The home heating oil industry has a long and proud history, and Fuel Oil News has been there supporting it since 1935. It is an industry that has faced many challenges during that time. In its 77th year, Fuel Oil News is doing more than just holding
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www.fueloilnews.com | FUEL OIL NEWS | AUGUST 2015 31 BUSINESS OPERATIONS l F O N will constitute core courses for the Gold certification. Two additional books, one on advanced controls and another on vent- ing, are to be developed and published. "So we've been pretty busy," Hedden said. He noted that these projects are team efforts, includ- ing Oil & Energy Service Professionals, where Ralph Adams, service manager for Parker Fuel Co. in Ellicott City, Md., is chair of the education c o m m i t t e e . A d a m s served as lead writer on the hot air heat book. Dave Holdorf, a trainer with Taco Inc., Cranston, R.I., was the lead writer for the hydronics book, Hedden said. "I think it's a better program with the specialties," Adams said. "You have to get three of the six specialties in order to get your Gold. If you have your Gold already you will not lose it as long as you keep get- ting continuing education credits," Adams said. There will be continuing education programs as well, "so the guys will have no problem keeping up on their specialties," Adams said. Each continuing education credit is equal to one hour of training. Adams is teaching the air flow course a couple of times this summer, including Aug. 5 at the OESP Industry Forum at the Kalahari Resorts, Mount Pocono, Pa. "The new NORA program is directing us into the future," he said. NORA originally developed its Oilheat Certification Program to ensure that ser- vice professionals are well-trained and aware of the technical advances that lead to higher efficiency and "a more comfort- able home," according to the Alliance's online literature, and that remains the education and training mission. Oilheat service professionals can take NORA- approved courses at NORA-approved schools. The courses are designed to help technicians make each service call more efficient—saving the customer money, the Alliance said. Hedden noted that the book he wrote on "efficiency" broadens the term, cover- ing more territory. "Efficiency," for the purposes of the new Gold certification, now refers to "generic oilheat efficiency— the whole system," Hedden said, meaning burner, boiler, furnace, heating system as well as the house or other type of building being served by the system. "Building performance is part of the efficiency," Hedden said, taking "a holistic view of efficient oil heating." The Building Performance Institute has been helpful with the content for the course and has certified the NORA instructional materials. All of the new materials are designed to satisfy "pent up demand" from the years when NORA was inactive, Hedden said. "These were things we had been talking about doing for a long time. As soon as NORA got reactivated then we had money to make all this happen." The overall effort both expands the scope of the Alliance's educational and training offerings and fills "gaps that have always been there," Hedden said. During the time that NORA was unfunded "we didn't have any money to do all these things," Hedden said. "That's why there's this sudden burst of activity. These are things we've wanted to do for a number of years and we can finally start to get them done." CONSUMER EDUCATION NORA is working to get the latest infor- mation about oilheat to consumers as well. It has created a website (oilheatamerica. com) to highlight the benefits of home heating oil. "When you hear an Oilheat ad on the radio, invite a certified Oilheat technician into your home, or install new high-effi- ciency home comfort equipment, you are experiencing the benefits of NORA," the website tells consumers. The Alliance also funds programs for real estate professionals, it said, "to ensure they understand the benefits of heating oil so they can help homebuyers and sellers." Funding for the Alliance was first authorized by Congress in 2000 with a "check-off" program, in which $0.002 was collected at the whole- s a l e l e v e l o n e v e r y gallon of heating oil sold, according to the Alliance's website. However, Congress failed to reauthorize the check-off program once it expired, and NORA was without funding for a time. Following industry lobbying efforts, Congress in 2014 reau- thorized the check-off program. For more information on the Alliance's education offerings, visit NORAed.org. NORA CERTIFICATION PROGRAMS