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Pure Energy's A. Tamasin Sterner receives BPI's 2011 Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry
March 30, 2011
Award recognizes the individual who has most advanced the home performance industry over the past year
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The Building Performance Institute, Inc. (BPI), a nationally recognized standards development and contractor credentialing organization for residential energy efficiency retrofit work, today honored A. Tamasin Sterner of Pure Energy by naming her the recipient of the Tony Woods Award for Excellence in Advancing the Home Performance Industry in a ceremony at the Opening Plenary of the ACI National Conference in San Francisco, CA. Sterner was nominated by her industry peers and selected by an independent panel of impartial judges, both for her national impact on home performance contractor training and her pioneering work in low-income weatherization, bringing residential energy efficiency to the nation's attention. |
| A. Tamasin Sterner receives award from David Hepinstall, BPI Chairman |
"For nearly 30 years, Sterner has been a crusader for conserving energy, a pursuit that's taken her into more than 40,000 homes to advise residents on how to become more energy efficient. More recently she has applied her depth of experience to contractor training," said David Hepinstall, Chairman of the BPI Board of Directors. "Throughout her work in the field and classroom, she has demonstrated a bedrock understanding that the work we do as energy auditors, trainers or QA inspectors depends on effective communication with key audiences, whether they be homeowners, students, contractors or senators."
Twenty five years ago Sterner founded Pure Energy Coach LLC, an energy services firm that designs and implements energy efficiency programs. Sterner and her team provide inspection, quality assurance, contractor mentoring, and energy auditing services for low-income weatherization programs, improving the quality of life for hundreds of thousands of people.
To learn more, visit http://bit.ly/h1xiM7A. Tamasin Sterner Recognized at 25th ACI 2011 National Conference
March 27, 2011
A. Tamasin Sterner: Chief Coach and Expert Listener
Like many of her colleagues, Sterner began in the weatherization world as an energy auditor and loved the work. "I started my own company doing post-low-income weatherization quality assurance for utility companies in the mid 1980's." When in the mid-1990's she had served 30,000 households, she realized she needed to grow her company. Today, A. Tamasin Sterner is President and Chief Coach of Pure Energy, based in Lancaster, PA, with a second office in Montana.
Pure Energy's specialty is in customer service and education, encouraging people to take responsibility for making their own—educated—choices. "Every thing that I've done my entire career—30 years now—has been centered around choice and responsibility, and the responsibility is that when individuals ask for our services—from quality assurance or energy audit to consulting and training—our strength is that we listen. We decipher what it is that they really want, and then we provide the solutions, the answers or the research, so that the person or entity that is hiring us can take responsibility." This kind of customer service comes of technical knowledge as well as intuition. Sterner has both.
She delights in making it easy for the layperson to understand the complexity of energy efficiency in buildings. That's probably why she was one of five people invited in 2009 to meet with President Obama to brief him on opportunities for energy efficiency businesses in the HOME STAR Program. "One of my skills is to take complex topics and break them down so that the layman can understand them. The concepts are not difficult to understand, however, they are shrouded in terminology that the home performance industry accepts and understands. But it's been difficult for a lot of contractors to explain what they’re doing in terms that the customer gets."
In this majority-male field of building energy efficiency, Sterner has always felt at home, having begun so early and so earnestly, with a love for helping people, an understanding of how to listen, and a knack for the technology. "There is no reason why women shouldn't be in this field. It's technical," she says. "But much of it is just physics. Women I think can sometimes be better listeners than men, and therefore we can solve the problems more quickly and may not even involve the use of the technical equipment".
"Many times, I have solved people's problems over the phone or in the first ten minutes of arriving on site, because I listen, I've heard it before and I can apply my technical knowledge. I can tell them what the problem is and verify it. If somebody knows how to work a Cuisinart, they can work a manometer." There's also something about the ease of a woman visiting the customer's home. Especially when, like Sterner, she is "delighted to be using my gifts and skills to solve problems."
To learn more, visit http://acinational.org/Pure Energy Center course teaches the best ways to improve energy efficiency
February 8, 2011
(Lavina, MT) - On March 14-15, 2011, Pure Energy Coach, LLC, a leading provider of training, energy auditing and quality assurance services for home improvement professionals, will offer attendees the chance to get energy efficiency right.
Their course, The Right Ways to Improve the Energy Efficiency of Existing Homes, will teach the fundamentals of holistic building science to show how energy gain and loss actually works in a home, as well as what people can do to make this knowledge work for them.
“Energy efficiency is about more than just windows or a new furnace,” explains A. Tamasin Sterner, President and Chief Coach of Pure Energy Coach. “To be effective in solving homeowner problems, we have to understand how building systems work together. Our course focuses on those basics, giving attendees a broader picture of energy efficiency beyond their area of expertise. When it’s over, attendees can take that knowledge and use it to help their clients and expand their business. It’s a win-win—a win for attendees, and a win for their customers and clients, too.”
The Setting
Located at The Pure Energy Center, the new retreat-style ranch in Montana, the setting offers an undistracted learning experience where attendees are mentored from renowned industry experts, sought for their input in policies and standards development, yet known for their ability to explain complex subject-matter in ways that are easy to understand and apply in the field. Students also have access to the in-house computer lab, tools and equipment. For more hands-on experience, the Pure Energy Center has four on-site houses, where attendees can practice home auditing techniques first-hand and get instant feedback.
BPI Affiliate
The Pure Energy Center has Training Affiliate status with the Building Performance Institute (BPI)—the nation's premier building performance credentialing, quality assurance and national standards setting organization—so attendees are assured the material is tested, accurate and practical.
Pure Energy’s A. Tamasin Sterner to present at ACI National Home Performance Conference 2011
February 3, 2011
(Lancaster, PA) – A. Tamasin Sterner, President and Chief Coach of Pure Energy Coach LLC, is excited to announce two speaking appearances at the National Home Performance Conference presented by Affordable Comfort, Inc. (ACI), held from March 28 to April 1, 2011.
Sterner’s first presentation, Sick Houses, Sick People: Recognition & Response, will address healthy indoor home environments and how contaminants impact human health. In addition, Sterner will review effective ways to communicate environmental concerns to occupants.
The second presentation is called Little (and Not So Little) Things That Add Up: Indentifying and Reducing Plug Loads. In this session, Sterner will discuss base-load electricity use, and why electronics-use patterns are worth addressing for contractors and occupants alike.
“I’m thrilled to be co-presenting again this year at the ACI National Conference,” says Sterner. “It’s great to be a part of an event where people from all over the country get together and talk about the importance of home performance and energy conservation, as well as sharing best practices. One of our goals is to share as much as we can with others, in order to assist them in moving their clients and customers toward taking full responsibility for their own energy use, health and comfort. ACI is where it’s at!”
Hosted at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, the ACI National Conference will offer a range of seminars—144 core conference sessions in all—for contractors, builders, energy raters, remodelers, designers and weatherization professionals. The 2011 event will mark ACI’s 25th anniversary at the center of home performance and weatherization. To register for the conference, visit http://acinational.org/
The Pure Energy Center to Offer BPI Building Analyst Course in February 2011
January 14, 2011
(Lavina, Montana) – The Pure Energy Center is set to deliver its first Rocky Mountain
building science and energy efficiency training programs at its
new retreat-style campus on a unique 212-acre Montana
ranch.
Pure Energy has delivered building energy science training for over 30 years and we have audited more than 40,000 homes. The skills we will teach you are distilled from our many decades of practical hands-on, field experience. We have Training Affiliate status with the Building Performance Institute (BPI)—the nation's premier building performance credentialing, quality assurance and national standards setting organization.
Our course leaders are renowned experts sought out for their input into this country’s green building policies, utility rebate programs and standards development. Their deep and pragmatic knowledge, coupled with hands-on and individually attentive delivery of training, means you get the most comprehensive and practical professional training in the industry–which will help you get a good job, keep your current job, or advance in the field.
The Setting
Nestled in the foothills of the Bull Mountains in south-central Montana, The Pure Energy Center offers an undistracted learning experience. All students can use our in-house computer lab, tools and equipment to ensure that you get the right knowledge, using the right tools and equipment so your learning experience will the best value for your time and money.
Download flyer and registration form ...
Montana Senator Touts New Energy Jobs Training Facility in South Central Montana
September 13, 2010
(Butte, Montana) – Montana’s senior U.S. Senator, Max Baucus announced a job-creation development from the Montana Economic Development Summit. Nationally-recognized energy conservation and efficiency firm, Pure Energy, announced that it will open an energy efficiency training center between Lavina and Roundup, Montana in October.
Learn more ... | Related article ...Pure Energy Founder Advises President Obama
December 15, 2009
(Arlington, VA) – We always knew that energy efficiency was sexy, but now President Obama thinks so, too.
Pure Energy's A. Tamasin Sterner and other stakeholders in the home energy efficiency retrofit business met with President
Obama for a roundtable discussion prior to his speech (below). Participants included: Stephon Burgess, who was unemployed but recently
hired to work on weatherization; Gerald Palmer, president of Southland Insulators; John Shields Jr., Sheetmetal Workers
International Association; and Michael Thaman, chairman of Owens Corning building materials company.
Background on the roundtable meeting ...
Interview with A. Tamasin Sterner
December 17, 2009
Pure Energy's A. Tamasin Sterner describes her impressions of meeting President Obama ...
Watch now ...
