BPI Exam Questions And Verified Answers 2024-2025
How should energy auditors approach assessing a home? - Answer Use the house as a
system to approach to assessing a home.
Core concepts of home performance - Answer Don't insulate unless you air seal.
Don't air seal unless you insulate.
Don't air seal unless you have air for the fire.
Don't know if you have air for the fire until after you air seal.
Don't put good air in bad places.
What does NFPA 54 - the national fuel gas code - say combustion air must be provided
for any combustion zone? - Answer Where the collective fuel input exceeds 1,000 BTU
per 50 cubic feet.
What are the three goals all building scientists should strive to achieve? - Answer
Increased IAQ = healthy indoor conditioned spaces.
Use low flow shower/faucet heads
Reduce heating/cooling system use
The ft2 of a living room, kitchen, bedroom, dining room, garage, sunroom, total area and
the value of y for a house is to be found when base and height are 35/30, 20/30, 35/35,
20/35, 12/35/30/9/12/56, 12/9/2, 1050/600/1225/700/672/54 - Answer Living room 1,050,
kitchen 600, bedroom 1,225, dining room 700, garage 672, sunroom 54, total area 4,301
What are categories of potentials for energy conservation and define them? - Answer
Heating and cooling - seasonal efficiency for fossil-fuel heating systems range from 30 -
90%. Most older systems operate at the mid-to-lower end of this scale.
Air leakages - infiltrating air must by heated or cooled to a comfortable temperature,
and heated and cooled air is lost when air leaks out of the building.
, Water heating - energy losses in heating and storage of hot water can amount to 40% or
more of that system's energy consumption.
Appliances and Lighting - refrigerators, lights, entertainment systems, computers, and
other appliances use considerable electrical energy because of obsolete design,
careless operations, or just the sheer number of electrical devices in a home.
Residential Behaviour - The awareness and care of a buildings residents and managers
has a significant influence on how much energy the building uses.
What are the formulas of cost-effectiveness? -Answer Simple payback: PB-measured in
years= C-the initial cost measured in dollars/S-the annual savings measured in dollars.
Life-cycle savings: Sic= S-the annual savings measured in dollars * L-the life expectancy
of retrofit measured in years.
Savings to Investment Ratio: SIR= Sic-measured in current dollars/C-the initial cost in
dollars.
A homeowner invests $12,000 in an energy retrofit and the energy bill is reduced by
$100/month. What is the SIR, PB, and Sic if there is a life expectancy of 11 years? -
Answer SIR = 1.1, PB = 10 years, SIC = 13,200
How would you define energy? - Answer A measurable quantity of heat, work, or light.
What is potential energy? -Answer Stored energy, like a cord of wood.
What is kinetic energy? -Answer Transitional energy, like a flame.
What does potential energy turn into? -Answer Kinetic energy
What are the two laws of thermomdynamics? -Answer 1. Energy is neither created nor
destroyed. Energy simply moves from place to place and morphs into different forms.
2. Heat always flows from high temperature regions to low temperature regions. Never
the opposite, with no external source of energy.
How should energy auditors approach assessing a home? - Answer Use the house as a
system to approach to assessing a home.
Core concepts of home performance - Answer Don't insulate unless you air seal.
Don't air seal unless you insulate.
Don't air seal unless you have air for the fire.
Don't know if you have air for the fire until after you air seal.
Don't put good air in bad places.
What does NFPA 54 - the national fuel gas code - say combustion air must be provided
for any combustion zone? - Answer Where the collective fuel input exceeds 1,000 BTU
per 50 cubic feet.
What are the three goals all building scientists should strive to achieve? - Answer
Increased IAQ = healthy indoor conditioned spaces.
Use low flow shower/faucet heads
Reduce heating/cooling system use
The ft2 of a living room, kitchen, bedroom, dining room, garage, sunroom, total area and
the value of y for a house is to be found when base and height are 35/30, 20/30, 35/35,
20/35, 12/35/30/9/12/56, 12/9/2, 1050/600/1225/700/672/54 - Answer Living room 1,050,
kitchen 600, bedroom 1,225, dining room 700, garage 672, sunroom 54, total area 4,301
What are categories of potentials for energy conservation and define them? - Answer
Heating and cooling - seasonal efficiency for fossil-fuel heating systems range from 30 -
90%. Most older systems operate at the mid-to-lower end of this scale.
Air leakages - infiltrating air must by heated or cooled to a comfortable temperature,
and heated and cooled air is lost when air leaks out of the building.
, Water heating - energy losses in heating and storage of hot water can amount to 40% or
more of that system's energy consumption.
Appliances and Lighting - refrigerators, lights, entertainment systems, computers, and
other appliances use considerable electrical energy because of obsolete design,
careless operations, or just the sheer number of electrical devices in a home.
Residential Behaviour - The awareness and care of a buildings residents and managers
has a significant influence on how much energy the building uses.
What are the formulas of cost-effectiveness? -Answer Simple payback: PB-measured in
years= C-the initial cost measured in dollars/S-the annual savings measured in dollars.
Life-cycle savings: Sic= S-the annual savings measured in dollars * L-the life expectancy
of retrofit measured in years.
Savings to Investment Ratio: SIR= Sic-measured in current dollars/C-the initial cost in
dollars.
A homeowner invests $12,000 in an energy retrofit and the energy bill is reduced by
$100/month. What is the SIR, PB, and Sic if there is a life expectancy of 11 years? -
Answer SIR = 1.1, PB = 10 years, SIC = 13,200
How would you define energy? - Answer A measurable quantity of heat, work, or light.
What is potential energy? -Answer Stored energy, like a cord of wood.
What is kinetic energy? -Answer Transitional energy, like a flame.
What does potential energy turn into? -Answer Kinetic energy
What are the two laws of thermomdynamics? -Answer 1. Energy is neither created nor
destroyed. Energy simply moves from place to place and morphs into different forms.
2. Heat always flows from high temperature regions to low temperature regions. Never
the opposite, with no external source of energy.
