MALTA, N.Y. - The Building Performance Institute Inc. (BPI) launched four new standards initiatives for home energy performance and personnel certification credentialing. The new technical standards are intended to improve residential performance for air distribution, conventional insulation, air leakage control, and quality assurance inspection.

Parties interested in helping to draft the standards are encouraged to contact BPI at standards@bpi.org with their contact information and background, indicating the working group in which they want to participate. Most of the meetings will be by teleconference; working groups plan to commence drafting standards documents by July 30.

“To be most effective, standards must undergo continuous improvement to incorporate methodologies and materials that enhance the end result in the field - namely the comfort, safety, health, durability, and energy efficiency of the home,” said Larry Zarker, CEO of BPI.

“The newly formed working groups will allow for greater participation from stakeholders with a fair, open, consensus-based approach, while also allowing us to work faster and more effectively to bring new standards to fruition at the pace demanded by the rapid growth of the home performance industry.”

John Manz, chairman of BPI’s Standards Technical Committee, added, “We have built strong teams to lead the way on these initiatives. Full participation and input from stakeholders across the home performance industry will add breadth and depth to our work and help ensure all the best practices are identified and incorporated into these standards. It will also allow us to identify challenges faced in the field so that certified personnel using these standards have the confidence, skills, and knowledge they need to overcome those challenges and install measures they know will work for the homeowner.”

For more information, visit www.bpi.org.

Publication date:07/19/2010