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Earn your “BEAP” from ASHRAE

With the growing emphasis on energy consumption reduction and cost savings, there is a recognized need for credible information to help in the assessment and modeling of energy use in buildings.

As a result, ASHRAE (the American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers) is offering a new certification program that it says will help fill this need. The Building Energy Assessment Professional (BEAP) certification complements ASHRAE’s Building Energy Quotient program as well as its Building Energy Modeling Professional certification. Together, ASHRAE says the programs provide a valuable toolkit when it comes to the evaluation and reduction of building energy use.

“We all know that ‘we can’t manage what we can’t measure’,” said Tom Phoenix, Chair of the committee that developed the BEAP certification. “Providing reliable energy analysis means we are holding ourselves more accountable for the energy our buildings use. The results of an analysis can tell us which systems are working efficiently and which systems provide opportunities for improvement.”

The BEAP certification certifies individuals’ ability to audit and analyze residential, commercial and industrial buildings, including determining project scope, collecting data, analyzing building performance, interpreting results, evaluating alternatives, submitting recommendations for energy conservation measures and assisting with the implementation of these recommendations.

The program was developed in collaboration with representatives from ASHRAE’s Building Energy Quotient (bEQ) program, the Illuminating Engineers Society (IES), the National Institute of Building Sciences, the Sheet Metal and Air Conditioning Contractors' National Association, and the Testing, Adjusting and Balancing Bureau.

The program launches Feb. 2, 2011 with a pencil and paper examination in conjunction with ASHRAE’s 2011 Winter Conference. To learn more about this program, go to www.ashrae.org/beap.

October 9, 2010  By  John Gilson