• BPI Working Group 12: BPI-1106-S-201x Standard Practice for Residential Energy Efficient Building Operation

Working group chair: Adam Romano, Association for Energy Affordability

Scope: This standard practice applies to all residential building types and defines the criteria and processes for operating the building or complex for optimal energy and resource efficiency, effective occupant health and safety, and long-term facility durability.

This standard will incorporate new technology and recent improvements in best practices and protocols that can significantly improve energy effectiveness, indoor air quality, and overall building durability for a variety of residential building types across all U.S. regions and climates.

• BPI Working Group 13: BPI-7100-S-201x Standard Classification of Residential Buildings Based on Building Science Principles (aka Residential Building Taxonomy Standard)

Working group chair: Casey Murphy, ICF International

Scope: This standard will define a uniform set of terms, definitions, and categories pertaining to residential buildings including the physical characteristics of the building; the building’s energy sources, consumption, and cost; characteristics of the building’s systems; ownership, financing, and management structures; occupancy categories, and types of available programs as they relate to the other categories. The scope of this standard is restricted to buildings that have a minimum of one “unit” designed for residential use. Buildings that are used exclusively for commercial, industrial, or other non-residential purposes are not within the scope of this standard.

BPI said the industry does not have a clear set of definitions of the various classes of residential buildings, nor does it have a clear “line-in-the-sand” between a single-family building and a multifamily building. This standard will provide practitioners trying to benchmark, audit, maintain, operate, and improve residential buildings with terminology that is more descriptive and more standardized. A standard set of terms that capture key performance characteristics of residential buildings will assist practitioners in appropriately describing these structures.

Those interested in joining one of these working groups should fill out the BPI Subject Matter Expert Information Form and submit it electronically by Dec. 20, 2013, following the instructions on the form.

For more information about how BPI standards are developed, visit BPI’s Standards Development Procedures web page.

Publication date: 12/2/2013

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