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GRANT PROMOTES ENERGY EFFICIENT PRACTICES AMONG HOME REMODELERS

Release Date: 10/03/2001
Contact Information:



Note to Correspondents

As part of the ongoing effort to support the President’s energy plan, EPA has awarded $39,975 to the Building Performance Institute, Inc.(BPI) of Albany, N.Y. to promote energy efficient installation practices among residential building performance contractors.

The grant shares the goals of EPA’s ENERGY STAR Home Improvement and New Homes Programs, which aim to reduce energy consumption in private homes.

BPI is a non-profit organization that researches and promotes energy and resource efficiency, comfort, health, safety, and affordability in residential buildings. Since 1993, BPI has provided third-party verification of worker skills in the building trades and home weather protection industry.

BPI will use this grant to fund further development of its building performance contractor certification and accreditation program, and expand it beyond the New York state market. Successful implementation of this grant would lead to greater nationwide market penetration of residential energy efficiency products and systems.

In New York state, BPI has already created new energy efficiency competency certifications to better serve the needs of professionals in the traditional residential building trades, including remodelers, and insulation and heating and cooling contractors. The success of this initiative has generated interest in BPI’s certification and accreditation process on a national level. This grant will help BPI succeed on a national scale by enabling the company to:

C Refine the technical standards and certification and accreditation processes for residential contractors;

C Complete certification and accreditation of a sample set of contracting firms that are not beneficiaries of publicly-funded initiatives (This pilot project would include follow-up reports identifying and tracking the benefits of these credentials to the contractor’s business);

C Continue development of infrastructure required to deliver certifications and accreditation of building performance contracting firms on a national scale;

C Revise the BPI Field Guide to provide best practices for all building performance technicians, diagnosticians, and installers; and

C Create a BPI internet website for these purposes: (1) acquiring the skills needed for certification; (2) serving as a resources clearinghouse for contractors seeking to expand their knowledge and experience; (3) helping consumers select contractors and telling them what to expect when their home is performance tested; and (4) listing accredited contractors with links to their web sites, in order to promote business and assist consumers.

EPA believes this grant will promote energy efficiency practices that will ultimately benefit homeowners through reduced utility bills, and the country in general through reduced energy demand leading to cuts in power plant emissions of air pollution and global warming.

For further technical information, contact Lena Nirk of EPA at 202-564-9841
( [email protected])


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