Are there any certification programs for green consulting?

[supernova]

I'd like to get into the whole green industry push, but I don't know what training I need or even if it's available. I'd like to be able to educate people, homes and small businesses probably, about green building materials, energy efficiency, and alternative energies, but I need training first.

I've looked at a couple of my local tech schools so far, and they don't seem to brooch the subject

[izquierdista]

1. I'm sure there will be

As soon as there are suckers students willing to pay for a certificate that they have has pour-piss-out-of-a-boot training, some enterprising school will set up a training program. As with computers and high-tech, soon employers will ask for 5 years experience in a field that is only 3 years old. If you want to get ahead of things, YOU should make up the training course and start certifying other people.

[HillbillyBob]

4. Gee I would likely qualify or nearly since in desperation to keep our heads

above the power bill we have instituted a whole bunch of low cost ways to make our house more efficient..
We have cut our power(total electric 2,100 sq ft house) from 12 tons of carbon to 3 and cut our power budget from 450 +$ electric bills to 140$ to 165$ a month.
We spent 3500 over 3 yrs, usually 100$ and under projects and relatively easy to do(some projects were free for materials reclaimed from the trash) and since I am partly disabled they had to be easy to do. I got black out/insulated curtain liners, I open the sunny side during the winter and turn off the heat during day and close the bright side of the house during the summer, cost 20/25$ per window, and two sets for the slider doors.
I painted the roof white with Kool Seal that lowered the inside temps by 30 degrees and sealed up the asphalt shingles (the main reason being so they will last a few more years while we pay off the fuel sipping Nissan Versa 38 mpg. We will put on styro panel insulation and a metal roof and siding increasing the R factor by about R40. The metal will last a long time with little paint or other maintenance and is fire resistant, which is a concern since the house is surrounded by woods that burned about 20 yrs ago. We have a solar water heater to install, another cut of about 50$ on hot water, it is also large enough that it can drive radiant floor heating for the rest of the house. Yes it will cost to install tanks and pumps, but will be solar electric powered.
Eventually we will tell the power company to come cut that wire.

We went from sweating all summer and freezing in winter over the cost of the power bill and the fact that the house was hard to cool, to needing no ac all summer saving 590$ over the 3 months and 2400$ a year. We are warm and cozy and relatively cool in summer it gets to 100 some times more here outside and would get to 117 inside even with ac running..and this house is only 15 yrs old, the previous owners went cheap on everything including insulation. We want to add 8" of blow in in the ceiling next spring.

So ya'll can call saving the environment a sucker bet all you want..I think the suckers are the ones spending themselves broke to enrich the oil and power companies.

[izquierdista]

5. And you did it without a certificate????

:wow: :wow: :wow: :wow: :wow:

Maybe you can start teaching too!

[jpak]

2. Maine has several

Energy auditors, PV and solar hot water installers, weatherization installers and I believe domestic wind turbine installers.

All domestic energy systems consultants working on alternative energy projects funded by state incentives require state certification.

Maine was way ahead of the curve on this...

[FSogol]

3. Yup, several. Check

http://www.usgbc.org/
and here
http://www.usgbc.org/DisplayPage.aspx?CMSPageID=1988
and here
http://www.greenglobes.com/

[drkedjr]

6. Green

Antioch University New England in Keene, NH has one the the first and best "Green" MBA programs as well as many courses that train people for the green industry. www.antiochne.edu