Passing the BPI Exam With Energy Auditor Training

FREE BPI PRACTICE EXAM

PUT YOUR HOME PERFORMANCE BUSINESS ON ROCKET FUEL

ENERGY AUDITOR NEWSLETTER

Get the only Energy Auditor Marketing Newsletter with monthly strategies and tactics to grow your home performance business.

BPI Written Exam - Section 1 Building Science Fundamentals

2. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Testing of Combustion Appliances

Carbon monoxide is always measured under worst-case conditions first, then if the draft/spillage/CO limits are above BPI standards, measure CO again under natural conditions (with all the fans off).

Carbon monoxide needs to be measured from all gas appliances including the:

1. Furnace - if power vented and/or there is no throat to measure undiluted CO, MEASURE CO AT THE FLUE TERMINAL (on the roof or side of the house) by turning the appliance on and getting a measurement
   
2. Water heater
3. Oven

If the appliance is atmospherically vented, you can measure undiluted CO right in the throat of the flue.

CO testing for an atmospherically furnace and water heater

You will find more atmospherically vented water heaters than furnaces, but you may run into one every 100 audits or so.  The order of your CO test for an atmospherically vented furnace (old ones) and atmospherically vented water heater goes like this:

1. Check the appliance for signs of flame rollout, used matches, flammables and hazards around the area
2. Inspect the flue that there are no more than 2 x 45 degree bends and no horizontal flue pipes IF ATMOSPHERICALLY VENTED. If power vented, horizontal pipes are OK.
3. Check that the flue pipe and diverter plate are connected and secure (a solid jiggle will do)
4. Put the house under worst case conditions
   
5. Get a CAZ reading for each combustion appliance in its own CAZ
6. If furnace and water heater are in the same room or jointly vented,  start by testing the smallest BTU rated appliance first.
7. If two furnaces are in the same room or jointly vented, start with the smallest BTU rated furnace first.
8. Drill a hole 1-2 feet above the diverter for draft test and rest the pitot tube inside for a quick reading
9. Turn the appliance on. For a water heater turn it on by cranking up the temperature setting (use a Sharpe to mark where it was first at).  For a furnace, just turn up the thermostat so it kicks on and stays on.
10. Perform a draft and smoke test (together and within the first minute of appliance start-up)
11. Let your appliance come to a stead state and check the flame color for a nice blue color and as little orange as possible.  Blue color indicates a clean burn, orange color indicates there is not enough oxygen for combustion
12. Take a CO reading once at steady state.  For a water heater, you will get 2 CO readings, one on each side of the diverter
    
13. If both the draft/spillage test and the CO test pass BPI standards...
14. Turn the appliance off and set the temperature at the thermostat or WH back to its original setting
15. If both the draft/spillage test and the CO test DO NOT PASS BPI standards...
    
16. Take the house out of worst case and test the appliance under natural conditions

CO testing for a power vented furnace or water heater

A power vented furnace or water heater will have a small fan you can identify to push the CO and combustion gases out of the flue.  There is no smoke or draft tests on these appliances because there is no diverter... the appliance does not use the ambient air to help carry combustion gases outside, it forces the combustion gases outside.  

You can still do a CO test on a power vented appliance, but it is at the flue terminal.  In Arizona, energy auditors do not have to risk going on the roof of a two story home or potentially crack a tiled roof house to get a CO reading. However, if the flue terminal is on a flat or shingled roof or on a side wall, a CO reading is expected.  

Here are the steps for a power vented appliance:

1. Check the appliance for signs of flame rollout, used matches, flammables and hazards around the area
2. Inspect the flue that there are no more than 2 x 45 degree bends and no horizontal flue pipes IF ATMOSPHERICALLY VENTED. If power vented, horizontal pipes are OK.
3. Check that the flue pipe and diverter plate are connected and secure (a solid jiggle will do)
4. Put the house under worst case conditions
   
5. Get a CAZ reading for each combustion appliance in its own CAZ
6. Turn the appliance on. For a water heater turn it on by cranking up the temperature setting (use a Sharpe to mark where it was first at).  For a furnace, just turn up the thermostat so it kicks on and stays on.
   
7. Let your appliance come to a stead state and check the flame color for a nice blue color and as little orange as possible.  Blue color indicates a clean burn, orange color indicates there is not enough oxygen for combustion
   
8. Take a CO reading once at steady state at the flue terminal.
   
9. If the CO test passes BPI standards...
10. Turn the appliance off and set the temperature at the thermostat or WH back to its original setting
11. If the CO test DO NOT PASS BPI standards...
    
12. Take the house out of worst case and test the appliance under natural conditions

CO testing for an oven

Kitchens are not required to have an exhaust fan so don't be alarmed if your microwave does not exhaust outside when you open the cabinet.  

1. Follow steps 1-5 for CO testing for a fan assisted appliance
2. Remove pots, pans and whatever else is in and in the drawer under the oven
3. Turn the oven on and set to 500 degrees
4. It will take 10-15 minutes for it to ready a steady state
5. Make sure you monitor the ambient CO reading close to the oven.  Why?  Because 7 out of 10 times I have found CO readings go well above 100 ppm CO JUST WHILE REACHING STEADY STATE.  When the appliance starts to heat up, it burns CO much cleaner and the CO levels have always done way down to 3 to 20 ppm.  
6. Once the oven reaches 500 degrees, it will beep and is a steady state
7. Take 2 or 3 (depending on how many access points there are) CO readings in the throat of the oven
8. Turn off the oven, let it cool and replace the pots and pans

If you get a high CO reading

1. Check and adjust the oxygen intake to let more O2 in by raising the feet of an oven or removing restrictions around the appliance
   
2. Check the flue terminal to see if it is blocked or clogged inside the line.  Sometimes one CO reading will be higher than another for a water heater, this may be caused by blockage
3. Calculate the room size requirements from the BTU input of the appliance (see next section on sizing)

Next Section

1a. Basic terms and definitions

1. Understand airflow in buildings / ducts: CFM, CFM50, CFM25, ACHn, ACH50, FPM
   
2. Understand equipment efficiencies: AFUE, SSE, SEER, EER, HSPF
3. Understand power and energy: watts, BTU/hr, ton of refrigeration  watt-hours, BTU, therm, decatherm
4. Understand effective leakage area
   
5. Understand area weighted R-Value
   
6. Understand baseload / seasonal energy use
7. Understand driving forces (including natural and mechanical: Pressure, temperature, moisture differential
8. Understand behavior of radiation: emissivity, reflectivity, absorbtivity
9. Understand thermal resistance / transmittance: R and U Values; including conversions
10. Understand latent / Sensible heat: evaporation, condensation / specific heat, heat capacity
    
11. Understand total equivalent length
    
12. Understand basics of dehumidification / Humidification as well as measurement equipment
    
13. Understand and convert Pressure units: Inches of Water Column (iwc), Pascal (Pa)
    
14. Understand, identify thermal bridges
    
15. Understand pressure boundary 
    
16. Understand/define stack effect 
    
17. Understand and define exfiltration and infiltration 
    
18. Natural / mechanical ventilation 
    
19. Understand net free area 
    
20. Understand input / output capacity 
    
21. Understand peak electrical demand 
    
22. Understand permeability and perm rating 
    
23. Understand standby loss 
    
24. IAQ (indoor air quality): moisture, CO, dust

1b. Principals of energy, air & moisture

1. Thermodynamics: conduction, convection, radiation, ΔT including air movement due to temperature gradients
   
2. Factors that affect insulation performance: density, installation, moisture
   
3. House pressurization/depressurization by various forces
   
4. Heat gain / loss: internal, solar, heat transmission, air leakage 
   
5. Power and energy: BTU content of fuels, capacity of combustion appliances and electrical appliances 
   
6. Moisture transport mechanisms: bulk water, air leakage, diffusion, capillary action 
   
7. Identify areas of highest relative humidity 
   
8. Principles of combustion: combustion analysis, CO 

1c. Combustion science

1. Combustion analysis: oxygen, flue-gas temperature, carbon monoxide 
   
2. Carbon Monoxide (CO) testing of combustion appliances 
   
3. Basics of: Combustion appliance venting, draft, and combustion air including identification of proper sizing/vent tables 
   
4. Understand combustion safety issues: Combustion air, draft, worst case / baseline depressurization, spillage, backdrafting, unvented combustion appliances