BPI Certification FAQs

BPI Certification FAQs

Navigate the brief menu below to find the answers to your questions.

If you have any specific questions, please call us at (800) 460-2575.

What is your BPI question about?

General

What is BPI Certification?

Career Opportunities & Benefits

Difference Between BPI & RESNET

Certification

How Long It Takes

Target Audience for BPI Certification

Which BPI Certification(s) to Get

BPI Training

Course Formats & Pricing

Energy Auditing Equipment

Training & Testing Locations

Exam Process

Exam Format

How It Works

What to Expect

Recertification

BPI Certification Duration

Continuing Education

Associated Fees

Business

Job Placement

Hiring a BPI Contractor

Equipment Discounts

General

What does BPI Certification qualify me to do?

Each BPI certification aligns with a specific range of skills.

  • BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage = blower door and duct leakage testing
  • BPI Building Analyst Technician = blower door and combustion safety testing
  • BPI Building Analyst Professional = analyze test results and provide energy upgrade recommendations to clients

Call us at 800-460-2575 to discuss your specific need, and we’ll help guide you to the appropriate certification(s).

Where is BPI Certification recognized?

BPI Certification is recognized in every U.S. state.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Will BPI Certification get me a job?

BPI Certification greatly improves your chances of getting a job in the residential energy efficiency industry.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Will BPI Certification help me to start a business?

Yes, BPI Certification represents your ability to offer home energy audit services. This distinction will help you stand out from competitors while also providing a credible industry-respected certification to your name.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Who will my customers be?

You will most often work with homeowners to improve the energy efficiency, safety, and durability of their homes. You may also work with utilities, showing that your energy audit services directly led to lower energy use and therefore qualifying yourself or the homeowner for equipment rebates.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

How is BPI Certification different from RESNET HERS Rater Certification?

BPI Certification focuses on improving existing homes, whereas RESNET HERS Rater Certification focuses on the strategic implementation of energy-efficient practices on new construction homes.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Certification

How long does it take to get BPI Certified?

Depending on which, and how many, BPI certifications you pursue, the process can be as short as a few hours. For the more in-depth BPI certification, it can take up to 40 hours.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Which certification do I need for blower door testing and code compliance?

Code compliance is managed at the county level of your building department, so please check with your local code official. However, the BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage Certification addresses blower door and duct leakage testing and has been accepted in most jurisdictions.

For more information, view our full article on Blower Door Testing & Code Compliance.

What’s required to get BPI Certified?

If you want to become a BPI Certified energy auditor, the career path requires earning the BPI Building Science Principles certificate first. This means passing an un-proctored written exam with a score of 70% or higher.

From there, the more advanced certifications will include either a written exam or a field exam.

  • BPI Building Analyst Technician = field exam
  • BPI Building Analyst Professional = written exam (70% to pass)
  • BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage = field exam

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Who should get BPI Certified?

HVAC technicians, home inspectors, insulation contractors, and general contractors benefit most from BPI certification.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Which BPI Certification should I get?

It depends on what you are hoping to achieve. If you want to become a certified energy auditor, you should pursue the BPI Building Analyst Professional Certification.

For more information, view our full article on BPI Certifications Explained.

What are the most popular BPI certifications?

The two most popular BPI Certifications are BPI Building Analyst Professional and BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage.

BPI Building Analyst Professional is the certification for those who want to become energy auditors. BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage is the certification for those who simply want to offer blower door and duct testing to meet code requirements.

Training

Is there a course being offered near me?

Maybe! Browse our BPI Courses and look at the training schedule for upcoming dates and locations.

Are the BPI exams included with the training?

Yes, we include the written and field exam with our training packages.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Will I need to buy any additional materials?

No, we provide everything you need to get BPI certified.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

What equipment will I need?

We provide all equipment for the training and testing during our blended format of the course.

Below you'll find suggestions on equipment that you'll need for working professionally in this industry.

If you are only doing blower door and duct leakage tests (BPI IDL), you only need a blower door, duct blaster, and manometer.

If you’ll be doing whole-house energy audits (BPI Building Analyst), you’ll need the following equipment:

  • Combustible Gas Detector (Gas Sniffer) that provides a digital display of percentage of Lower Explosive Limit (LEL) and/or provide an alarm when detecting combustible gas concentrations exceeding 10% Lower Explosive Limit (LEL)
  • Combustion Analyzer equipped internally or externally with a nitric oxide filter (NOx filter)
  • Ambient CO monitor
  • Mirror, smoke pencils or other smoke visualization equipment for depressurization and spillage assessment
  • Complete Blower Door Testing Kit including hoses, blower door frame, blower door canvas, etc.
  • One or more manometers
  • Pressure Pan and associated kit
  • Exhaust Fan Flow Meter and associated kit
  • Duct Blaster and associated kit
  • Infrared camera (optional)

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

What does the blended format mean?

With the blended format of the training, you get instant access to online building science training webinars. Then you will appear in person to complete hands-on equipment training with our instructor. The week of training will conclude with the one-on-one proctored certification exams.

For more information, view our full article on How BPI Training Works.

How do I begin the online training?

After you enroll, you will receive an automated email from the Everblue system with your unique username and password to Everblue’s secure online learning portal.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

What do I need to bring to the blended class?

We will provide a printed course manual for you to take notes in. We will also provide all energy auditing equipment for the field training and testing days. You only need to bring a writing utensil, non-graphing calculator, and a WiFi-capable laptop.

Get started today! Check out our Course Catalog with all of our BPI Certification course offerings.

Are there discounts available for the BPI training?

Yes, we offer an "early bird" discount to everyone who registers for a live classroom training at least 2 weeks before the session is scheduled to start. The reduced rate will automatically show in your shopping cart.

We do also offer a 10% military discount. Please email a copy of your DD214 to [email protected] so we can validate your service.

Get started today and browse our BPI Training courses!

Why should I get an Everblue course?

Everblue has been offering BPI training for over 10 years. Our instructors are certified home energy auditors with years of experience working in the industry, and since many own their own home performance companies, they're a great resource for questions about the course content and about working in the industry. Because they create stress-free, fun, and collaborative learning environments, our instructors consistently get 5-star reviews from our students.

Get started today and browse our BPI Training courses!

Exams

How are the BPI exams structured?

The core BPI certifications require that you pass either a written exam or a field exam.

The written exam is actually a computer-based exam with 100 multiple-choice questions. You'll have 2 hours to complete the exam and must score at least 70% to pass.

The field exam is an equipment demonstration that takes place inside a real home. You'll have 2-4 hours to show all the responsibilities and tasks that occur during a real home energy audit. You must score at least 70% on the field exam to pass (must score 85% or higher on the combustion safety portion).

How do I get my BPI exam scores?

Because the written exam is administered by computer, you'll know your score immediately upon completion.

After you take the field exam, our proctor will submit your test sheet to BPI for their review. It may take up to a week for BPI to determine whether or not you passed the field exam.

You should log into your BPI candidate portal to view your test scores.

What are the qualifications to sit for the BPI Certification exams?

You must be proctored by an approved BPI Test Center organization, which Everblue is!

What if I don’t pass the exam(s)?

If, after taking our course, you do not pass either the written or field exam, we will work with you to retest the appropriate portion. You will be responsible, however, for the BPI exam fee: $400 for the written exam and $700 for the field exam.

Recertification

How long does BPI Certification last?

BPI Certification is valid for three years.

Are there continuing education requirements?

Yes, you can maintain your BPI certification by retaking the written and field exams.

You can bypass the written exam by acquiring 30 CEU hours.

You can bypass the field exam by showing proof of at least 3,000 hours of relevant work experience within the past three years.

Business

Does Everblue provide job placement?

Because most of our students are already employed or planning to start their own businesses, we do not offer job placement. However, many companies contact us to hire our course participants.

How does my company hire your course participants?

Due to privacy laws, we are unable to share our participant contact information. Please send your job posting to [email protected] and we will blast it out to those who have opted to receive those types of notifications.

How can I verify that someone is BPI Certified?

The Building Performance Institute (BPI) offers a professional directory on its website.

Alternatively, you can contact BPI directly to inquire about this information.

Does Everblue sell or rent energy auditing equipment?

We do not sell energy auditing equipment. However, we have partnered with the leading equipment manufacturers to offer discounts on equipment to our students.

When you complete an Everblue BPI training course, you'll receive an order form with the following equipment discounts:

  • 14% discount from Retrotec
  • 12.5% discount from The Energy Conservatory
  • 8% discount + free shipping from TruTech Tools
Sign up now for BPI Certification training