If you’re interested in earning a BPI Energy Auditor Certification, then you’ve come to the right place! Everblue offers training for the most popular BPI certifications, including:

• BPI Building Analyst
• BPI Envelope
• BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage

Because of the similarities among these certifications, we also offer options to bundle multiple designations within the same week, resulting in built-in discounts and a more expedient way of earning multiple BPI certifications!

For more information about these certifications and course bundling options, please visit our BPI Energy Auditor Overview series.

In addition to offering training, we are also an approved BPI Test Center, which means that we include the written and field certification exams at the end of our courses.

Although our experienced instructors are also proctors, there are some unique things you need to know about the BPI exam process.

BPI Written Exam Results

First, you should know that the “BPI Written Exam” is not actually a paper test. The exam is digital. Because the exam is administered over a computer, candidates will know their score immediately upon completion.

But this is only half of the battle! Candidates cannot call themselves BPI Certified unless they have passed both the written exam AND the field exam. (Please note – the BPI IDL Certification only has a field exam, so this is an exception).

BPI Field Exam Results

During your two-hour field exam appointment, you’ll find that our proctor will be very silent during the process. This is because the field exam is the candidate’s opportunity to walk through the home energy audit process and explain each step to the proctor. It’s your time to shine!

You can expect our proctor to simply take notes of your comments and actions on their field exam checklist sheet. This exam sheet will then be submitted to BPI, or the Building Performance Institute, for their final determination of your results.

In other words, Everblue does not certify BPI candidates. The Building Performance Institute has the final say on whether a candidate has shown proficiency on their exams.

Are you scratching your head about why BPI doesn’t just proctor the exams themselves and cut out the middle man?

Good question! This is why the BPI Test Center program exists.

What is a BPI Test Center?

BPI Test Centers provide their own proctors, facilities, and equipment. Training companies like Everblue already have much of the infrastructure needed to offer both training and testing, so it’s a one-stop-shop solution for candidates to complete both activities in one setting.

The Building Performance Institute must approve any training organization that wants to become a BPI Test Center. That way, an organization can demonstrate that it upholds BPI’s values of consistency, fairness, and impartiality in testing.

With regard to impartiality, again note that your proctor is not able to provide any feedback during the field exam process. The proctor is not permitted to indicate whether a candidate has passed, failed, done a good job, or done a bad job. The proctor’s only role is to supervise the testing appointment and document the actions based on their own professional experience and knowledge. The true determination of whether a candidate passes a field exam comes from the Building Performance Institute, based on the impartial and factual information logged on the exam field sheet.

How to Find Out if You Passed Your BPI Field Exam

It will take a few days, or possibly a week or two, for the Building Performance Institute to finish reviewing a candidate’s exam materials.

After an appropriate amount of time has passed, a candidate should visit the BPI website and log into their Candidate Account using their BPI ID number (which would have been provided at the time of their BPI written exam session).

The BPI Candidate Account enables candidates to review their written and field exam scores, as well as any scores from previous BPI exams. Certified professionals can also log into the Candidate Account to view their active certifications and expected expiration date.

Please note that due to privacy laws, the Building Performance Institute does not share candidate scores with Everblue. If you do not remember your BPI ID number, please contact BPI directly to obtain this information.

If you’re interested in getting certified, browse our list of BPI Training courses now or call (800) 460-2575 for more information.

As a green jobs training provider, Everblue frequently hears from employers looking to hire certified home energy auditors. Over the years, we’ve seen hundreds of job postings, and many identify similar traits among desirable energy auditor candidates.

Here’s our breakdown of the most sought-after characteristics of home energy auditor job candidates:

Minimum Education

• High school diploma or equivalent
• Bachelor’s degree preferred

Experience

• 1-3 years working in residential construction

Certifications

• BPI Building Analyst or RESNET HERS Rater

Technology

• Computer proficiency
• Intermediate level proficiency using Microsoft Office products
• Cell phone with photo and texting capabilities

Driving

• Valid driver’s license and clean driving record
• Own a reliable vehicle

Pre-Employment Testing

• Pre-employment criminal screen, including driving and drug tests

Work Environment

• Ability to work independently and in a team setting
• Must have full range or mobility in upper and lower body
• Ability to work in various positions and environments
• Ability to lift, pull, and push materials and equipment weighing approximately 50 pounds on a frequent basis
• Ability to effectively communicate technical and program concepts to contractors, consumers, and other interested people or organizations
• Problem solving and data interpretation skills
• Strong customer service and client relationship management skills

Miscellaneous Behavioral Skills

• Enthusiasm for energy conservation
• Punctual
• Responsible
• Analytical abilities
• Excellent written & verbal communication
• Attention to detail
• Organization skills
• Commitment to excellent customer service
• Ability to meet deadlines
• Time management skills
• Professional appearance

If you haven’t yet earned one of the home energy auditor certifications listed above, call us at (800) 460-2575 to learn more about opportunities with BPI Certification and RESNET HERS Rater Certification.

We look forward to helping you earn the job of your dreams. Home energy auditing is truly a rewarding career with many benefits – for you, for your clients, and for the home performance industry. If the above characteristics sound good to you, you might be a great fit!

In order to become a certified home energy auditor under the Building Performance Institute (BPI) technical guidelines, you must pass a series of BPI Certification exams administered by an approved BPI Test Center, such as Everblue.

• For the BPI Building Analyst Certification – a written exam and a field exam
• For the BPI Envelope Professional Certification – a written exam and a field exam
• For the BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage Certification – a field exam ONLY

For more information about BPI Certification and the designations available to pursue, take a moment to review our BPI Energy Auditor Overview series.

Some home performance professionals may see it necessary to their business to earn multiple BPI certifications. This is perfectly acceptable to do. Several of BPI’s designations share the same building science principles, with only a few degrees of variance. It’s wise for contractors considering this path to bundle certifications, since the classroom theory training is the same. However, note that bundling training does not mean that you can bundle exams. The certification exams for each designation are unique and separate. Therefore, if a candidate pursues BPI Building Analyst and BPI Infiltration & Duct Leakage, he/she would take one written exam and two field exams. Then, he/she would walk away with two unique BPI credentials.

Now let’s take a deeper dive into what the testing process looks like.

When do candidates take their BPI Certification exams?

Because Everblue is an approved BPI Test Center, we are able to administer the written and field certification exams at the conclusion of our training courses. Therefore, our course fees include the cost of both exams.

Candidates participate in classroom knowledge and field training throughout most of the week; then, on the last two days of class, our staff proctors the written exam in a group setting at our training venue and schedules one-on-one appointments with each course participant for his/her field exam the following day.

How are the BPI Certification exams formatted?

Written Exam

The so-called “written” exam is actually taken on a computer. The exam contains 100 multiple-choice questions. Candidates are given 2 hours to complete the exam and must score at least a 70% or higher to pass this portion.

Passing the written exam alone does not mean that a candidate has earned BPI certification. Candidates must pass both exams for their desired credential.

What to Bring:

• A wireless, Internet-ready laptop (PC or Mac)
• BPI Technical Standards
• A non-graphing calculator

Since this is an important exam, we do not advise candidates to bring tablets or mobile devices as their testing platform.

Field Exam

The field exams take place at a real house, so candidates can experience the true nature of offering a home energy audit. Everblue will provide all diagnostic equipment for the field exam.

Candidates are given 2 hours per credential (1.5 for BPI IDL) to demonstrate their competency with the home energy auditing process. This time is one-on-one with the proctor. Per BPI’s field testing procedure, the proctor is required to videotape the field exam for quality assurance purposes. The proctor will also take the candidate’s photo (which will later be used on the individual’s BPI ID card).

Candidates are expected to walk through and narrate all stages of the energy audit process. The proctor cannot provide any feedback during or after the exam. The proctor’s role is to record a candidate’s actions on a checklist that will be sent to BPI for review.

BPI will make the final determination of whether to award certification. These results may take a few weeks. Candidates can log into their BPI candidate portal to review their results. BPI will mail out an official certificate, patch, ID card, and award letter to those who have satisfactorily met the written and field exam requirements.

An individual must score a 70% or higher on the field exam to pass. Please note: candidates must score at least an 85% or higher on the combustion safety portion alone.

What to Bring:

• BPI Technical Standards
• A prepared and positive attitude!

Candidate Tips & Best Practices

Written Exam

Your proctor will set you up in the BPI testing portal. You should take note of your BPI Candidate ID number at this time, as you may need to refer to it later.

Field Exam

At Everblue, we schedule the one-on-one field exam appointments in order of course registration. In light of this first-come, first-served process, we recommend that candidates allow for one extra day in their travel plans to accommodate for potential overflow of the field testing. We also recommend that candidates register early for best chances of an earlier field exam slot.

For more information about the BPI Certification testing process, please give us a call at (800) 460-2575.

If you’re ready to enroll in BPI training, browse through the BPI Energy Auditor Courses we have available. You can register online or by phone!

I watch a lot of Forensic Files – you know, the show that reveals how forensic science is used to solve violent crimes and mysterious accidents. By far, the two most frightening episodes I’ve seen had nothing to do with murder. They actually led me to think about healthy home assessments.

Both cases from the show identified mold as the culprit and discussed how air leakage and water damage in the home can lead to health hazards.

Here are two real-life examples of why healthy home assessments are important.

The more famous incident took place in Dripping Springs, TX in the late 1990s. A couple living in a 22-room home (modeled after the mansion in Gone with the Wind) sued their insurance company after what had initially been a simple water damage claim. The couple alleged that their insurance company took so long to investigate the claim that the home started to develop toxic black mold.

What Happened

Melinda Ballard, Ron Allison, and their four-year-old son Reese experienced the following health problems:

• Dizzy spells
• No equilibrium
• Stomach problems
• Diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Coughing up blood
• Trouble breathing
• Memory loss
• Asthma

According to The New York Times…

“Most molds, even multiplying ones, are relatively harmless, and most people won’t have a strong reaction to them (unless they’re allergic). But there is mold, and there is mold. Exposure to certain types of fungi, known as toxic mold, can cause a serious reaction. If you’re unlucky, this is the kind of mold you have. If you’re really unlucky, your toxic mold will gird for battle and go to war, secreting chemicals called mycotoxins, which can find their way into your body, entering through your nose, mouth and skin, lodging perhaps in your digestive tract, your lungs or your brain. Among these toxins are trichothecenes, which were rumored to have been used as a biological weapon during the wars in Afghanistan and Vietnam. They turned out not to be very useful as weapons, however, because they poison slowly and erratically. That was small comfort to Ballard, however, when the stuff was found throughout her house.”

The toxic black mold found in the Texas home was called Stachybotrys and has been found in all 50 states – in homes, businesses, and schools.

In 2000, Ron Allison was diagnosed with toxic encephalopathy – a form of brain damage – likely due to mycotoxin poisoning, presumably emitted by the Stachybotrys.

“So now I’ve got a 12,000-square-foot home,” Ballard recalled, “with 10,000 square feet of Stachybotrys.”

How It Was Resolved

Melinda Ballard and Ron Allison hired a team of contractors and inspectors to pore through their home, but it wasn’t until a chance encounter on a flight that the couple met their match.

Bill Holder was trained as a mechanical, electrical, and plumbing contractor. His first encounters with mold were inside air conditioning systems. In 1987, Holder began researching the effects of mold in commercial buildings and schools. Mold became his specialty, and he sold his contracting business in 1995 to form Assured Indoor Air Quality, a company created to tackle mold problems.

In 1999, Holder sat across from Melinda Ballard on a Southwest Airlines flight. She was complaining about the mold problem in her house and, while she talked, she was coughing up blood. From that moment, Holder knew he had to get involved. Four days later, Holder traveled to Dripping Springs to conduct some healthy home assessment tests.

The investigators cut square holes in nearly every wall, then removed the Sheetrock to reveal a coating of mold hiding on the other side.

After identifying the Stachybotrys, Holder advised Melinda Ballard and Ron Allison to leave their home as quickly as possible, leaving behind all of their possessions.

What was once their dream home became completely uninhabitable and decrepit.

A Dozen Babies Suffer from Blood in their Lungs

The other terrifying episode about mold took place in 1994 in Cleveland, OH. That fall, ten babies were brought to Cleveland’s Rainbow Babies and Children’s Hospital with cases of bleeding in their lungs.

The infants in this case also experienced:

• Coughing up blood
• Respiratory problems
• Turning pale
• Nosebleeds

The doctors at the hospital called the Centers for Disease Control, which sent an investigation team.

The CDC interviewed hundreds of households in the area. For each sick infant, they studied three control infants who were the same age and lived in the same neighborhood. They found that most of the Cleveland cases were clustered on the east side of the city in a low-income neighborhood with older, wooden houses, some of which had not been kept in good repair by landlords.

As with the case in Texas, investigators identified Stachybotrys black mold in these homes, potentially having grown out of standing water in a flooded basement. Three months before the hospital became aware of these incidents, a heavy rainstorm had flooded many homes in Cleveland.

Is Your Home Making You Sick?

These Forensic Files episodes were so terrifying because they could happen to anyone. We spend a third of our lives in our homes, and the dust mites, mold, and dander hiding behind our walls can be making us sick.

This is especially relevant as we look at rebuilding homes and mitigating flood damage in the wake of Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. Now is the time for healthy home assessments and rebuilding with health, safety, and durability in mind.

The Need for Healthy Home Assessments

Larry Zarker, the CEO of the Building Performance Institute, recently released a statement that in addition to donating money and resources, home performance professionals can also contribute their skills and expertise in the form of healthy home assessments.

Zarker noted that building science could prove invaluable to the rebuilding process, as many of the issues relating to flood damage relate to the health and safety impacts of moisture on occupants and the durability of the structure.

Across the country, there are a little over 300 BPI Healthy Home Evaluator professionals who offer healthy home assessments that address mold, mildew, dampness, and structural issues in addition to performing home energy audits.

In hurricane-impacted states like Texas, Florida, and Louisiana, there are currently a total of 2 HHE-certified professionals! (None in Texas)

Local governments, agencies, and residents will be looking for healthy home assessments in these specific areas and across the country. If you carry any of the following BPI designations, you are eligible to become a BPI Healthy Home Evaluator:

• BPI Building Analyst
• BPI Multifamily Building Analyst
• HEP Energy Auditor
• HEP Quality Control Inspector

Other Resources

The Mold Source

CBS News

Austin Chronicle

Photo courtesy of the University of Tulsa