Frequently Asked Questions

What is the format of HowBuildingsWork courses?

How are continuing education credits processed?

What if I hold certifications with multiple organizations?

Why do some courses qualify for less credit for BPI than for other certifications?

Why does HowBuildingsWork only allow payment using PayPal?

What if my company wants to pay for my course(s) by check?

Does HowBuildingsWork.com offer continuing education for HERS Raters?

What is the format of HowBuildingsWork courses?

All of our courses are based on video presentations. They are typically broken up into between 5 and 10 lessons. This makes it easy to review individual topics multiple times or view a portion of the course at one time and return to complete it later.

Lessons sometimes also include supplemental information, like relevant documents or review questions.

Each course ends with a test. Both BPI and NATE require that courses include a test in order for them to qualify for continuing education credit. On HowBuildingsWork.com, the test is not available until a user has viewed all of the course lessons. This process ensures that course attendees actually view the lessons and understand the subjet matter.

Each test include 10 questions that are taken directly from the course content. A score of 7 of better is required to pass the test. If a passing grade is not attained, the course material can be reviewed and the test taken over again. There is no limit to the number of times the test can be taken.

How are continuing education credits processed?

Whenever possible, HowBuildingsWork.com submits credits directly to the certifying body, so no additional work is required from candidates. The is possible for individuals certified by BPI or NATE.

In some cases, however, the certifying body does not allow us to submit credits. NACHI, for example, requires certified individuals to submit and track their own continuing education hours. All of our courses all provide a completion certificate that can be printed or downloaded for use in submitting credits.

What if I hold certifications with multiple organizations?

Some individuals may hold certifications with multiple organizations. For example, an HVAC technician might be certified by both NATE and BPI. HowBuildingsWork.com offers courses that qualify for continuing education credits with both organizations. As long as a user enters the certification numbers for multiple organizations in their profile, we will submit credits with all relevant organizations whenever a course is completed. There is no extra cost for this processing.

Why do some courses qualify for less credit for BPI than for other certifications?

Most certifying organization simply assign one hour of continuing education credit to each hour of instruction.

BPI determines the amount of credit based on the subject matter of the course. If they deem it "Whole-house Training", it is assigned one credit per hour of instruction. If it is "Non Whole-house Training", it only gets 0.5 hours of credit per hour of instruction. There are other categories as well.

You can learn more about the BPI CEU process at:

BPI Continuing Eduction Units (CEUs) Policy

Why does HowBuildingsWork only allow payment using PayPal?

We use PayPal to provide secure and simple transactions. We focus on providing quality eduation. PayPal focuses on providing safe, convenient transactions. There are numerous advantages to buyers:

The transaction is instant.
A PayPal account is NOT needed - only a credit card is required.
HowBuildingsWork.com never sees your credit card number.
PayPal is completely free to ALL buyers. (Processing fees are paid by HowBuildingsWork.com.)

Does HowBuildingsWork.com offer continuing education for HERS Raters?

The Residential Energy Services Network requires 18 Professional Development hours every 3 years to maintain the HERS Rater certification. This training must be provided by an "Accredited Rater Training Provider". Due to the associated cost and complexity, HowBuildingsWork.com has not pursued this accreditation and therefore does NOT Provide RESNET continuing education.

See the following link for details:

RESNET Rater Professional Development Policy