Sustainable Homes Professional (SHP)

Now available in a new online format for the entire NW region! 

Join our Sustainable Homes Professional (SHP) online training program and gain 15+ hours of cutting edge design and building best practices that are critical to success in today's housing market. 

​SHP is an in-depth, interactive, and field-tested online training program for industry professionals who are looking to take their residential projects and building craft to the next level of quality. Previously an 84-hour in-person training, the SHP training program has now been redesigned in a condensed, self-paced online format. Training topics covered in SHP are designed to maximize the health, comfort, durability, savings, and sustainability benefits for your home buyer/owner clients.

Participants will gain information and recommendations on how to overcome common barriers and misconceptions of high performance building in order to incorporate the most beneficial building practices that match their specific scenario. The online SHP experience provides 15-hours of required content and over 5-hours of optional bonus features consisting of training videos, behind-the-walls site visit tours, live webinars with instructor Q&A, guest speaker presentations, and product/technology demonstrations. SHP also offers robust continuing education credits and the option to earn the Sustainable Homes Professional (SHP) designation. 

Learn from our expert instructors as they guide participants through the entire spectrum of energy efficient and green building practices and share field-proven insights on the following:

• Building science fundamentals & moisture management
• High performance wall & roof assemblies 
• HVAC product selection & integrated system design
• Water management & conservation 
• Indoor air quality, green material considerations & health impacts
• Locally available above-code building programs & incentives

Click the teaser videos below to view Site Visit Tours included in the SHP training:

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Our SHP trainers are nationally-recognized as some of the best in the construction business.
SHP participants benefit from the opportunity to gain valuable lessons learned from each instructor's specialized background: 

• Stephen Aiguier of Green Hammer Design Build
• Josh Salinger of Birdsmouth Design-Build
• Bruce Sullivan of Base Zero LLC
• John Spillman of Earth Advantage
  (see instructor profiles below)

The first in-person, 84-hour SHP accreditation training was offered in 2008 and has since has been delivered by these instructors 20+ times across Oregon, all the while maintaining a longstanding reputation for depth, applied learning, and outstanding quality. SHP is complementary to other industry credentials (LEED AP/GA, SBA, CPHC, BPI, HERS, etc.) and offers a Northwest region-specific and customized training experience for building professionals across OR, WA, MT & ID. SHPs are architects, builders, developers, remodelers, raters/verifiers, subcontractors, planners, engineers, third-party program staff, real estate professionals, educators, and building operators who prioritize whole system thinking and sustainable practices. 

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The online experience provided by SHP will feature:

• On-demand, self-paced presentation videos and real world building project exercises
• Professionally filmed site visit tours of under-construction homes at varying levels of performance with builders, raters and subcontractors on-site to explain approaches and reveal cost/benefit analysis
• Live and recorded webinars that provide deep dives on select topics and opportunities for Q&A with SHP instructors. 
• Guest speakers who share past projects, approaches, & expertise on topics that will help you reduce risk and benefit from tried-and-true experiences
• Demonstration videos from trusted manufacturers of leading edge technologies and products
• Optional reference materials and textbook reading from Residential Energy by John Krigger & Builder’s Guide by Joseph Lstiburek (purchased separately)
• Optional* homeworks and final project that progresses throughout the course and puts principles into practice by guiding participants in designing their own high performance building or research project (*required to earn SHP designation)

The SHP training allows participants to earn the designation of an accredited Sustainable Homes Professional (SHP).
Participants must complete and pass all quizzes, homework assignments and final project in order to earn the SHP designation. Earth Advantage provides logos, an accredited professional registry, and marketing support to help SHPs gain visibility as informed green building professionals. 

• Overcome common barriers & misconceptions of high performance building
• Analyze the benefits of incorporating different green building products and approaches
• Take advantage of financial incentives and technical assistance offered by governments, utilities and nonprofits
• Identify the full breadth of building best practices from site layout to flooring selection
• Enhance your knowledge of building science & how a home functions as a system
• Establish a sustainable design goal by incorporating energy, water, & resource efficiency while maintaining a comfortable, durable, healthy building
• Develop marketing strategies & support to strengthen the business case for green building 
• Gain a builder/designer-centric approach to achieving the following certification standards: Passive House, Zero Energy / Zero Energy Ready, Earth Advantage, BuiltGreen, LEED for Homes, EPS, ENERGY STAR, & more.

Online course available on-demand
15 Hrs Required; 5+ Hrs Bonus Optional Content 
On-demand training format consists of a series of 5-10 minute videos divided into sections.
Users can start or stop their viewing at their own pace and easily resume the course at their convenience. 
Hosted on our partner platform, BetterBuiltNW. 

Intended for building industry audiences in Oregon, Washington, Idaho & Montana

CONTINUING EDUCATION  
 

Institution	SHP Core Training	Optional Live Webinars
AIA	15 LU/HSW	1-3 LU/HSW
OR CCB	15 CEs	1-3 CEs
OCHI	15 CEs	1-3 CEs
BPI	7.5 units	1-3 units
ICC	1.5 CEs	0.1-0.3 CEs
CPHC	15 CEs	n/a
OR Real Estate Agency	15 CEs	n/a
EA Broker Renewal	15 CEs	n/a
AGA Renewal	15 CEs	n/a

 
QUESTIONS? Contact us at education@earthadvantage.org or (503) 968-7160 x60.

Architects, Builders/Contractors, Code Officials, Developers, Engineers, Home Energy Score Assessors, Home Inspectors, Program Representatives, Raters/Verifiers, Remodelers, Subcontractors