Realtor Training | Airtight Engineering

Home Energy Resources

Welcome to our residential energy efficiency resource page! Here you can find resources for learning more about home energy efficiency.

Getting Real About Home Energy

Watch through this recorded course and explore the course resources to learn about home energy efficiency. This course was originally developed for real estate agents, but is a great general introduction for anyone interested in home energy efficiency, particularly those living in Saskatchewan. The series outlines best practices in home energy efficiency, offers insight into current energy codes and incentive programs in Saskatchewan, and provides tools to help in buying and selling energy efficient homes.

This course was originally developed by Airtight Engineering, in partnership with the City of Saskatoon and the Saskatchewan REALTORS® Association. The course ran between November, 2023 and March, 2025. Please note that some particulars such as grant opportunities and building codes may no longer be up-to-date. Course resources can be downloaded here.

Mod 1

Why Care About Efficiency?

28 Min

Follow along with Matthew Dipple, P.Eng., as he tackles the question, "why care about efficiency?" With plenty of experience from the field, Matt addresses this question from 3 different perspectives:

The occupants

Real estate agents
Community / society

Mod 2

Building Codes & Energy Labeling

39 Min

In this video, Matt focusses on building energy codes in Saskatchewan and the EnerGuide building energy rating and labeling system. He covers the following 6 topics:

Energy benchmarking concepts

Building code

Energy efficiency in Saskatchewan

EnerGuide labeling

Energy certification programs in Canada

Future building code trends in Canada

Mod 2

Training Activity

7 Min

In this 15 minute activity, Matt walks viewers through reading and understanding EnerGuide home energy rating labels and reports. The goal is to equip you or your clients to better understand where energy is being used in the home and what retrofits will give the best savings.

* Files can be viewed and downloaded below in the Course Resources section

Mod 3

Building Science 101

41 Min

In this introduction to some important building science concepts, Matt introduces the following topics that are important to understanding home energy efficiency:

House-as-a-system

House envelope

Airtightness

Ventilation

Water/vapour movement

Energy balance

Mod 4

Energy Efficiency in the Home

55 Min

Join Matt in one of the core modules for the course as he discusses the following main categories of energy use in a home, and how to improve their efficiency:

Heating

Domestic hot water

Appliances

Lighting
Cooling

Mod 5

Energy Retrofits

29 Min

In this video, Matt builds on concepts from module 4 and takes viewers through the basics of energy retrofits. 4 key concepts include:

Deep vs shallow retrofits

Common retrofit measures

Retrofit costs
Saskatoon home energy map

Mod 5

Training Activity

14 Min

In this 15-minute activity, Matthew Dipple, P.Eng., walks viewers through a qualitative energy audit. The goal is to guide you through a practice scenario with a potential homebuyer who is asking the following questions:

What are some possible energy upgrades to suggest on this home?

Where are some low-cost things I can do to save energy in this home?

* Files can be viewed and downloaded below in the Course Resources section

Mod 6

Home-scale Renewable Energy

13 Min

In this module, Matt gives an overview of solar energy, the most commonplace and available form of home-scale renewable energy in Canadian cities. The key concepts include: