BAP Quality Assurance & Compliance 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Under the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a building analyst must ensure that a Certificate of Compliance is posted in which location?
- Submitted only to the local permit office
- Posted on the electrical distribution panel (Correct answer)
- Filed with the homeowner's insurance provider
- Submitted to the state energy office within 30 days
Correct answer: Posted on the electrical distribution panel
The IECC requires a permanent Certificate of Compliance to be posted on or near the electrical distribution panel for future reference.
Question 2: A BAP is conducting a third-party verification of a home under a HERS rating. What is the PRIMARY role of this third-party verification?
- To replace the local building inspector's final approval
- To provide an independent assessment of energy performance against rated plans (Correct answer)
- To authorize changes to the building permit
- To certify that all contractors are licensed
Correct answer: To provide an independent assessment of energy performance against rated plans
Third-party HERS raters independently verify that the built home's energy features match the rated design, ensuring unbiased compliance documentation.
Question 3: Which of the following is a leading indicator of poor quality control during the insulation installation phase?
- Insulation R-value stickers present on all packages
- Thermal bypasses visible around recessed lights during infrared scan (Correct answer)
- Attic access hatch insulated to the same R-value as the ceiling
- Rim joists sealed and insulated before drywall installation
Correct answer: Thermal bypasses visible around recessed lights during infrared scan
Thermal bypasses around recessed lights indicate gaps in the air and thermal barrier that allow heat flow, revealing inadequate installation quality.
Question 4: Which test protocol is used to verify that a mechanical ventilation system in a new home delivers the required outdoor airflow rate?
- Tracer gas dilution only
- Flow hood or balancing measurement at each intake grille (Correct answer)
- Blower door subtraction method only
- Visual inspection of duct connections
Correct answer: Flow hood or balancing measurement at each intake grille
A flow hood or calibrated balancing measurement directly quantifies the outdoor air delivered at each ventilation point, satisfying ASHRAE 62.2 verification requirements.
Question 5: When a quality assurance inspection reveals that sill plates lack required sill sealer gaskets, the MOST significant compliance concern is:
- Structural load transfer is compromised
- The required continuous air barrier at the foundation-wall joint is broken (Correct answer)
- Radon entry pathways are unaffected by sill plates
- Thermal bridging through the sill plate is doubled
Correct answer: The required continuous air barrier at the foundation-wall joint is broken
Sill sealer gaskets provide the air sealing at the foundation-to-framing interface; omitting them breaks the required continuous air barrier.
Question 6: A BAP must determine whether a multifamily building's common corridor HVAC system complies with ASHRAE 62.1. The FIRST step is to:
- Measure CO2 levels in all corridors simultaneously
- Obtain the design ventilation schedules and verify system outdoor air capacity (Correct answer)
- Perform a smoke pencil test at each supply diffuser
- Check that return grilles are located below the supply diffusers
Correct answer: Obtain the design ventilation schedules and verify system outdoor air capacity
Verifying design documentation and system outdoor air capacity is the foundation of ASHRAE 62.1 compliance before field measurements.
Question 7: During a quality assurance review, a BAP finds that window rough openings were flashed using only house wrap lapped over the sill without a pan flashing. This primarily creates a risk of:
- Excessive solar heat gain through the window
- Water intrusion at the sill leading to structural and mold damage (Correct answer)
- Air leakage that will fail the blower door test threshold
- Reduced window U-factor due to thermal bridging at the frame
Correct answer: Water intrusion at the sill leading to structural and mold damage
Without a sloped pan flashing, water that penetrates the window-to-wall joint drains into the wall assembly rather than out, causing moisture damage.
BAP Quality Assurance & Compliance 3
Under the International Energy Conservation Code (IECC), a building analyst must ensure that a Certificate of Compliance is posted in which location?