With the help of a nearly $1 million grant through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, plans for a new weatherization training center are underway, making the University home to one of the first such centers to be established in Illinois.

The facility will be used for the Illinois Home Weatherization Assistance Program (IHWAP), a program designed to help low-income residents save fuel and money. The program comprises seven courses and 140 hours of instruction in weatherization, which involves the practice of modifying structures for a variety of reasons, among them to reduce energy consumption and increase efficiency.

Jeff Gordon, an IHWAP training instructor and research specialist in the University’s Building Research Council (BRC), said he is going to be leading the project and will eventually serve as director. BRC instructor Paul Francisco will serve as technical director in addition to his teaching duties.

“The state of Illinois has been certifying people who work with local weatherization agencies for about 10 years,” Francisco said. “That has always been done in whatever classroom facility we could find.”

The administration of the program was delegated to the BRC, part of the School of Architecture, around four years ago, Francisco said.

With a new facility, the program will be able to expand and provide more hands-on experience to those training to work with weatherization agencies around the state.

“When we have gone out to houses to get practice, we’re limited by whatever the house has,” Francisco said, referring to the in-field portion of the program. “With the training center, we’re going to be able to develop these props that will allow us to demonstrate a whole range of things.”

Instruction will include the use of props to demonstrate how to properly install insulation, locate air leaks and seal air leaks, Francisco said.

The new training center is to be designed and outfitted by architect William Rose, a researcher at the BRC. Rose will be responsible for working out the facilities as well as figuring out offices and classrooms.

“There will be classrooms, but the main facility that we’re going to have is going to be a big open space with a high ceiling,” Rose said.

The center will also be used to expand curriculum development and evaluation, Francisco said. Over the last six months, Francisco and his colleagues have been developing curriculum for the contractors who perform the modifications at the assessed homes.

“We have not ever had any kind of certification for contractors, only for people at weatherization agencies,” Francisco said.

The certification and training of contractors will be performed throughout community colleges around the state, Rose said.

“You’re going to be able to do the kind of work that’s done in the field and test and see how good of a job it is,” he said. “There’s really nothing like that right now.”