PDH Academy courses fit your schedule, and fulfill all of your requirements.
As an architect, you know that continuing education is in your future. You need it to keep up with advances in your industry, to maintain your license, and to keep your AIA membership active. With a busy schedule, you also need approved CE courses that are easy to access and affordable. That’s what PDH courses offer.
Here are summaries of just a few of the options, and what you can expect from them:
2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design Part 1 [AIAPDH101]
In September of 2010, the Department of Justice published a revision to the regulations in the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, Titles II and III. This course reviews chapters 1 and 2 of these standards.
What You’ll Learn
- Revised regulations, how they are organized, and understand the standard’s goal of improving both accessibility and ADA compliance.
- Why compliance with the ADA is important
- Who is required to comply with these laws and standards
- Scoping and technical accessibility requirements for sites, facilities, buildings, and elements for people with disabilities.
Final Exam Sample Topics
- Minimum required accessible seating for an assembly area
- Minimum number of required accessible parking spaces for a parking facility
- Minimum number of required guest rooms with communication features in transient lodging facilities
- Minimum number of required accessible boat slips in a facility
Completing your required courses is straightforward, so you can get back to your business of the day.
Building Envelope Impact on HVAC Energy Use [AIAPDH103]
Contrary to popular belief, most U.S. commercial buildings are not airtight and have significant building envelope leakage, which contributes to a high HVAC load. This course is designed as a simulated study on how improving envelope airtightness affects energy use.
What You’ll Learn
- How building envelope airtightness is analyzed
- Which types of buildings have the greatest reward from improved airtightness
- Common airflow models
- Which climates are more conducive to HVAC savings with a tighter building envelope
Final Exam Sample Topics
- Did the results of the study show that the annual cost savings for office buildings are largest in heat-dominated climates?
- What does ASHRAE stand for?
- Office buildings in which city would experience the highest savings in dollars?
Our courses are designed to fit the continuing education needs of nearly every architect.
Energy Performance of LEED for New Construction Buildings [AIAPDH107]
Rapid growth in LEED certifications and occupied LEED buildings means there is more information available for research on the realities of energy efficiency and actual performance. This course focuses on energy performance for 121 LEED New construction, comparing it to Commercial Building Energy Consumption, Energy Star ratings, and the performance estimates that are provided with LEED submittals.
What You’ll Learn
- How a sample set of buildings was measured and evaluated for energy performance
- Whether LEED certified buildings are actually saving energy and meeting their performance objectives
- The difference between the accuracy of energy modeling results for a sample set of buildings and the results for individual buildings
- Strengths and weaknesses of using current LEED and energy modeling, especially for certain types of buildings
Final Exam Sample Topics
- How many LEED New Construction buildings were analyzed in the study?
- What was the median LEED Energy Star rating?
- Is energy use of high energy building types well understood by designers?
- What was one Conclusion and Recommendation?
Continuing education is a fact of life for all architects. At PDH Academy, we offer the courses that you need, and submit your credit hours to the AIA for you.
When you’re ready to begin, all you have to do is purchase the course that you want, and then take your final once you’ve completed the course material. For a more comprehensive look at what’s available, check out our courses for yourself.
