of the one-day commercial energy code field inspection course is to provide guidance on the energy code features to inspect during a normal commercial inspection.  The course is segmented into two-half day sessions with the morning session held in the classroom and afternoon session held in the field. 

The morning classroom session provides an overview of the commercial provisions of the 2003 IECC as they pertain to inspection staff including the role of the commercial inspector.  This will include an overview of the following:           

            Building Envelope

            Mechanical Systems

            Service Water Heating Systems

            Lighting Systems

The afternoon session is taught at a commercial jobsite and will focus on how to inspect for each of the energy features relevant to the project and when to inspect for them.  The afternoon session covers inspection for the building envelope features, mechanical system features, service water heating features and lighting system features.

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:     

2003 Nevada Commercial Inspection - PDF of Power Point Presentation

Course Title:  Field Inspection  for the Residential Provisions of the 2003 ICC International Energy Conservation Code

The objective of the half-day residential energy code field inspection course is to provide guidance on the energy code features to inspect during a normal residential inspection schedule (i.e. foundation, framing, insulation, and final inspection).  The course is conducted at a residential track development so that several phases of a project can be viewed at one site.  The 2003 International Energy Conservation Code is used as the basis for the course.  The concepts that are presented will be relevant to inspection for all residential energy codes.

The course covers the proper installation of energy features to comply with the code and discusses the building science reasons behind the provisions.  In addition the role of the residential inspector is discussed. 

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:           

2003 IECC Field Inspection Checklist

Course Title:  Overview of COMcheck-EZ

The objective of the two-hour course is to provide guidance on how to use the U.S. DOE’s COMcheck-EZ software to demonstrate compliance with the 2003 IECC.  An overview is provided on entering a basic commercial building into the software starting with the building envelope and the working through the lighting and mechanical system for a basic building.  A case study is provided at the end that can be used as a classroom example.

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:    

COMcheckEZ Overview Class - PDF of Power Point Presentation

Course Title:  Overview of REScheck

The objective of the two-hour course is to provide guidance on how to use the U.S. DOE’s REScheck software to demonstrate compliance with the 2003 IECC.  An overview is provided on entering a basic residential building into the software focusing on the building envelope.  A case study is provided at the end that can be used as a classroom example.

Downloadable Resources for this Topic:            

REScheck Overview Class - PDF of Power Point Presentation