The RodSquad is a Rodman Seminar class started after the Rodman Scholars program received a grant from Lockheed Martin to, among other things, form a group of students to perform energy audits in Charlottesville. After two semesters of planning and learning about the field, two members of the class, Jamie Harris and Reed Wilson decided to get certified as BPI Building Analysts in order for the class to be able to perform audits on its own schedule.
Throughout the 2010 fall semester Reed and Jamie led several energy reviews and energy audits with members of the class observing. The clients for these services were obtained through partnering with Charlottesville’s Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP). During class, several areas of the home that are typically inefficient were discussed in detail so that students would understand what they were seeing in the field.
This work will continue in spring 2011, though Reed and Jamie are hoping to use some of the remaining funds to purchase energy audit diagnostic equipment in order to be more independent from LEAP and have more hands on learning during class time. The group is currently open to Rodman Scholars who enroll when RodSem enrollment is open. If you are a Rodman scholar interested in joining the group, or a non-Rodman seeking information about home energy auditing, feel free to contact Jamie Harris, jwh6ux@virginia.edu, or Reed Wilson, raw5v@virginia.edu .
