Everblue, a nationally recognized educational technology company, will move into its third year of partnership with the Virginia Community College System to offer solar energy courses and energy auditor training at all 23 institutions within the system. By joining forces, Everblue and VCCS can create a skilled workforce throughout Virginia and prepare individuals for occupations of the future.

“With the passage of the Inflation Reduction Act, which invests $370 billion to fight climate change and bolster U.S. energy production, there are incentives for private companies to produce more renewable energy and for households to transform their energy use and consumption,” said Chris Boggiano, Everblue’s president. “As a result, we are already seeing a dramatic increase in the number of people seeking training and certification in the energy efficiency and renewable energy industries. Now is the time to get certified, so that when the federal funding trickles down and the demand hits, there will be a skilled workforce available to answer the call.” 

Since 2008, Everblue has provided accredited energy auditor training programs and solar energy courses, both in live and online formats, to general contractors, home inspectors, electricians, roofers, and career-changers. 

The most popular course for the energy auditor pathway is the BPI Building Analyst, which trains someone to diagnose energy-related issues in the home that lead to higher energy bills and thermal discomfort. During the course, participants learn fundamental building science principles, such as how moisture, heat, and air move throughout a home. They learn how to identify energy efficiency issues using diagnostic tools like a blower door, duct blaster, and carbon monoxide detector. At the end of the course, Everblue administers and proctors the official BPI written and field exams to certify course participants. 

“The short-course training that we provide aligns so well with what’s being called for in the Inflation Reduction Act,” Boggiano said. “Our intense, bootcamp style efficiently educates someone who’s new to the industry and prepares them with real, relatable knowledge and skills that they can take to a job shortly thereafter. Our students complete the program with a nationally recognized, industry-specific certification from the Building Performance Institute that additionally confirms their expertise and proficiency.”

Because the solar industry is growing so fast, there are several different pathways for someone to pursue. Everblue offers solar training courses that cover the basics of solar energy, as well as more specialized courses that cover solar panel installation, solar sales, and solar photovoltaic system design.

As part of its partnership with VCCS, Everblue will make its curriculum available to all 23 colleges within the system. Any college that opts to resell Everblue’s courses will receive a 40% revenue share. Students will get enrolled in Everblue’s learning management system to complete the courses and will ultimately receive a certificate from both Everblue and their desired VCCS institution, in addition to the industry-specific certification upon passing the corresponding exam(s).

“We enjoyed working alongside the community colleges, nonprofit organizations, utilities, and unions back in 2010 when the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) led to similar demand for energy auditor training,” Boggiano said. “We demonstrated operational excellence then, hosting multiple in-person contractor training events across the country at the same time, and we’re ready to do that again for the Inflation Reduction Act. As a BPI Test Center, energy auditor training is our core competence, and we’re happy to partner with VCCS to provide a high-quality program and produce a skilled workforce.” 

Everblue currently works with more than 10 state government agencies, including the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services, to deliver online training and testing services. The Veteran Owned Small Business was also recently added to the catalog of approved online providers for Virginia’s Solar Technician Apprenticeship Program.

For more information about Everblue’s solar training and energy auditor certification programs, contact Chris Boggiano at 800-460-2575 or visit the Everblue course catalog.

The Inflation Reduction Act (IRA) allocates nearly $9 billion for electrification retrofits and home efficiency rebate funding for single-family and multifamily properties. Signed into law by President Biden in August 2022, it is a historic investment that will help homeowners save on their energy bills, reduce their carbon footprint, and will also generate an enormous demand for skilled home performance contractors.

DOE Home Efficiency Rebate Program Overview

The Home Efficiency Rebate Program, also referred to as the Home Energy Performance-Based, Whole House Rebate Program, provides $4.3 billion to states to help residents make their entire home more energy efficient. This not only includes upgrading appliances like HVAC units and water heaters but also weatherization measures like installing energy-efficient windows, adding insulation, and sealing air ducts.

What is the timeline and process for funding?

Over the next 10 years, $4.3 billion in formula grants through this program will flow from the Department of Energy (DOE) to state energy offices, which will then be disbursed to homeowners and contractors across the nation.

State energy offices are responsible for applying for funding and designing their own programs to deliver funding to contractors and homeowners. While home energy rebate program funding is not yet available, DOE is expected to provide states with guidelines in summer 2023 around setting up their own programs.

Each state will receive a pre-determined amount of funding based on a formula. To help states prepare to administer this funding, DOE made a small portion of their Home Efficiency Rebate Program funding amount available to state energy offices in early 2023. States can use these early funds to cover administrative costs associated with staffing up, planning their program design and strategy, conducting workforce analyses, and reaching out to consumers.

To see how much Home Efficiency Rebate Program funds will be available for each state, check out the U.S. Department of Energy’s website.

How long are Home Efficiency Rebate funds available? 

Congress has made these funds available until September of 2031.

Earn more as you save:

The Home Efficiency Rebate Program is a performance-based incentive program — meaning it gives cash to residents based on the amount of energy their upgraded home saves.

Low- and moderate-income (LMI) homeowners (making less than 80% of their area median income) are eligible for between $4,000-$8,000 in rebates for whole-home weatherization upgrades, whereas all other homeowners are eligible for between $2,000-$4,000 in rebates. 

Contractors providing retrofits under the Home Efficiency Rebate program can also claim a $200 rebate per low-income home they service.

These types of performance-based incentives help ensure high-quality installations by holding contractors and installers accountable for their work. Implementing these home energy efficiency retrofits successfully will require contractors, installers, and others involved in Home Efficiency Program upgrades to prepare themselves by getting trained and certified to perform this work before Home Efficiency Program funding becomes available.

Get started with BPI Training today so you’ll be ready for the surge in demand for energy audits coming later this year.

Are multifamily building owners eligible for Home Efficiency Rebate Program funding?

Yes, multi-family building owners will also be eligible for up to $8,000 per unit for qualifying energy efficiency upgrades. Multi-family buildings located in low-moderate income communities will qualify for higher incentive levels.

Can Home Efficiency Rebate Program funding be combined with other programs?

The Inflation Reduction Act prohibits combining Home Efficiency Program rebates with any other federal grant or rebate for the same upgrade in a single household. This includes DOE’s complementary $4.5B Home Electrification rebate program, which was also established under the Inflation Reduction Act.

However, the IRA does not prohibit combining Home Efficiency Program rebates with state and/or utility rebate programs, or with Energy Efficiency Tax Credits (like Internal Revenue Code Section 25C).

Meeting the demand for skilled workers

Once made available to homeowners, this unprecedented amount of funding for home energy retrofits will stimulate demand for residential contractors, home energy auditors, HVAC and water heater technicians, and other home performance contractors.  

The Home Efficiency Program will create thousands of jobs in an industry that has already been rapidly growing. In fact, according to the 2022 U.S. Energy and Employment Report released by the Department of Energy (DOE), the Energy Efficiency sector employed 2,164,914 people in 2021 – an increase of 57,741 jobs, up 2.7%, from 2020 to 2021. DOE expects energy efficiency jobs to continue increasing by nearly 2% per year.

Source: United States Energy and Employment Report 2022

Federal programs, like the Home Efficiency Rebate Program, will spur thousands of new jobs, providing an excellent opportunity for current home performance contractors and job seekers alike. However, this opportunity also highlights the urgent need to train and certify contractors involved in home energy efficiency upgrades today to ensure that they are ready to help homeowners lower their energy bill tomorrow.

What you can do now to prepare for this opportunity

Whether you are new to the energy efficiency sector, an experienced contractor seeking training in a new field, or a home performance business owner interested in improving your employees’ skills, Everblue is poised to help meet the demand for contractor training and certification created by the Inflation Reduction Act.

Everblue has comprehensive hands-on training and education across a wide range of energy efficiency-related disciplines. We also offer flexible online course options that cater to people with different knowledge levels and experience. For those who prefer hands-on training, we provide equipment-based training at our weatherization training center locations nationwide.

Our instructors are all experienced Building Performance Institute (BPI)-certified professionals, and we’ve been a proud BPI Test Center partner for over a decade.

For those just entering the home performance field, our hands-on training will help you gain a better understanding of how homes function. During our BPI courses, we’ll take you to a real house to use real tools and gain real exposure to energy efficiency issues. Our online resources include detailed curriculum videos that are available 24/7, math primer videos, and field training videos.

Get started by learning more about our BPI Training courses!

BA-TP is the abbreviation for the new BPI Building Analyst Professional Certification. The BPI certifications have been around for over 20 years, and Building Analyst is well known. We just wanted to put the word out there that the Building Performance Institute (BPI) is leaning pretty heavy on using the abbreviation, so if you see BA-P Certification, they are referring to the second half of the revised Building Analyst Certification.

How is Building Analyst different from BA-P Certification?

Great question, it’s not different, exactly. In late 2020, BPI decided to split the legacy Building Analyst standard into two levels: Building Analyst Technician (BA-T) and Building Analyst Professional (BA-P).

What does BA-P Certification cover?

Building Analyst Professional covers the principles of using computer software to model the energy upgrade potential of a home and developing a scope of work. In layman’s terms, the Building Analyst Professional reviews data collected from diagnostic tests (such as a blower door test or combustion test) and plugs those numbers into software to determine how a homeowner can improve the energy efficiency of their home, lower their energy bills, and create a healthier/safer space.

How can I become a Building Analyst Professional?

To earn the BA-P Certification, you:

• Must first pass the BPI Building Science Principles written exam
• Then pass the BPI BA-T field exam 
• Then pass the BPI BA-P written exam

Who should become a Building Analyst Professional?

That answer depends on your job and career goals.

If you are a one-man-show, AKA a small business owner, you may want to earn the BA-P Certification. With this advanced designation, you not only run diagnostic tests and collect data, but you also interpret those results and turn them into meaningful energy efficiency recommendations to homeowner clients. 

As we mentioned before, the Building Analyst Certification has been available for decades. Employers, utilities, and rebate programs are quite familiar with this phrase. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see whether these stakeholders start to require BA-T Certification in place of the legacy Building Analyst or if they require BA-P Certification. Just know that you cannot become a Building Analyst Professional without first becoming a Building Analyst Technician. 

It’s possible that the industry at large might have some difficulty with differentiating old Building Analyst vs. new Building Analyst and the associated abbreviations. After all, for years, I think many people probably would have used technician and professional interchangeably. We have to train our brains now to view those words as having unique and special meanings. A technician performs the hands-on work, while a professional analyzes the information. 

To get started on your BPI Certification journey, give us a call at 800-460-2575.

The federal government has opened a once-in-a-generation window of opportunity for the U.S. to invest billions of dollars into U.S. energy infrastructure, made possible through the passage of the Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act (IIJA) in 2021. This funding will largely be funneled to state and local government leaders, who will design and implement programs that fund a wide range of infrastructure projects – including commercial and residential energy efficiency and renewable energy projects.

The transformative potential of these infrastructure projects to reduce carbon emissions, improve energy efficiency, and lower household energy burden can only be unlocked by addressing workforce challenges – which pose one of the biggest threats to a successful implementation of these funds. The innumerable energy efficiency jobs created by the IIJA must be filled by qualified workers – including home energy auditors and other skilled home performance contractors. 

Home energy auditors are a crucial part of the residential and commercial energy efficiency workforce. They perform energy assessments, which involve analyzing a home or commercial facility’s energy bills, detecting sources of energy loss like air leaks, and providing professional recommendations for which efficiency upgrades to prioritize. Energy auditors can save businesses and residents alike between 5-30% on their monthly energy bills while also ensuring health and safety!

Many of the programs created by the IIJA offer state and local governments the flexibility to incorporate workforce development activities into their programs. Other IIJA programs, like the U.S. Department of Energy’s (DOE) Energy Auditor Training Grant Program, are specifically designed to fund workforce development activities like recruitment, training, and certification.

DOE Energy Auditor Training Grant Program

DOE’s Energy Auditor Training Grant Program is a $40 million competitive grant that state energy offices can apply for between FY2022 and FY2026. Each state can request a maximum grant amount of $2 million. This program will enable states to provide energy auditor training assistance and build up their energy efficiency workforce.

Who is eligible to receive Energy Auditor Training Grant funds?

It’s important to note that state energy offices are the direct recipients of this federal funding, NOT individual contractors or companies. Concept papers are due March 28, 2024 and full applications are due June 28, 2024.

Once a state’s competitive application is accepted by DOE, the grant funding they receive will trickle down to the contractors and companies seeking training and certification (and that’s where Everblue comes in!).

For more information about how much money will be allocated to your state, contact your state energy office. Be sure to urge them to apply for the funding. It’s not automatically given out – and with the vast majority of IIJA funding focusing on infrastructure projects and their physical operations, rather than who will actually do the work, it’s absolutely critical that state energy offices take advantage of the Energy Auditor Training grant funds. IIJA programs that fund physical energy efficiency projects, like DOE’s $8.8 billion Home Energy Rebate program, will only succeed if the energy efficiency workforce continues to grow.

How can this funding be used?

The Energy Auditor Training Grant is designed to cover any cost associated with individuals being trained or certified to conduct energy audits in residential homes or commercial buildings, which will save customers money on their energy bills and reduce pollution from building energy use. Funds may also be used to pay the wages of a trainee while they receive training and certification.

Other state considerations:

• The importance of partnerships: Given the multitude of other federal incentives that state energy offices are pursuing – which all require significant time and resources to apply for, standing up new workforce training programs entirely on their own will be impossible. State energy offices applying for Energy Auditor Training Grant funds will need to work closely with workforce development boards, labor unions, education and training providers (like Everblue), apprenticeship intermediaries, and community colleges to assess their workforce training gaps and identify existing programs that could benefit from this new grant funding.

• Equity considerations: The Biden Administration issued a directive, known as the Justice40 Initiative, which directs all federal agencies administering grant funding to ensure that these investments flow to historically disadvantaged communities. State energy offices should be considering how best to reach disadvantaged communities with their Energy Auditor Training grant funds to make the biggest impact.

• Bolstering the home energy auditor workforce in rural areas: We often hear how challenging it is to perform home energy audits and weatherization upgrades in rural areas, given the distance contractors must travel. States should consider focusing some of their Energy Auditor Training Grant funds in rural communities, which has the potential to improve contractor coverage in rural areas and create stable, in-demand energy auditor jobs where they are most needed.

Which home energy auditor certifications will this grant funding help me acquire?

The BPI Building Analyst Certification has been explicitly listed as an acceptable certification. This entry-level BPI certification provides a strong foundation for anyone who wants to become a certified home energy auditor. This certification can also be used as a prerequisite to qualify for the more advanced HEP Energy Auditor Certification, which is also explicitly listed as an acceptable certification.

Alternatively, the RESNET HERS Rater Certification has also been explicitly listed in the legislation, as it too is a nationally recognized home energy auditor certification and can also be used as a prerequisite for HEP Energy Auditor.

The Building Performance Institute (BPI) and Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) are competing organizations. Here at Everblue, we provide training and administer the exams for both certifications, so either way, you’re covered! Follow along with an online class or join us for hands-on training at one of our weatherization training center locations nationwide! For more information, give us a call at (800) 460-2575.

No, it’s not a certification to help you become the next Batman. BA-T is the abbreviation for the new BPI Building Analyst Technician Certification. The BPI certifications have been around for over 20 years, and Building Analyst is well known. We just wanted to put the word out there that the Building Performance Institute (BPI) is leaning pretty heavy on using the abbreviation, so if you see BA-T Certification, they are referring to the first half of the revised Building Analyst Certification.

How is Building Analyst different from BA-T Certification?

Great question, it’s not different, exactly. In late 2020, BPI decided to split the legacy Building Analyst standard into two levels: Building Analyst Technician (BA-T) and Building Analyst Professional (BA-P).

What does BA-T Certification cover?

Building Analyst Technician covers data collection and diagnostic testing in residential structures. Under the legacy Building Analyst standard, we called this internal/external home inspection, blower door testing, and combustion safety testing. These same job tasks apply to BPI BA-T Certification.

How can I become a Building Analyst Technician?

To earn the BA-T Certification, you:

• Must first pass the BPI Building Science Principles written exam
• Then pass the BPI BA-T field exam

Do I need anything beyond BA-T?

That answer depends on your job and career goals.

If you primarily work in the field performing data collection and report the data to a supervisor, then you are the perfect candidate for the BA-T Certification! 

If you are a one-man-show, AKA a small business owner, you may want to upgrade to the BA-P Certification. With this advanced designation, you not only run diagnostic tests and collect data, but you also interpret those results and turn them into meaningful energy efficiency recommendations to homeowner clients. 

Either way, the home energy audit process starts with the hard work of a Building Analyst Technician. 

As we mentioned before, the Building Analyst Certification has been available for decades. Employers, utilities, and rebate programs are quite familiar with this phrase. Going forward, it’ll be interesting to see whether these stakeholders start to require BA-T Certification in place of the legacy Building Analyst or if they require BA-P Certification. Just know that you cannot become a Building Analyst Professional without first becoming a Building Analyst Technician. 

To get started on your BPI Certification journey, give us a call at 800-460-2575.

With the announcement of the updated Building Analyst Certification, you may be wondering what exactly changed? In this overview of Old Building Analyst vs. New Building Analyst, we’ll look at the knowledge list from the legacy Building Analyst standard and compare it to the new suite of certifications. More specifically, we’ll look at whether the legacy knowledge area is covered in BSP, BA-T, BA-P, or no longer covered.

The main knowledge areas for legacy BPI Building Analyst are as follows:

• Building Science
• Buildings & Their Systems
• Testing & Data Collection
• Industry Standards
• Analyzing Collected Data
• Energy Modeling and Work Scope

Within these main knowledge areas, there are sub-categories and sub-tasks. For a full and complete overview of old Building Analyst vs. new Building Analyst, download the comparison PDF here.

Otherwise, here’s a summarized comparison:

As you can see, the Building Performance Institute (BPI) has successfully weaved all the knowledge areas into the new BPI certification hierarchy. 

Given that the new scheme has built-in prerequisites (BSP → BA-T → BA-P), it makes sense that several of these knowledge areas are duplicated across the board; it’s clear that each level of BPI Certification builds on what the previous level introduced.

One of the biggest takeaways from this chart is where BA-T ends and BA-P picks up. The majority of X’s for BA-T align with “ability to identify” type tasks, whereas the majority of X’s for BA-P align with “ability to interpret” or “ability to determine” type tasks (meaning analysis of test results).

While this may appear overwhelming, and you may still be asking yourself about old Building Analyst vs. new Building Analyst, what you really need to know is that BPI has baked all the necessary skills into a new BPI Certification prerequisites pathway. By simply following the pathway, you’ll gain all the necessary skills, and there’s no need to worry about “Which BPI Building Analyst Certification should I pursue?” because you’ll know after completing BSP and BA-T whether you have enough skills to succeed in your job or if you need to go the extra step for BA-P. It comes down to, will you only be collecting data in a home, or will you also be interpreting that data for homeowner clients?

Old Building Analyst vs. New Building Analyst: Now to June 2023

BPI will make a hard switch to the new scheme on June 1, 2023. This means that candidates can still pursue the old Building Analyst until that date. Should you? It depends.

Legacy BPI Building Analyst

• Pros: pay one lump sum, earn your certification in practically one step
• Cons: earn only one certification, can be overwhelming and seemingly expensive to dive all the way in, earn a certification that will be formally outdated in the next 6 months

New BPI Building Analyst Pathway

• Pros: accomplish milestones/certifications along your career journey, become one of the first to earn the new and active certifications
• Cons: you might have to be a little more proactive about planning your training and certification needs, as far as how many certifications you ultimately want to pursue

Either way, there’s a good chance that you’ll (a) spend the same amount of money in the end and (2) have to pass a written exam and a field exam. So the new pathway is simply a restructuring on paper.

When we talk old Building Analyst vs. new Building Analyst, one is not necessarily better than the other. As we’ve covered, they practically cover the same topics. It’s just that the legacy certification is standalone, whereas the new scheme includes a more formal career pathway. 

Still have questions? Give us a call at 800-460-2575.

If you’ve been researching BPI Certification for a while now, you’ve likely run into the BPI Building Analyst Certification. But here is something NEW that you must consider: the Building Performance Institute (BPI) has updated the BPI Building Analyst Certification job task analysis going into 2023.

What Does the Updated BPI Building Analyst Certification Look Like?

BPI has made three major changes:

1. BPI Building Science Principles is now a prerequisite before you can pursue BPI Building Analyst Certification.
2. BPI Envelope is going away. The updated BPI Building Analyst Certification absorbs content that was previously covered in the BPI Envelope Professional Certification. 
3. By absorbing the BPI Envelope content, the updated BPI Building Analyst Certification job task analysis ended up being very long. There was so much material that BPI decided it’d be best to split this into two certifications: BPI Building Analyst Technician and BPI Building Analyst Professional. 

The changes to BPI Building Analyst are more about structure than content. On paper, the knowledge areas remain very much the same; it’s just that the knowledge is broken down across two certifications. 

Which Certification Should I Get?

Splitting BPI Building Analyst into two certifications is a good thing because each certification can speak to different audiences and experience levels. 

Many practitioners currently work within data collection and diagnostic testing but do no energy modeling or scopes of work. The BA-T aligns with this practice: A Building Analyst Technician conducts residential building science-based diagnostic tests and home performance data collection. This certification gives an easier entrance to the industry while providing a clear path for professional growth.

The BA-P is a progression from the BA-T and is defined as follows: A Building Analyst Professional is a certified Building Analyst Technician who also conducts energy modeling, building analysis, and data evaluation to provide a comprehensive report with a list of prioritized home performance recommendations.

Which Building Analyst Certification Will Utilities and Rebates Want?

The Building Performance Institute has advised utilities and program administrators to replace references of “Building Analyst” with the Building Analyst Professional certification, because it includes a wider range of knowledge that includes energy modeling and work scope development. 

This idea of an updated Building Analyst Certification has created quite a stir in the industry, and I would expect there to be a delay of accurate information being listed on utility and rebate websites. It’ll take some time for everyone to get back on the same page. 

What’s important to know is that Building Analyst has changed, and hopefully the information above will help you navigate whatever requirements you run into for a job or project.

For more information, give us a call at 800-460-2575.

Prior to BPI Certification 2023, there were no formal prerequisites for a person to earn certification from the Building Performance Institute (BPI) – other than passing the written/field exams associated with the desired certification. But now, BPI Certification prerequisites exist.

What Are The BPI Certification Prerequisites?

All candidates are required to start with the BPI Building Science Principles certificate of knowledge. This is where you’ll gain fundamental knowledge about how building science works, including the relationship of how systems in the home affect occupant comfort, health, and safety.

After you pass the BPI Building Sciences Principles written exam, you can advance toward the BPI Building Analyst Technician (BA-T) certification. This is an entry-level certification for those who collect data in homes and perform diagnostic testing. 

After you pass the BPI Building Analyst Technician field exam, you can advance toward the BPI Building Analyst Professional (BA-P) certification. This certification is designed for experienced practitioners who do energy modeling and provide work scope recommendations.

As you can see, the BPI Certification prerequisites include tiered certifications and the passing of various exams. 

The Building Performance Institute offers 10+ certifications, and it can be overwhelming if you’re new to the industry. To keep it simple, just remember the BPI Certification prerequisites:

• Step 1 – BPI Building Science Principles
• Step 2 – BPI Building Analyst Technician
• Step 3 – BPI Building Analyst Professional

Candidates cannot use work experience or other industry certifications to skip or bypass any of the BPI Certification prerequisites. Go ahead and get started with the BPI Building Science Principles training today!

When you enter a new industry, especially a technical one like residential energy efficiency, there’s going to be a learning curve. But this learning curve can be easily overcome with the proper introductory training. And that’s what BPI Building Science Principles (BPI BSP) is!

Not every person interested in human health needs all the education of a doctor or surgeon, but they should have a basic understanding of human anatomy. BPI BSP is the entry-level anatomy course for home energy efficiency. What’s particularly great about BPI BSP is that it’s relatable; we all live in homes, and when you better understand how your home functions, you can make better use of it to maximize your comfort, happiness, and energy bills.

What Does BPI BSP Cover?

Officially, BPI Building Science Principles teaches people about the basics of building science as well as the widely-used terminology in the industry. 

Building science alone is a term that describes how various components of a home interact to affect the home’s overall performance. Understanding the relationships between the building envelope, heating, A/C, insulation, mechanical ventilation, lighting, appliances and other systems of the home will enable you to assist yourself and others. BPI BSP teaches you how these systems affect the comfort, health, and safety of occupants and durability of the home. 

Who Uses the Building Science Certificate?

Homeowners and office staff would likely view building science as “good to know” information.

It should go without saying that home energy auditors, contractors, and other technical professionals NEED to understand building science in order to do their jobs properly. 

The Building Performance Institute (BPI) agrees with that statement so much that they’ve actually listed BPI BSP as a prerequisite to its BPI Certification 2023 scheme. Anyone interested in earning BPI Certification going forward has to first earn the BPI Building Science Principles certificate of knowledge, due to the strong foundation that it provides. Previously, a candidate could jump to whatever BPI certification they were interested in, but now BPI wants to carefully foster professional development and ensure that individuals are getting the necessary training along the way.

How to Earn BPI BSP

This first step is not designed to be an arduous undertaking. Simply learn the material and pass a 100-question multiple-choice exam with a passing score of 70%. 

Start with Everblue’s BPI Building Science Principles training program, and you’ll be well on your way!

In our previous post, we summarized the BPI Certification 2023 changes. Put simply here, when we refer to the updated BPI Certifications, we’re speaking about the fact that the Building Performance Institute (BPI) is sunsetting the BPI Envelope Certification and instead bulking up the BPI Building Analyst Certification. 

Specifically, Building Analyst is being split into two work-ready credentials: Building Analyst Technician (BA-T) and Building Analyst Professional (BA-P). 

The best part about the updated BPI Certifications is that BPI has baked prerequisites into the process. Before, some people had to bat above their average – ie, those new to the industry had to go all-in on a technical certification that was beyond their work experience. While it was great from an aspirational standpoint, I can see how it would also be overwhelming. With the updated BPI Certifications, candidates have a very clear path for professional growth.

How the Updated BPI Certifications Provide Career Milestones

Everyone new to home energy efficiency must now start with the BPI Building Science Principles certificate of knowledge. This is where a person gains a strong foundation for building science.

After passing the BPI Building Science principles exam, a candidate can pursue the BPI Building Analyst Technician, which is an entry-level certification for those who do data collection and diagnostic testing.

After passing the BPI Building Analyst Technician exam, a candidate can pursue the BPI Building Analyst Professional, which is for the experienced practitioner whose work includes energy modeling and work scope development.

Although the updated BPI Certifications now have prerequisites baked into them, a person can jump off the train wherever it fits their career. Some people may be satisfied with just the BPI Building Science Principles knowledge (eg, office staff, customer service, program administrators, marketing professionals). For those who plan to work in the field, the BPI Building Analyst Technician certification is the natural next step to build on the foundational knowledge from BSP. And likewise, for those who want to hold more senior positions in the field, the BPI Building Analyst Professional certification is the natural next step. There’s a place for every person, and each step in that process provides valuable knowledge.

What if you earned BPI Certification under the old structure? BPI has provided direction for those who already hold an active Building Analyst and/or Envelope certification. They can re-certify to the existing certifications before the May 31, 2023 sunset OR transition to the new certifications as they’ve been designed. For more information about this, give us a call at 800-460-2575.