Energy Auditing Employment?

HVAC Industry Presents Energy Auditing Employment Opportunities

According to the U.S. Department of Labor, job opportunities in the "sustainable" fields will grow to a need for more than 30 million in the next 20 years. Immediate and future economic opportunity is closely tied to the country's attempted moves toward energy independence. But, these opportunities also present demanding challenges. Programs monitoring and operating HVAC systems need to include energy audits.

Energy auditing provides for greater detailed building inspection. Better inspection can lead to improving energy efficiency through energy auditing that makes recommendations for cost-effective upgrades and adaptations. This can create jobs in many sectors tied into operations such as HVAC service techs, insulators, carpenters, electricians and plumbers.

Educators and trainers need to incorporate "green" concepts into energy auditing training programs. These would include understanding terminology, blower-door testing and thermal imaging. Home energy usage is impacted by a number of factors including a structure's air tightness, effective airtight ducts and if these ducts work outside the thermal envelope. The need to transmit knowledge about blower doors, duct leakage testing, how to use these devices and what information revealed is important must be taught so auditing can effectively determine whether a system can be retrofitted or replaced.