Three FSEC staff members played key roles in the recent Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) national conference in San Antonio, TX .

FSEC deputy director Philip Fairey is the current president of the RESNET Board of Directors, and he welcomed conference attendees and presented the RESNET Leadership Awards. Tei Kucharski, Energy Gauge Program Coordinator at FSEC, moderated a conference session. She was recently appointed to the RESNET Education and Training Committee, which ensures the integrity of the National Core Test for certification of energy raters. Brian Hanson, an FSEC computer scientist, also attended the conference and staffed the Energy Gauge Booth.

RESNET is the premier national forum on home energy ratings, residential energy efficiency financing and building performance business development. Attending the 2005 conference were more than 300 national experts on home energy ratings, energy mortgages, and high performance homes from across the nation, who gathered to share the latest information on successful program delivery and to shape business development strategies for the 21st century.

Several changes in national rating standards have already resulted from activities at the conference, and technical amendments, administrative amendments and training amendments to the national standards for energy raters and for rating systems are also expected. One of the most significant changes, according to Kucharski, relates to the National Core Test, which will be required for new raters to be certified in Florida. Also affected are all current Class 1 Florida energy raters, who will be required to pass the National Core Test by January 2008 to maintain their certification.

RESNET was founded in 1995 by Energy Rated Homes of America to develop a national market for home energy rating systems and energy efficient mortgages. RESNET's activities are guided by a mortgage industry steering committee composed of the leading national mortgage executives.

For more information on RESNET, visit http://www.natresnet.org /.

For more information about Energy Gauge, visit http://www.fsec.ucf.edu/en/consumer/buildings/homes/ratings/index.htm

You can view the presentation "Overview of Enhancements of National Home Energy Rating Standards," by Steve Baden, RESNET; Philip Fairey, Florida Solar Energy Center; and Dave Roberts, Architectural Energy Corporation, by clicking here: http://www.natresnet.org/conference/2005/presentations/Baden_Fairey_Roberts-Enhancements.pdf

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