"The House as a System" course

Welcome to InterNACHI's free, online The House as a System course. A house is a system of interdependent parts: Mechanical and physical components. The operation of one part affects many others. When they all work together, the house is comfortable, safe, efficient, and durable.

This course teaches the inspector to:

become aware of the potential for interaction among building components and mechanical systems;
understand how air sealing a home can negatively affect indoor air quality; and
be able to recognize typical air leakage sites and know how they are corrected.

The U.S. Department of Energy and InterNACHI, the International Association of Certified Home Inspectors, Inc., are working in cooperation to develop and offer energy inspection courses to InterNACHI members.

In keeping with InterNACHI's commitment to Continuing Education, this course is open and free to all members, and can be taken again and again, without limit.

Reminder to members: InterNACHI's Code of Ethics 1.10 requires that you comply with all government rules and licensing requirements of the jurisdiction where you conduct business. InterNACHI's courses and Standards generally exceed the Standards of Practice that you are required to abide by locally.

This course has been approved by:

The House as a System course includes:

37 sections;
over 50 photos and illustrations;
2 online videos;
4 quizzes;
20-question final exam (drawn from a larger pool);
instant grading;
a downloadable, printable Certificate of Completion; and
accreditations and state approvals.

This course covers the following topics

Definitions
House as a System
Mechanical and Physical Components
Lessons Learned from Building Failures
Uninsulated Attic
Leaky Recessed Lights
Fans
Ventilation and Air Changeds
In the Attic
Installing Attic Insulation
Pipe and Wire Bypasses
Chimney Chases
In the Basement
Plumbing and Wire Openings
Under the Tub
Dangers
In the Garage
In the Kitchen and Bathroom
Dropped Soffits
In the Living Room
Unvented Space Heaters
Outside
Mechanical Ventilation
Occupant Behavior
What’s Going On?
What Should Be Done?
Something to Think About
Today’s Houses are Tighter
More and Bigger Fans
Weaker Draft Appliances
Lifestyle Changes

Upon completion of this course and passing of the 20-question final exam (drawn from a larger pool), the student can download and print their own Certificate of Completion which is auto-generated in their own name.

The student's (InterNACHI member's) information is recorded on InterNACHI's servers for membership compliance verification, and automatically logs completion into InterNACHI's online Continuing Education log. It counts as two InterNACHI Continuing Education hours.

Non-members may view only the first page of the course.

Members will need their username and password. If you have forgotten your password, CLICK HERE (instant response) or email fastreply@nachi.org and request it (don't forget your name).

InterNACHI... #1 in inspection education.

InterNACHI Members: Take the free, online The House as a System course now (free to InterNACHI members).

Not a Member?

Join today to access this (and every other) InterNACHI membership benefit.

Other inspection courses.

Some features which make InterNACHI's courses superior to existing continuing education options:

The course is free for all InterNACHI members.
The course is written in pure XHTML code for quick loading. The course loads fine on old computers and loads fast, even with dial-up.
The course is designed using a hierarchal menu coupled with a sequential page navigation. This provides the student with the option to easily repeat areas of weakness.
The course permits the student to start, stop and restart any part of the course as often as desired.
There are a variety of images within the course, including diagrams, illustrations and photos.
The illustrations can be enlarged for clearer viewing by clicking on them.
The text is integrated into InterNACHI's Inspector Glossary. Rolling over blue-colored terms provides their definition.
The final exam uses multiple-choice questions that reference the images.
The course's quizzes and final exam have numerous advantages over traditional exam systems:
1. The course, quizzes and final exam incorporate built-in intelligence which identifies and strengthens each student's unique subject weaknesses.
2. Not only is each question weighted with regard to score, but each answer is weighted, as well as the correctness of each answer being weighted.
  1. Answers to easy questions are weighted such that the student is penalized, in terms of score, for answering incorrectly, but rewarded modestly for answering correctly.
  2. Answers to difficult questions are weighted such that the student is rewarded, in terms of score, for answering correctly, but not penalized for answering incorrectly.
  3. Answers to questions regarding basic safety, or questions every inspector should know the answer to, are weighted such that the student is severely penalized, in terms of score, for answering incorrectly.
Upon passing the final exam, the student can print out a Certificate of Completion which is auto-generated in their own name.

InterNACHI Members: Take the free, online The House as a System course now (free to InterNACHI members).

Not a Member?

Join today to access this (and every other) InterNACHI membership benefit.

Why online inspector education is better than classroom inspector education.

Other approved and accredited inspection courses.

International Association of Certified Home Inspectors

"The House as a System" course

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