The content is aligned with California’s Title 24 energy code requirements, but the information can help building professionals in any location to design and deliver buildings that are more energy-efficient, comfortable, healthy, and durable.
Designing for Engagement and Accessibility
RDH’s Training & Publications team led the course design, development, and production. We worked closely with RDH building science specialists to shape both the technical content and the learning experience. The content of the new series is based on a set of webinars recorded for PG&E a decade earlier by RDH’s John Straube. PG&E sought to update the content of those earlier webinars and develop new courses that would be more interactive and engaging for learners and reflected the latest state energy code. We leveraged the core content of the original series and applied multiple instructional design approaches in Articulate Rise to make the new series more engaging and relevant to practitioners’ current day-to-day needs.
To enhance the learning experience, our team applied a systematic approach to course design. We began by auditing the existing training materials from three perspectives: technical, instructional design, and learning experience. Using the results of our review, we created a new curriculum map, refined the learning objectives, and developed detailed module outlines for PG&E’s review and acceptance. We applied multiple adult learning theories to support the learners’ comprehension, application, and retention of the information. Based on the client’s technical requirements, we selected appropriate modalities and developed engagements to deliver an online learning experience that encourages long-term behavioral change.
Our Training & Publications team also applied their understanding of how to deliver technical content in an accessible and compliant manner to align the new courses with WCAG 2.1 AA accessibility standards. The courses’ accessible design creates a learning environment that better supports diverse access needs and learning preferences. This focus reinforced PG&E’s goal of making high-quality technical education broadly accessible to the building industry.
The refreshed courses feature instruction presented (again) by John Straube and by RDH practitioners Patrick Jordan and Michael Hsueh, providing a trio of diverse building science voices. Together, our team translated complex building science concepts into clear, applied guidance tailored to real-world design and construction challenges.
Building a Bridge Between Building Science and Electrification
The series covers core enclosure topics, including control layers, airtightness, thermal bridging, continuous insulation, glazing, moisture management, condensation risk, and rain and groundwater control. The content helps learners understand not only what the Title 24 code requires, but how to meet those requirements through integrated design, construction, and operational strategies. The courses build a bridge between core building science principles and energy reduction. The series also emphasizes how designers can communicate enclosure performance goals clearly to contractors and subcontractors to support better-performing buildings.
By leveraging our combined technical and educational expertise as a single team, RDH helped PG&E deliver a robust, accessible, and practical online training series.
Each course supports 1 AIA learning unit (HSW), enabling participants to meet continuing education requirements while building practical enclosure knowledge.
The Building Science Series can be accessed here:
https://pge.docebosaas.com/learn/learning-plans/399/building-science-series
