Looking to do some training. Should I go with BPI or RESNET or both. I want to start offering duct testing and energy audits on new homes. As always thanks guys for any help.
If you want to work on" new "homes are looking at the wrong programs to start out with!
Neither one covers new construction.
thanks any suggestions
LEED
BPI and RESNET have lost popularity. LEED and GreenGlobes are more widely accepted.
Joe Farsetta is correct. Don’t waste your money with either.
Thanks guys thats why i asked. thanks for the info.
Phillip,
The above replies are partially correct. RESNET is concerned with new construction as the HERS Index (which is part of Energy Star and LEED) was started for new construction. The only reason to get either BPI or RESNET may depend on what you are going to do. If you want to get contracts with a government or utility, they almost always specify BPI or RESNET. The training depends exclusively on the quality of the trainer.
What? Resnet is for certifying new homes in the Energy Star program. This program earned us 6 figures last year. It is still a viable program and their annual conference grows by leaps and bounds every year. I highly recommend looking up Allison Bailes and take his class.
BPI is good if you want to learn how to test existing homes. Combustion testing is big too. I did drop my BPI cert this year because I was not using it.
There is also another program through the NAHB for builders that build efficiently. We have had great success with this program as verifiers.
Thanks for the info Brad. Im trying to do exactly what your doing.
Thanks Brad, that’s good to know. Ben is a speaker at those conventions and is bombarded by the same complaint over and over that there is zero consumer demand. You must be doin’ something right.
There is zero consumer demand. You have to find the people that want to build efficient or have to. Phillip is in Maryland and they have already adopted the 2012 IECC which means duct testing and blower door testing.
Resnet is definitely not dead. BPI, however, is…unless you are in a state where the utility is still offering incentives and the utility requires BPI certification. AZ is one that comes to mind for that exact situation.
HERS raters (Resnet is something like 98% of all HERS raters in the coutry) are the ones doing the test outs for IECC 2009 and IECC 2012. Currently there is no such thing as an “IECC 2009/2012 certification”. Steve Baden did a really good job of allying with the NAHB over the past 3 years. Because of that, the Resnet (HERS) raters are the ones called upon to do these test outs.
I get calls daily from 09/12 areas on how to do this type of work. Sometimes from actual building inspection officials because they don’t even know what training to get in order for them to do the inspection.
As IECC 2009 and 2012 are adopted throughout the country this will just keep becoming more and more popular.
In California this is an even bigger deal as California adopted IECC 2012 that is integrated with Title 24.
At the end of the day it is all about new construction (Delaware is an exception - noted below). Because these standards are building codes for new construction, the demand is tied to new construction.
Delaware passed their own version of 2012 that also includes remodels/retrofits. I am not 100% sure on the particulars. What I have heard through conversations is that the remodel has to be either a certain size (IE: over 1000 sq ft) or over a certain percentage of size in relation to the original structure. I am not clear on which, if either, is true. I do know that the 2012 test out is only on the remodel and not the original structure plus remodel. So the remodel has to be isolated somehow during test out.
If you want a copy of either code, head over to icc.org and plug in IECC 2009 or IECC 2012 to their onsite search. The codes are available for purchase.
If you want to know what standard your state is on, there are several resources out there that lay out the entire country, but the easiest way is just to put your state in a Google search with IECC in the search. For example: Alabama IECC. Also, keep in mind that any government can adopt IECC how they see fit. So a city, state, county, etc can adopt it and they may adopt the base code or alter it how they see fit. A good example of this is the CA adoption with title 24 integrated or the Kansas City adoption while both Kansas (http://www.energycodes.gov/sites/default/files/documents/KansasResidentialCostEffectiveness.pdf) and Missouri were, at the time, IECC 2006.
Columbia Missouri just adopted 2012 two weeks ago:
http://mwalliance.org/node/3374
So every state is different on how it is approached for adoption. Here in AZ it is also left to the cities to implement what they want. It really creates a mess.
Jason Kaylor
AC Tool Supply
Net Zero Tools
877-207-1244
jason@netzerotools.com