- What is BPI Accreditation?
- What value does Accreditation bring to my business?
- What do I need to complete in order to get my company accredited?
- Does BPI provide me with marketing assistance?
- Do we have to sell a whole-home job every time?
- How does the Quality Assurance Program work?
- How do we educate the homeowner?
- What is HOME STAR?
- What is the status of the legislation?
- What is the budget for HOME STAR?
- Why do we need HOME STAR?
- Where can I get more information?
What is BPI Accreditation?
BPI Accreditation is a standards-based home performance program that helps you differentiate your business from the competition. By ensuring certified staff, quality management, and the delivery of consistent, high-quality services on every project, BPI Accreditation helps you raise the bar in home performance contracting. Accreditation is voluntary, but it does require a true commitment to approach each project from a house-as-a-system perspective and to meet nationally-recognized BPI standards every time.
What value does Accreditation bring to my business?
BPI Accredited Contractors stand out from the crowd. By offering real solutions, you show that you’re serious about home performance contracting. By educating customers on the value of the whole-home approach and providing a comprehensive evaluation of their homes, you allow the homeowner to make an educated decision about what best serves their needs. Our recognized, stringent Quality Assurance Program gives your customers peace of mind with an independent, third-party verification that your work conforms to BPI standards. Accreditation earns you the right to use the BPI mark in support of your sales efforts, differentiating your business based on proven performance.
What do I need to complete in order to get my company accredited?
Becoming a BPI Accredited Contractor is relatively simple. Take the following steps: 1. Review and agree to all BPI policies and procedures for Accreditation and Quality Assurance. 2. Create quality management systems and customer dispute resolution policies to ensure standardization and customer satisfaction. 3. Employ BPI Certified Professionals. 4. Plan your approach for staging your Accreditation. 5. Submit all required forms (see the Accreditation Application Checklist). 6. Pay the initial Accreditation and Quality Assurance fee of $1,500. 7. Sign and return the individualized Accreditation Agreement sent to you by BPI. 8. Renew accreditation every year.
Does BPI provide me with marketing assistance?
Yes. We offer marketing support in the form of a national advertising campaign, customized collateral material and public relations items that include prepared articles you can offer to your local media to educate your community and promote your business. Only accredited contractors have access to this information.
Do we have to sell a whole-home job every time?
No, because it’s not always necessary. However, you should let your customer know that, as a BPI Contractor, you have offered them the comprehensive recommendations for the ‘House-as-a-System.’
How does the Quality Assurance Program work?
The BPI Quality Assurance (QA) Program supplies you and your clients with an independent, third-party inspection to ensure the delivery of quality work that conforms to BPI Standards. We hire independent inspectors—with no vested interests—to review your files and then randomly sample a percentage of your sites for inspection. For you, the program provides an essential quality feedback loop that can be used for quality improvements. For your customer, it offers the confidence of a job done right.
How do we educate the homeowner?
Homeowners need to understand that all of the products and materials in their homes produce a relatively complex system of interactions. Air leakage or insufficient insulation, for example, can compromise the performance of heating and air conditioning equipment. Heating equipment must be properly installed and maintained and there must also be adequate ventilation around appliances in order to prevent gas leaks and carbon monoxide. BPI accredited contractors are specially trained to perform combustion safety tests and adhere to strict health and safety standards to ensure proper air quality in homes. They help homeowners understand the intricate interactions between their heating and cooling systems.
What is HOME STAR?
HOME STAR is a proposed nationwide incentive program for home performance retrofit and weatherization projects. It is intended to encourage homeowners to invest in improving the energy efficiency of their homes, while also creating sustainable jobs in local communities. HOME STAR is endorsed by the President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board (PERAB). This proposal is based on the Retrofit for Energy and Environmental Performance (REEP) legislation that is included in the American Clean Energy and Security (ACES) Act passed by the House of Representatives, and in the Building Efficiency title of American Clean Energy Leadership Act (ACELA) reported out by the Senate Energy and Natural Resources Committee. Additional measures are drawn from leading state and local programs. This program also builds on investments made in the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA), and on executive actions taken as a result of the Vice President’s Recovery through Retrofit program.
What is the status of the legislation?
HOME STAR legislation did not pass during the 111th Congress (2009-2010). Elements of the legislation are being considered for incorporation into other bills.
What is the budget for HOME STAR?
The proposed budget is $6 billion, with $1.8 billion reserved for whole-home projects offering deep energy efficiency improvements, $3.6 billion for specified energy efficiency improvements and $600 million for financing, administration and quality assurance programs.
Why do we need HOME STAR?
There are several reasons. Most importantly, HOME STAR is intended to create 168,000 jobs. In January 2010, the unemployment rate in the construction industry was 24.7% with a 38% drop in employment since 2006. Employment in construction-related manufacturing has dropped 24.5%, and employment in construction-related retail has dropped 14% since 2006. The housing crisis and resulting number of homes in foreclosure means very few new homes are being built, and the construction skilled trades and related fields are suffering. Creating sustainable, high-quality jobs in local communities is the primary motivation behind HOME STAR. The second motivation is to help families lower their monthly expenses. The average family literally throws away 20-40% of the money they spend to heat and cool their homes each year—about $750—because their homes are energy inefficient, burdened by faulty building shells with air leakage and insufficient insulation, as well as old, inefficient HVAC equipment with leaky ducts. More than 50% single-family homes in America were constructed before the advent of modern building codes, roughly 30% are more than 45 years old and another 30% are between 25 and 45 years old. It is estimated that more than 43 million existing homes need urgent improvements to energy efficiency, durability and occupant comfort, health and safety. This includes new and old homes of all styles, shapes and sizes in all climate zones. The third motivation is environmental responsibility. America’s 128 million existing homes account for 20% of total energy use (10,888 trillion BTUs in 2008) and 21% of total greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions each year—far more than transportation or industrial sectors. HOME STAR is expected to reduce energy use and greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to taking 615,000 cars of the road. These factors make HOME STAR a truly sustainable program that helps to balance economy, ecology and society to create a whole that is greater than the sum of its parts.
Where can I get more information?
Visit the home performance industry’s trade association, Efficiency First, for more information about HOME STAR.
