Going Deeper With Your IAQ Knowledge

Do you know what two things are required for air to move from one place to another?  Do you know why that’s important to indoor air quality (IAQ)?  Do you know what types of pollutants are best removed by filtration?  Or why “Build tight; ventilate right” is an incomplete prescription for good IAQ?  Well, if you have my book or you’ve been reading this blog for a while, you probably can answer those questions correctly.  But if you’re looking for a way to improve your IAQ knowledge, I have something for you.

A new course on HeatSpring

Over the past five years, I’ve done presentations on indoor air quality, filtration, and ventilation at Bryan Orr’s HVAC/R Symposium, the Westford Symposium on Building Science (aka, Building Science Summer Camp), and the Building Science Symposium.  I’ve also written a whole lot of articles on those topics here in this space.  With each dive into the IAQ waters, I’ve learned more and my understanding has coalesced.

Now I’ve put that coalescence into a new online course on HeatSpring.  The course is titled 7 Steps to Good Indoor Air Quality, the same as an article I published here earlier this year.  Here’s the promo video I made for the course.

You can see the course outline and get full details at the HeatSpring website.  But here’s a thumbnail view of the content:

• Nearly 3 hours of video
• Knowledge check quizzes for each of the major videos
• 28 articles, documents, and other resources
• An IAQ checklist you can use as is or modify however you’d like
• A comprehensive quiz to check your understanding at the end

Ready to increase your IAQ knowledge?

A pre-registration discount

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering how much it costs.  A lot of online courses hit you for $500 to $1,000, and sometimes more.  This one is only $229.  But you can get a 10 percent discount if you sign up before the course opens on 20 October 2025.  That’s a bit less than a week from now.

Go check it out and see if it’s for you.  Oh, and scroll to the bottom of this article to see an additional incentive for signing up before the 20th.

BPI continuing education

If you have a certification through the Building Performance Institute, you can get some of the continuing education units (CEUs) you need to maintain your credential.  BPI has approved the course for 8 CEUs in the Healthy Homes category.  Those CEUs will go toward other certifications as well, including the Building Analyst.

A little history and future plans

A decade ago, I taught a course on HeatSpring called Mastering Building Science.  It was an intense class, for both the students and me.  Since then, they’ve changed the format at HeatSpring.  They’re not using the cohort model anymore, so everyone who signs up works on it at their own pace instead of everyone together focusing on one topic per week.  There’s no longer a capstone project required at the end either.  I like the new format, and the folks at HeatSpring have done a great job with the platform.  I think you’ll enjoy it, too.

So where do I go from here?  This IAQ course is based on the 7 steps I’ve outlined here in the blog and gives a broad overview of indoor air quality.  I’ll be following this course up with at least two more.  One will be on filtration and another on ventilation.  Yes, I discuss both of those in the IAQ course, but the individual courses will go into much more depth.

Why should you take this course?

Here are a few reasons you might want to jump in:

• Because you care about your health and the health of your customers
• You’ll come away with a solid understanding of how all the parts work together
• The videos are easily digestible
• The articles and other resources provide great depth of IAQ knowledge
• I’ll be participating in the forum regularly
• Low cost
• BPI CEUs

If you’re ready to raise your IAQ knowledge, sign up for 7 Steps to Good Indoor Air Quality!

A special bonus

Oh, one more thing before I go.  If you’re one of the first 20 people to register for the course before it opens on 20 October, I’ll send you a free copy of my book, A House Needs to Breathe…Or Does It?  And if you’re in the second group of 20, I’ll send you a discount code so you can get the book for only $30, about half of the list price of $59.

Ready?  Head over to HeatSpring and sign up now.

 

Allison A. Bailes III, PhD is a speaker, writer, building science consultant, and the founder of Energy Vanguard in Decatur, Georgia.  He has a doctorate in physics and is the author of a bestselling book on building science.  He also writes the Energy Vanguard Blog.  For more updates, you can follow Allison on LinkedIn and subscribe to Energy Vanguard’s weekly newsletter and YouTube channel.

 

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