MALTA, N.Y. — The Building Performance Institute Inc. (BPI) announced that, in June 2012, it will introduce four new home energy professional certifications to the weatherization and home performance workforce. Offered by BPI and funded by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and its National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL), the organization said the four certifications focus on the most common job classifications in the home energy upgrade industry: energy auditor, retrofit installer, crew leader, and quality control inspector.

“The weatherization and home performance industry has long seen the need for nationally recognized, transferable certifications for workers employed by the Weatherization Assistance Program and the broader home performance industry,” said Larry Zarker, BPI CEO. “A successful candidate from one geographic region will be verified as having the same knowledge and skills as a successful candidate from the other side of the country. This mobility allows certified professionals to go wherever the work is. The development of a single, consistent set of national certifications for home performance professionals will help to remove any existing confusion in the marketplace.”

The new credentials will meet the International Organization for Standardization’s ISO 17024 standard. Under ISO 17024, each new certification is developed and administered using international best practices, such as cross-disciplinary peer review and industry validation of technical materials.

BPI will pilot written and field practical exams during the month of June. The results of the pilot test cycle will be used to set passing scores for the national exams. Candidates who take these exams and meet passing requirements will be amongst the first group of professionals to earn these certifications. BPI expects to roll the exams out nationally in the fall of 2012.

BPI said these certifications will not replace or interfere with professional certifications in the building trades, such as HVACR, plumbing, or remodeling, but rather are intended to support the four most common whole-house home performance job roles.

Registration for the pilot certification exams is now open online at www.bpi.org/pilot. Scheduling of pilot exams will begin in May 2012.

For more information on BPI, visit www.bpi.org.

Publication date: 03/26/2012