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Passing the BPI Exam With Energy Auditor TrainingBPI Written Exam - Section 4 BPI National Standards & Project Specifications1. Understand applicability content and intent of BPI National Standards – Do no harm, make buildings more healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficientDo no harmThe cornerstone of BPI's energy auditor standards is to DO NO HARM. That's why BPI stresses health and safety so much and it is important. The last thing you want to be responsible for is hospitalizing or worse a homeowner because of a lack of combustion safety testing. Yes, it is your responsibility as an energy auditor to test the home and put it in worse case to make it fail while you are there. Test for gas leaks, test for proper draft by doing a spillage test and stress the importance of any health and safety deficiencies during your summary.
Healthy homes = good air qualityThere are several factors that affect indoor air quality including:
All these factors play a part in air quality of the home regarding the built environment. If you want to go hard-core you can include off-gassing from adhesives in carpet, furniture, and interior decorations but we won’t go into that like LEED accreditation does. Durable homesThe durability of a home can be compromised by moisture problems and poor ventilation. If moisture is not mitigated at the source, drywall and the wood framing can be become weak from moisture build up. Moisture can enter an attic from ice dams, water vapor entering in the attic from the inside or outside without proper ventilation to let it escape or roof leaks. Moisture can build up in crawl spaces from water vapor entering from the inside or outside of the house without proper ventilation or originating from the crawl space from an air handler or improper drainage. Moisture inside a home can originate from cooking, respiration, bathing, water leaks and from vapor intrusion from outside the home.
To have a durable living space make sure the roof is well sealed and properly flashed, seal air gaps in the attic or crawl space, seal ductwork leakage and properly insulate and ventilate the attic or crawlspace. Energy efficient homesA by-product of having a high performing home is a home that is energy efficient. Energy efficiency means that the home stays comfortable without having to adjust the thermostat, has even temperatures in each room and the homeowners do not have to change their lifestyle to save money on their utility bills. Energy efficiency comes with a home that is well sealed, properly ventilated and insulated and with good HVAC design and installation.
4a. Comprehensive building assessment
4a. Comprehensive building assessment
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BPI WRITTEN EXAM
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Section 1 Building Science Fundamentals
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1a. Basic Terms & Definitions
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- 1. Airflow in Buildings
- 2. Equipment Efficiencies
- 3. Power and Energy
- 4. Effective Leakage Area
- 5. Area Weighted R-Value
- 6. Baseload / Seasonal Energy Use
- 7. Driving Forces (Including Natural and Mechanical)
- 8. Behavior of Radiation
- 9. Thermal Resistance / Transmittance: R and U Values
- 10. Latent / Sensible Heat
- 11. Total Equivalent Length
- 12. Dehumidification / Humidification
- 13. Convert Pressure Units
- 14. Thermal Bridges
- 15. Pressure Boundary
- 16. Stack Effect
- 17. Exfiltration and Infiltration
- 18. Natural / Mechanical Ventilation
- 19. Net Free Area
- 20. Input & Output Capacity
- 21. Peak Electrical Demand
- 22. Permeability and Perm Rating
- 23. Standby Loss
- 24. IAQ (indoor air quality): Moisture, CO, Dust
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1b. Principals of Energy, Air & Moisture Thermodynamics
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- 1. Thermodynamics: Conduction, Convection, Radiation, ΔT
- 2. Factors That Affect Insulation Performance
- 3. BPI certification online with BPI practice exams and study guides.
- 4. Heat Gain / Loss
- 5. Power and Energy
- 6. Moisture Transport Mechanisms
- 7. Identify Areas of Highest Relative Humidity
- 8. Principles of Combustion
- 1c. Combustion Safety >
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1a. Basic Terms & Definitions
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Section 2 Buildings and Their Systems
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2a. Building Components
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- 1. Identify basic duct configurations and components
- 2. Identify Basic Hydronic Distribution Configurations and Components
- 3. Identify Basic Structural Components of Residential Construction
- 4. Thermal Boundaries and Insulation Applications
- 5. Basic Electrical Components and Safety Considerations
- 6. Basic Fuel Delivery Systems and Safety Considerations
- 7. Basic bulk water management components (drainage plumbing gutters sumps etc)
- 8. Vapor barriers/retarders
- 9. Radiant Barrier Principles and Installations
- 10. Understand Fenestration Types and Efficiencies
- 11. Understand Issues Involved With Basements, Crawlspaces, Slabs, Attics, Attached Garages, Interstitial Cavities, and Bypasses
- 12. Understand Issues Involved With Ventilation Equipment
- 13. Understand Basic Heating / Cooling Equipment Components Controls and Operation
- 14. Understand Basic DHW Equipment Components Controls and Operation
- 15. Identify Common Mechanical Safety Controls
- 16. Identify Insulation Types and R-Values
- 17. Understand Various Mechanical Ventilation Equipment and Strategies: Spot, ERV, HRV
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2b. Conservation Strategies
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- 1. Appropriate Insulation Applications and Installation Based On Existing Conditions
- 2. Opportunity for ENERGY STAR Lighting and Appliances
- 3. Identify Duct Sealing Opportunities and Applications
- 4. Understand Importance of Air Leakage Control and Remediation Procedures
- 5. Blower Door-Guided Air Sealing Techniques
- 6. Water Conservation Devices and Strategies
- 7. Domestic Hot Water (DHW) Conservation Strategies
- 8. Heating & Cooling Efficiency Applications
- 9. Proper Use of Modeling to Determine Heating and Cooling Equipment Sizing and Appropriate Energy
- 10. Understand the Use of Utility History Analysis in Conservation Strategies
- 11. Appropriate Applications For Sealed Crawlspaces Basements and Attics
- 12. Identify / Understand High Density Cellulose
- 13. Appropriate Applications for Fenestration Upgrades Including Modification or Replacement
- 2c. Comprehensive Building Assessment Process >
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2d. Design Considerations
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- 1. Appropriate Insulation Applications Based On Existing Conditions
- 2. Understand Fire Codes as Necessary to Apply Home Performance in a Code-Approved Manner
- 3. Understand / Recognize Building Locations Where Opportunities for Retrofit Materials
- 4. Understand Climate Specific Concerns
- 5. Understand Indoor Environment Considerations for the Environmentally Sensitive
- 6. Understand Impact of Building Orientation, Landscape Drainage, and Grading
- 7. Opportunity Potential Renewable Energy Applications: Geothermal, Photovoltaic, Wind
- 8. Understand Impact of Shading on Heating / Cooling Loads
- 9. Awareness for Solar Gain Reduction / Solar Gain Opportunities
- 10. Understand Need for Modeling Various Options For Efficiency Upgrades
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2a. Building Components
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Section 3 Measurement & Verification of Building Performance
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Section 3a Measurement & Verification of Building Performance
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- 1. Air Leakage Test Results
- 2. Understand Building Shell / Envelope Leakage
- 3. Apply Fundamental Construction Mathematics and Unit Conversions
- 4. Calculate Building Tightness Levels (Minimum Ventilation Requirements)
- 5. Calculate Heating Degree Days and Cooling Degree Days
- 6. Identify Proper Appliance and Combustion Appliance Venting
- 7. Ventilation calculations and strategies
- 8. Proper methods for identifying / testing fuel leaks
- 9. Blower door setup, accurate measurement and interpretation of results
- 10. Combustion Appliance Zone (CAZ): depressurization, spillage, draft, Carbon Monoxide (ambient and flue)
- 11. Carbon Monoxide (CO) evaluation: ambient
- 12. Proper applications and use of temperature measuring devices
- 13. Pressure pan and room to room pressure diagnostics
- 14. Recognize contributing factors to comfort problems
- 15. Inspect for areas containing moisture or bulk water in undesirable locations
- 16. Understand and inspect for basic electric safety (e.g. frayed wires, open boxes, etc)
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Section 3a Measurement & Verification of Building Performance
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Section 4 BPI National Standards & Project Specifications
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- 1. Understand applicability content and intent of BPI National Standards – Do no harm, make buildings more healthy, comfortable, durable and energy efficient
- 2. Recognize need for a professional local/state/national codes evaluation
- 3. Be able to specify appropriate materials and processes needed for building performance projects
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Section 5 Analyzing Buildings Systems
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- 1. Recognize need for air sealing measures and their impact on other building systems
- 2. Recognize need for mechanical equipment improvements
- 3. Understand blower door use for identifying critical air sealing areas
- 4. Apply blower door test results and Building Tightness Limit (minimum ventilation requirements) in development of improvement strategies
- 5. Using combustion analysis and safety testing results to develop appropriate recommendations
- 6. Determine appropriate method for assessing wall insulation levels
- 7. Equipment control strategies for maximizing occupant comfort and minimizing energy consumption
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Section 6 Conduct and Communications
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- 6a. Conservation strategies
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6b. Personal Safety & Work Practices
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- 1. Locations in which to identify indoor air quality issues
- 2. Material Safety Data Sheets
- 3. Isolation procedures for household pollutants
- 4. Practice building science within your limits of professional competency
- 5. Precautions when working around chemical biological and other potential hazards
- 6. Understand role and responsibilities of the building analyst professional
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Section 1 Building Science Fundamentals
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- BPI FIELD EXAM >
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BPI WRITTEN EXAM
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