BPI certification

What is BPI certification and how can it help your business? Many contractors and renovators ask this common question. BPI stands for Building Performance Institute. This organization is a leader in the area of developing standards for weatherization and home performance retrofitting. This organization works to develop technical standards and provide certification in the area of retrofitting existing homes with better weatherization and energy performance. This nonprofit organization provides retrofitting professionals with protocols and standards to increase accountability and reduce risk. The certification programs provided by this organization give building professionals the green stamp.

Federal, state, and local governments provide incentives as well as regulations on enhancing the energy usage of both existing and new property developments. In order to meet these increasing standards, many professionals in the area looked to certification in order to learn what they need to do. Some of the government agencies actually require that the professionals involved in a retrofit project holds some level of certification in order to qualify for certain incentives. BPI certification is one of the leading contenders. With the BPI certified professional involved in a project, the project will likely easily qualify for the incentives available.

Both individuals as well as companies can qualify for BPI certification. Individuals that decide to become BPI certified undergo extensive training as well as testing before they achieve certification. They learn how building science interacts with the idea of the house as a system concept. They learn how to assess a home from top to bottom and figure out what needs done in order to achieve desired home performance levels. Contracting companies are looking for those that hold certification from BPI. In fact, they are in high demand.

For companies that want to hold BPI accreditation, they must hire a certain percentage of professionals that hold BPI certification at the individual level. They also agree to document all work done fully and to submit that information to the BPI organization. BPI then does random audits of various jobs in order to measure satisfaction levels as well as maintaining quality assurance. BPI, at least once a year, will audit a company’s records and flag any problems. They also do random fieldwork inspections. Companies that hold accreditation also agree to participate in BPI’s comprehensive conflict resolution program. BPI requires all participants to agree to the standards that the organization develops as well as meeting customer needs and satisfaction levels.