(Durham, N.C.) –Durham Technical Community College is expanding its green course offerings this fall. The newest Corporate and Continuing Education green courses include LEED Exam Prep and Solar Air Heater. LEED Prep is an examination preparation course for the LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Green Building Rating System®. Instructional content focuses on project management and documentation processes that are fundamental to the LEED program. The course also offers information about the work as a LEED-accredited professional. 

Also new this fall is the Solar Air Heater course. Students learn how to reduce utility bills by 50 to 75 percent by using solar thermal energy to warm their homes or businesses. Students should be handy with a saw and drill and must be able to climb up a one-story roof. DTCC also offers Design with Nature to Live Sustainably, a 10-week course that teaches principles and practices that can help students make sustainable choices. The course includes guest lecturers and field trips to demonstration sites with edible landscaping, composting, water catchment and reuse systems. 

Green Building Overview provides basic information about designing and building sustainable homes or small buildings. In the Green Building Materials course, students learn how the use of green building products represents an important strategy in the design of sustainable building.

Most of these courses are offered at the Orange County Campus outside of Hillsborough.  

In addition, Durham Tech will soon offer training in green landscape design and solar energy technology through N.C. Community Colleges’ JobsNOW training program. Durham Tech and community colleges throughout the state have developed short-term training through JobsNOW to meet employment needs in the college’s service area. This training can be completed in six months or less.  For more information about JobsNOW “12 in 6” training programs, visit http://www.durhamtech.edu/JobsNOW/index.htm

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