Workforce Instruction for Standards and Efficiency (WISE)

The Workforce Instruction for Standards and Efficiency program was established to educate the building industry about the higher standards for wall and attics introduced in California’s residential building energy efficiency standards for the 2016 code cycle, and to assist with the transition from building with traditional wall and attic constructions to using high performance walls and attics. The project team provided training to builders, architects, energy consultants, insulation installers, manufacturers, home performance contractors, and trade organizations. The trainings included code changes, compliance options and costs, and the building science behind the different wall and attic options. Over the course of the project, the team provided more than 4,140 trainings statewide. The team also assisted with energy modeling by reviewing models for builders and energy consultants to ensure that new features were captured correctly, and worked with building product manufacturers to verify that compliance software would correctly model new attic and wall solutions. The team also worked to expand training available to high school students to help meet the need for a skilled workforce to satisfy the demand for housing production. Over the course of the project, the share of new construction single family homes in California using high performance attics increased from under 3 percent to 45 percent.