MALTA, N.Y. — Demand for Building Performance Institute’s (BPI) core certifications continues to grow. Within the past 18 months, BPI certifications have increased from 25,000 to 40,000. BPI certified professionals are located in all 50 states, seven foreign countries, several U.S. territories, and the District of Columbia. More than 4,300 contracting companies staff certified professionals.

BPI’s building analyst certification is the institute’s most popular home-performance core certification. The building envelope credential ranked as the institute’s second most popular certification. Trends reveal that BPI’s air leakage control installer, and its heating and cooling certifications, are all gaining popularity.

“All of our certifications verify that you have the building science and skills to deal with the whole house as a system,” said Larry Zarker, CEO, BPI. “BPI’s air leakage control installer certification is our fastest growing certification because air leakage control skills are so essential to solving customers’ comfort issues. And our heating and cooling designations are gaining importance as HVAC professionals realize they need to understand HVAC systems in the context of whole-house retrofits.”

“This economy has been hard on everyone in the construction trades and home performance is no exception. But, hang in there,” said David Hepinstall, chairman of the board, BPI. “The energy-efficiency housing sector will grow from $14 billion to $84 billion annually by 2020. We need a trained and certified workforce to meet those requirements.”

State, local, utility, and energy-efficiency loan programs have long relied on BPI standards and credentials. Fifty of the nation’s 55 Home Performance with Energy Star (HPwES) programs specify BPI credentials as a foundation of their programs. Forty electric or gas utility programs currently reference BPI credentials, along with 54 local programs. Increasingly, manufacturers of energy-efficiency related equipment are also requiring their distributors to have the knowledge and skills verified by BPI certifications.

Publication date: 12/10/2012