New Course - Building Science and Code

In early April, I met up with Tom Turner, Jon Esquivel, and our videographer, Brian O’Neill, for filming of our 2021 continuing education course, “Building Science and Code”.  The first class of the year is undoubtedly the most difficult for each instructor as they get into the groove and fall into their own timing for delivery of the material. Esquivel and Turner decided to tag-team this first class and as the developer of the course, Tom was able to offer deep insight into the content as Jon led the class instruction. Through the course of the day, class participants were treated to demonstrations of blower door testing and manometer readings, and were shown a simple method to calculate how infiltration affects heat gains and losses in the Manual J.

Tom Turner has developed most of TACCA’s CE curriculum in the last 13 years, bringing extensive knowledge of building science and observations in the construction and HVAC industry to the program. Turner has served as curriculum advisor for the Austin Community College HVAC associate degree program, compliance program coordinator for Austin Energy, and board member then President of TACCA Greater Austin, as well as owning Air Evangelist.

Jon Esquivel is TACCA’s newest instructor who gamely agreed to help instruct the filmed class. Jon has owned and operated Austin Star Services for 14 years. He began his career in HVAC after being honorably discharged from the U.S. Army in 2002. Esquivel keeps his competitive advantage by seeking knowledge and new information about the trade and maintaining several certifications. Jon’s passion for HVAC and helping educate people about the industry drove his interest in teaching for TACCA. We are fortunate to have members like Tom and Jon dedicated to developing and teaching our continuing education course.

The outline for this course was created as a follow-up to last year’s section on humidity management and as a code refresher as the 2018 International Residential Code, 2018 International Mechanical Code, and 2018 International Fuel Gas Code, and 2018 Uniform Mechanical Code became effective January 1, 2021. Building Science and Code #23946 is an 8-hr course approved by the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation for HVAC license renewal and covers a ton of content including:

Code

• Why codes are necessary and how to make them your ally
• History of codes
• Evolution, types, and application
• Common code misinterpretations
• 10 common failures and solutions

Building Science

• Envelope and duct seal
• Thermal boundaries and delivered air
• Moisture solutions
• Discussion points

Texas Laws and Rules

You can check for updates and register for CE here.