Can you imagine hiring a Swahili translator without knowing the first thing about Swahili? What if a fake translator claimed to be an expert and even spoke a few words of Swahili to convince you of his expertise? How would you know he was lying? Likely, you wouldn't. And by the time you found out he was lying, you're being eaten by cannibals in the Congo (and no, your contract is not going to protect you!). If only you had taken a course on Swahili, you would've easily recognized the fraud and wouldn't be in this mess.

Energy-modeling is the same way. A lot of people claim to be experts, but only speak enough of the lingo to get the contract, and then slap something together and claim that it's valid (I've supported hundreds of people who have done this - I even found out they copied/pasted my emails and sent them straight to their client - just to make themselves look smart!). But how can you spot a fraud if you don't know the lingo? The best way to spot a fraud is to speak the lingo. In energy-modeling terms, that means get acquainted with the software. Maybe you won't become an expert, but you will be able to recognize one!

You might not get eaten by cannibals, but you can avoid a room full of angry Owners, investors, and architects - which might be worse than cannibals.

Recommended Courses:

1. LEED EA credit 1 (the part of LEED focused on Energy-modeling)
2. TRACE 700
3. eQUEST