Climate Resilience in Buildings through Energy Efficiency
This online engineering CPD course introduces how energy efficiency strategies can enhance climate resilience in buildings.
This course focuses on reducing vulnerability to extreme weather events and power outages by improving building performance through envelope upgrades, passive design measures, and smart energy management. It explores the principles of passive survivability and thermal resilience and key concepts that ensure buildings maintain safe indoor conditions during grid disruptions or climate-induced emergencies.
This course also covers critical energy efficiency upgrades, such as air sealing, high-performance insulation, and optimized ventilation systems, that extend habitable conditions without mechanical heating or cooling. Through case studies and simulation data, it examines how efficient building design impacts indoor temperatures during extended outages, particularly for vulnerable populations in multifamily and senior living facilities. It also addresses the integration of smart controls, battery storage, and distributed energy resources (DERs) to reduce reliance on fossil fuels and improve emergency preparedness.
Moreover, this course explores resilience metrics (such as Standard Effective Temperature and livable hours), climate-specific design strategies, and how to quantify co-benefits like reduced energy burden and increased equity. Policy frameworks and code evolution (e.g., IECC, LEED resilience credits) are also discussed to align design decisions with evolving standards.
This 5 CPD online course is applicable to engineers, building designers, energy managers, as well as other professionals seeking to design and retrofit buildings that are both energy efficient and climate resilient.
This continuing education course is intended to provide you with the following specific knowledge and skills:
- Understanding how energy efficiency measures like insulation, airtightness, and passive design improve building resilience to extreme weather and power outages
- Identifying resilient design elements such as high-performance envelopes, natural ventilation, thermal mass, and retrofits that extend safe conditions during outages
- Analyzing thermal survivability strategies including passive heating and cooling, smart load management, and DER integration for safety and grid support
- Exploring simulation and real-world evidence on how envelope upgrades and air sealing help maintain livable temperatures during outages
- Understanding regulatory and economic drivers of resilient design, including IECC, LEED metrics, equity upgrades, and cost-benefit tools with avoided risk
- Evaluating resilience challenges like aging buildings, risks to vulnerable groups, summer overheating, and phased, cost-effective implementation strategies
Upon successful completion of the quiz, print your Certificate of Completion instantly. (Note: if you are paying by check or money order, you will be able to print it after we receive your payment.) For your convenience, we will also email it to you. Please note that you can log in to your account at any time to access and print your Certificate of Completion.