Healthy Homes: Insights for Existing Construction

Course Overview

The Building Performance Institute (BPI) has laid out eight Healthy Ho using Principles that affect the health and well-being of a home's occupants. Following a brief history and context of healthy housing, this course will walk through these eight principles which include "Keep it …": Dry, Clean, Safe, Well-Ventilated, Pest-Free, Contaminant-Free, Well Maintained, and Thermally Controlled. The course will conclude with an introduction to several healthy housing upgrades for existing housing.

Learning Goals

What will you learn?

• Identify the Building Performance Institute’s eight Healthy Housing Principles that affect the health and well-being of a home’s occupants
• Explore connections between occupant health and common conditions in existing housing, such as how dampness in a home can lead to human illness
• Examine how upgrades such as home ventilation system improvements can reduce risk of occupant respiratory illnesses and improve indoor environmental quality
• Identify resources for building professionals to identify, evaluate, and remediate unhealthy conditions in the physical design of existing housing

Available Continuing Education Credits

After watching the videos, completing knowledge checks, and passing a final assessment, you will be eligible for the following continuing education credits:

• 1.0 PA L&I Contact Hour
• 1.0 PDH for licensed professional engineers in Pennsylvania
• 1.0 AIA LU|HSW
• 1.0 ICC Contact Hour (0.1 CEU)
• 1.0 NARI hour/CEU

Instructor

Christopher Hine
Associate Director of PHRC
Penn State College of Engineering

Who is this for?

• Architects, builders, engineers, remodelers, and other design professionals
• Code officials and government representatives
• Product manufacturers with a residential focus
• Educators focused on building trades and residential construction