More advanced training for multi-family building operators is now available.

The Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. (AEA) is pleased to announce that the first of two new standardized Training Programs designed for multi-family building managers, supers and maintenance personnel will begin on September 27th at the Energy Management Training Center in the Bronx.

The new program: Multifamily Building Operations Specialist is the first of its kind in New York and will prepare students for Certification by the Building Performance Institute (BPI).

The best minds in the building performance and energy management industry have come together, with the backing and support of the New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA), to develop standardized training throughout the industry. BPI's top industry experts have developed "standards and best practices" for the new certifications, with NYSERDA providing the funding to assist AEA in the development of the new curriculum.

With this new standardized training, multifamily building owners, facility managers and superintendents will be better able to increase the energy efficiency of their buildings, and can thereby reduce or contain their operating expenses at a time of rising energy bills.

Students with be required to have a certain level of understanding of building science and may be pre-qualified before admission to the program. They will also be required to create a series of logs and equipment schedules for their own buildings, and complete a layman's audit indicating where energy savings can be made.

In the new comprehensive course students will learn: space heating and domestic hot water generation and distribution, working with heating system controls, plumbing and water resource use efficiency, electricity and lighting, maintaining the mechanical plant, thermal comfort and proper maintenance of the building envelope, storage and handling of hazardous material, risk assessment and management, ventilation and indoor air quality, and preventive maintenance and energy efficiency.

Incentives may be available for building owners who participate in NYSERDA or other government programs, and discounts are available for students who act promptly and enroll before the end of 2004.

"For more than ten years AEA has helped multifamily building owners achieve energy efficiency in their building operations," says David Hepinstall, Executive Director. "We have demonstrated repeatedly that well-trained building operations staff results in significant savings for building owners and their tenants. We expect these classes to be in great demand."

AEA's Energy Management Training Center includes teaching labs with fully functioning, duel fuel boilers and heating systems designed for hands-on learning, and the latest in classroom A/V technology. It is also a center for research and the development of new technologies including AEA's web-enabled and wireless solutions for improved heating control, electric demand response, and building performance monitoring.

AEA's training team includes some of the top leaders in the multifamily housing operations and energy management field who have experience in training and preparation of instructional tools for building operators.

The Association for Energy Affordability, Inc. is a not-for-profit membership, training and technical services organization based in New York City with over 10 years experience providing services to multifamily buildings and to New York State's Weatherization Assistance Program.

Visit our website at www.aeanyc.org for more information and schedules.