Page 16 - Oil and Energy-February 2013

16 • OIL&ENERGY
The Whole House Approach
ning fi the Relationship
Energy audits create new opportunities
and satisfy demanding customers
By John MacKenna
AS OIL DEALERS LOOK TO DIVERSIFY, SOME
are turning to energy audits as a tool that
can deepen customer relationships and
generate a broad range of retrofit projects.
Companies have several choices of how
to evaluate customers’ homes. They can
offer simple energy evaluations that draw
on their own expertise and equipment or
retrain personnel and provide full-blown
audits that incorporate blower door tests
and thermal imaging. They can offer the
audits themselves or establish relationships
with specialized audit providers.
One company that provides energy
audit training is Everblue, a veteran-
founded organization that provides a broad
range of conservation-related training
across the United States and abroad. Vince
DiFrancesco, Vice President of Operations
and Administration, told Oil & Energy that
Oilheat companies can position themselves
to offer home energy audits by certifying
one staff member to perform energy audits
and buying a blower door and other test
equipment.
CERTIFICATION OPTIONS
The most practical certification for con-
ducting home energy audits is the Building
Performance Institute’s (BPI) Building Ana-
lyst certification. A certified analyst is needed
to perform an energy audit or sign off on it if
the company is to offer a BPI audit. DiFran-
cesco recommends that every employee who
conducts audits achieve BPI certification.
An alternative to BPI certification is the
RESNET HERS Rater certification, but the
HERS Rater is designed primarily for profes-
sionals working in new construction with
an eye towards building ENERGY STAR®
Certified Homes, according to DiFrancesco.
Everblue offers a one-week course that
provides all the necessary training and
testing. In 40 hours, an employee such as
a service technician can receive two days of
classroom training and one to one-and-a-
half days of field training. Everblue will also
administer the Building Analyst certificate
exam, enabling the trainee to complete their
week’s work with certification in hand.
The Building Analyst certification exam
involves a two-hour, 100-question written
exam where they must achieve a score of
70 percent. Applicants must also complete
a two-hour field examination where they
demonstrate their competence with a
blower door and the other energy auditing
equipment.
LICENSE TO TEST
A BPI Building Analyst is certified to
conduct blower-door tests; combustion
appliance inspection and repair; air quality
testing including carbon monoxide detec-
tion; and duct and airflow testing. A BPI
Building Analyst needs to re-certify every
three years, either by re-taking the exams or
by completing continuing education from a
BPI affiliate.
Companies can also opt for Everblue’s
combination BPI Building Analyst/Envelope
Professional training and testing during
the same week. The Envelope Professional
course builds on the Building Analyst
training, teaching forms of heat transfer,
moisture movement, framing, thermal and
pressure boundaries, types of insulation,
pressure testing and combustion safety.
Companies also gain an advantage by
achieving both certifications, because the
company itself can be certified as a BPI
Accredited Contracting Company, according
to DiFrancesco. To qualify for company
accreditation, a dealer must achieve at least
two BPI Certifications. Accredited companies
can take advantage of BPI marketing materials
and are listed on BPI’s Accredited Contractor
locator map atwww.bpi.org.Company
accreditation is also necessary to participate
in some state incentive programs.
DiFrancesco says Oilheat companies can
use energy audits to strengthen customer
relationships and create a framework for
doing more business with the customer for
whom they perform an audit.
Energy auditing itself is not likely to be
a profit center, he said, but it can benefit
the company by generating more work in
equipment upgrades and building shell
work, such as air sealing and insulation.
“The beautiful thing about an energy audit
is it can be used as a sales tool,” he said.
“You can get paid for an energy audit if you
want, but the money is in the retrofit work
you get from it.”
A BROADER ROLE
Companies can also use energy auditing
to differentiate themselves from the com-
petition and attract customers interested in
a comprehensive, science-based approach
to home energy efficiency. An energy audit
evaluates the entire home as an energy use
system, so the company can broaden its dia-
logue with the customer and position itself
as a general contractor for energy efficiency.
Continued …
Alex Avila
conducts
an energy
audit on a
Massachusetts
home for the
MassSave
program.