DOE Wants to Hear Your Two Cents! - DOE Calls for BPI Stakeholder Comments on New Retrofit Workforce Guidelines

DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy (EERE) seeks input from BPI certified professionals, accredited contractors and training affiliates on new voluntary workforce training guidelines for home energy efficiency upgrades introduced yesterday by Vice President Biden.

“Because they hold a BPI certification, these professionals have demonstrated the high level of knowledge and expertise in this field that we seek in the public comment process,” reads EERE’s November 9th invitation to BPI stakeholders.

Go to http://www.weatherization.energy.gov/retrofit_guidelines to view the draft Workforce Guidelines for Home Energy Upgrades.

Respond to DOE by January 7, 2011.  

The Workforce Guidelines include four components:  

1.       Job Task Analyses identify all of the steps a worker takes to complete an energy efficiency improvement in a home.  Job tasks included are: Energy Auditor, Installer/Technician, Crew Chief, and Quality Assurance Professional/Inspector.  

2.       Essential Knowledge, Skills, and Abilities (KSAs) identify the minimum capabilities workers should have to perform high quality work.  

3.       Technical Standards Reference Guides are a list of referenced standards developed by industry standards development organizations such as BPI, which define the safety, materials, installation, and application standards relevant to home energy efficiency retrofits.  

4.       Standard Work Specifications for Energy Efficiency Residential Retrofits define the performance requirements for high quality work and the minimum conditions necessary to achieve the desired outcomes of a given energy efficiency retrofit measure.