BPI Marketing Corner
Internet Search Results: How Do You Get Your Results?
By Hannah C. Wood, BPI
“The web is like an ever-growing library with billions of books and no central filing system.” - Google
This is why Google, Bing, and other search engines index the information. Like an index from the back of a book, there’s an entry for every word seen on every web page that a search engine indexes. The search “crawlers” make the decision based on number of keywords on a webpage, the number of times someone clicks on a particular website, and through asking hundreds of questions of the web page to determine its relevance. But, that’s all going on in the background.
For your part, you enter a “search query” (whatever you’re searching for). Your search query typically falls into one of these three categories.
- "Do" transactional queries (e.g., buy a concert ticket, listen to a podcast, watch a YouTube video)
- "Know" informational queries (e.g., Find massage therapists in Syracuse)
- "Go" navigation queries, a specific website such as “Washington Post” or “Home Performance Coalition”
Once you click “search”, you get pages and pages of results. The “organic” search results are the results that come up “naturally” and don’t say “ad” beside them. For example, if you search for “home energy auditor,” the search engine will return what it has deemed as the most relevant results for you.
And, that’s the quick overview of how you get your search results!
Cheers,
Hannah C. Wood
BPI and Industry News
Building Performance News and Discussion
By BPI
- Apply for the Jon Siemen Memorial Scholarship by November 30th. This scholarship is open to U.S. military veterans and participating Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) contractors. BPI covers the cost of applicable online and field exams for those who are accepted. BPI will award this scholarship to four (4) individuals annually. Click here to apply.
- BPI "Perks" Coming Soon. BPI has reviewed feedback from our surveys and understands that BPI stakeholders would like more to help your day-to-day business operations. BPI is coordinating with third party organizations to be able to offer you discounts on your operating expenses with vendors like Office Depot, FedEx, and Avis/Budget Car Rental. Discounts for personal expenses such as prescription drugs and entertainment (e.g., movie tickets and sporting events) will also be possible. Thanks to the large number of BPI stakeholders, BPI will be able to provide these perks and discounts without additional costs to you, or to BPI. More later on this exciting news.
- Read the Energy Efficiency Jobs in America report and watch the webinar from E2 and E4TheFuture.
- Check out the “It’s Asthma” Infographic Series: Do your clients include adolescents who suffer from asthma? This EPA infographic series can help you educate them on indoor environmental asthma triggers (i.e., secondhand smoke, pets, mold, dust mites, and pests). Click here to download the series.
- Read the HPC report on smart home technology: The Redefining Home Performance in the 21st Century, How the Smart Home Could Revolutionize the Industry and Transform the Home-to-Grid Connection report calls on policymakers, industry leaders, energy program managers and contractors to redefine home energy performance to include smart technology and smart homes.
BPI Spotlight
Product Spotlight: Retrotec
By BPI
Quarterly, BPI features a manufacturer and product from its Product Listing program, which highlights tools, products, and materials that meet industry standards for diagnostic evaluation and installation of energy upgrades to the home.
Retrotec’s DM32 WiFi Digital Pressure Gauge: The DM32 is the brain of every Retrotec system. It’s small, lightweight, and exceptionally intuitive. No matter what standard you test to, you can easily get results right on the gauge.
Most versatile gauge on the market
The DM32 gauge can operate fans from various manufacturers. Touch the picture of the device on the gauge to show a list of fans and other devices the gauge can operate and read. The data cable that comes with the gauge allows it to constantly communicate with the fan controls, meaning it will automatically run the fan at a desired pressure once the pressure is entered into the gauge.
Cutting Edge Tech & Gauge Compatibility
The DM32 Digital Gauge opens a world of opportunity through its compatibility with rCloud, the industry’s most powerful automated testing app. rCloud geolocates the test location, automatically performs blower door or duct tests to common standards and creates secure compliance reports that can be shared immediately and viewed from anywhere.
With the DM32, you can automatically run blower door and duct leakage tests using your mobile device and save your results with rCloud. Choose from a selection of test standards, set your leakage target, and share a report with your client, employer, HERS provider or building official.
You can also use GaugeRemote to operate your blower door or DucTester fan from other areas of the house. This app mirrors the gauge’s screen on your phone so that you can adjust your fan’s flow from an attic or basement to allow you to smoke test ducts or other parts of the building envelope without running back and forth to the fan.
Discounts & Trade-Ins for BPI Professionals
BPI Certified Professionals receive a discount (limited time offer) on Retrotec products when purchasing from retrotec.com. Use promo code “BPI” upon checkout. Trade-in options are currently available for testers who own certain competitor gauges.
Stump the Chump
Let's Play Stump the Chump!
By BPI
The last stumper brought in 16 responses, but one person hit the nail on the head.
As a reminder, the owners of the home depicted in the infrared images below complained that the room is always cold. The HVAC contractor couldn’t find anything wrong, but the thermal imaging sure did!
Martin Harisi, BPI Building Analyst and Envelope Professional, of Harisi Energy LLC in Connecticut responded correctly. Harisi observed, "From the picture shown you could see two heating pipes from a boiler that feed the upstairs floor. One of these pipes is located directly behind the thermostat mounted on the wall. When the upstairs is being heated, it warms the wall behind the thermostat. That gives the thermostat a false reading; it tells the thermostat that the downstairs room is hot and signals it to turn off the downstairs heat. A solution to their problem could include insulating the boiler pipe or simply just moving the thermostat to a different location in that room."
Thank you to everyone who submitted a response!
Can you solve the next stumper?
This stumper comes from our own John Jones, BPI National Technical Director.
A customer located in upstate New York, a few miles northeast of the Capital District, had called to request an inspection of their home for uneven temperatures throughout the house in both the summer and winter. The +90% AFUE multi-position furnace was installed on 2” patio blocks with a high efficiency pleated filter. The homeowner was very pleased with the filter and stated that it had not needed to be replaced since installed (it had been replaced within the past 5 years). The homeowner stated the issue seemed to have started after the new heating system was installed. The homeowner had contacted the installing HVAC contractor who could not find any issues with the installation. The home was a 4-bedroom split-level mid-1980’s construction with finished basement and mechanical room that included the heating system and domestic water heater with a natural draft vent. Supply and returns were located in each room, except the bathrooms and kitchen. Insulation levels and installation quality were found to be adequate, air sealing was not completed, but blower door results were not out of the ordinary. An IR scan of the home showed very minimal insulation voids and infiltration. CAZ depressurization testing was quite negative when the furnace fan was turned on and worse when in high speed for cooling. An inspection of the ductwork in the CAZ showed no disconnections or returns. When the front panel of the furnace was removed to install the duct pressurization fan to check leakage, the problem of the CAZ depressurization, and uneven airflow, a 5-year-old clean air filter was revealed. What could be the problem?
Send in a Stumper and Earn 2 BPI CEUs!
The Stump the Chump segment in BPI’s newsletter is the most popular part of the publication. If you submit a Stumper, you'll get: an opportunity to share your technical knowledge, free individual and company advertising with a link to your company website, and 2 BPI CEUs. For more information, please contact marketing@bpi.org.