PA016770

	What they don't know . . . . . . really could hurt (or kill) you!
	Types of Auditors in the Market
	When you begin to seal and insulate a home you begin to fool with three invisible inter-related cycles occurring in the home:  heat, moisture, and pressure.  Energy Star recommends a “Whole House” approach to auditing and home performance work because, when out of balance, these three cycles can hurt or kill the home’s occupants through the introduction of mold, the concentration of radon, or the back drafting of combustion appliances like heaters and hot water heaters.  When you do not carefully choose your auditor, or you engage a home performance contractor without an audit, you assume risks of illness or fatality.  Uncertified Auditors There are uncertified people out there offering “auditing” services.  Some of them offer “walk through audits with impressions."  Beware of any offer to perform a “walkthrough” “streamlined” or “down and dirty” energy audit, or an energy audit which is mailed to you, done on line, or by phone, as they more often than not miss the important and larger picture afforded by a careful examination.  Acting on recommendations rising from an uncertified audit could lead to indoor air quality issues, a generalized infection of your home with mold, or a concentration of radon in your home. Uncertified audits will not be of use to you when trying to collect some federal tax credits or PA state rebates.  Insist on seeing certifications. Our training, certifications and affiliations are listed on this website and the actual certificates are in our presentation book when we walk in your door.  BPI Certified Auditors Some auditors are certified by the Building Performance Institute (BPI) as building analysts.  We have BPI training and certification and found value in going through this process.  Auditors with these credentials alone may still not be certified to give you some tax breaks. “BPI only” audits have a focus on indoor air quality and energy use.  RESNET Certified Auditors The Residential Energy Services Network (RESNET) certifies energy Raters.  A rater presently is a step above an auditor in that a rater has had more rigorous energy training and is also certified to audit or “rate” a new building before it is built.  The pass rate for a rater test is only 50%.  BPI and RESNET are moving toward a dual certification process which we applaud since we found value in, and already are trained in both as we have completed RESNET training and have passed the National Examination. Other Credentials There are numerous other agencies out there offering related training.  We believe to effectively audit it is necessary to go beyond BPI and RESNET Training.  This is why we have Green Advantage Certified personnel, and, why we have taken the time to make sure that our auditors are versed in geothermal, solar, and wind technologies.  All of our staff  have taken basic solar training, and our solar electrician is licensed and is FSEC certified.  Our Solar Heat/Hot water staff consists of a Registered Master Plumber and an SEI trained technician.  Further we have as resources a Certified Professional Engineer with NABCEP certifications and good LEED AP Architects if complicated design work is called for.