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      • Section 1 Building Science Fundamentals >
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          • 23. Standby Loss
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          • 4. Heat Gain / Loss
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          • 8. Principles of Combustion
        • 1c. Combustion Safety >
          • 1. Combustion Analysis
          • 2. Carbon Monoxide (CO) Testing
          • 3. Combustion Appliance Venting, Draft, Combustion Air & Sizing
          • 4. Understand Combustion Safety Issues
      • Section 2 Buildings and Their Systems >
        • 2a. Building Components >
          • 1. Identify basic duct configurations and components
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          • 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
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          • 15. Identify Common Mechanical Safety Controls
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          • 17. Understand Various Mechanical Ventilation Equipment and Strategies: Spot, ERV, HRV
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          • 3. Interaction Between Mechanical Systems, Envelope Systems and Occupant Behavior
        • 2d. Design Considerations >
          • 1. Appropriate Insulation Applications Based On Existing Conditions
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          • 3. Understand / Recognize Building Locations Where Opportunities for Retrofit Materials
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          • 10. Understand Need for Modeling Various Options For Efficiency Upgrades
      • Section 3 Measurement & Verification of Building Performance >
        • Section 3a Measurement & Verification of Building Performance >
          • 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)
      • Section 4 BPI National Standards & Project Specifications >
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      • Section 5 Analyzing Buildings Systems >
        • 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
      • Section 6 Conduct and Communications >
        • 6a. Conservation strategies
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Stump the chump

9/10/2015

5 Comments

 
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An all electric, 1700 sq ft home in Phoenix,  AZ was recently built in 2008.  The average pressure pan was found to be 0.6 Pa with a static pressure of 0.4 IWC on the return and 0.2 IWC on the supply.  The summer and winter temperatures are kept at 78 degrees and 68 degrees and 2 people live in the house.  There is no pool but there is a recirculation pump on the water heater.  Windows are dual pane, low-e but they do get 4 hours of western sun exposure.  Attic insulation was found to be aligned and at R-36 on average along the attic floor. 
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What would be the cause of a $450 energy bill in July? 

Answer: Highlight this paragraph to see the answer in white text. the re-circulation pump on the water heater was set "ON" 24-7.
Looking for answers to your BPI exam classes?  Check out our 25 free BPI Practice Exam Questions or take our 100 question practice exam here.
5 Comments
ben
1/7/2016 06:40:44 am

wouldn't they have high bills every month not just a spike in July with it set on 24/7 on?

Reply
David
1/11/2016 05:53:56 am

Yes, they would have high bills the entire year with the re-circulation pump @ben, it was $220 in the winter.

Reply
Brad
2/15/2016 11:01:30 am

Were the electric bills examined over a three year period or just one year?

Reply
David
2/15/2016 02:40:23 pm

@Brad good question, we looked at only one year but the homeowner did not mention they had a recent spike in their energy bills so they may have always been high.

Reply
larry cole
3/19/2016 10:31:19 am

It sounds like the water heater is cycling to much due to the circulating pump running all the time or the water heater thermostat has failed.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    David Byrnes

    Owns and operates Green ID, a residential home energy auditing and contracting company in Phoenix, AZ. He is a BPI Proctor and has trained over 40 energy auditors.

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