ASHRAE BEMP Exam

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I am interested in sitting for the ASHRAE Building Energy Modeling Professional certification exam and am looking for feedback from anyone that has taken the exam. Any advice on exam prep, etc. would be appreciated. I've already checked out the info on ashrae.org; the sample exam questions are limited so it is tough to get a feel for the overall exam content and rigor.

Thanks in advance,
Brian

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Very rigorous! The guidebook is not joking about requiring two years of experience on modeling projects as an eligibility to take the exam.

The Detailed Content Outline in the guidebook should give you an excellent idea of the topics.

David S. Eldridge, Jr., P.E., LEED AP BD+C, BEMP, HBDP

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David,

Do you know how many people took the paper exam at the ASHRAE conference?
It looks like almost 60 passed the debut exam based on the list of BEMPs at
http://cms.ashrae.biz/certification/BEMP.php. I am scheduled to take the
computerized exam later this month.

Thank You,

Daniel A. Katzenberger, P.E.*, CEM, LEED-AP, GBE, CSDP, CEA, CDSM

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Dan,

The total list of BEMP certification-earners, as identified at http://cms.ashrae.biz/certification/BEMP.php, includes the following groups:

(a) individuals who passed the exam when it was administered in Orlando

(b) individuals who passed the exam since it has become available at testing centers worldwide

(c) members of the examination development and review committee, who not only wrote the exam items, but also in essence "took" the exam multiple times because of the iterative nature of the review process

Lynn G. Bellenger, PE, FASHRAE

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Brian,

There is talk of ASHRAE running a training course soon ?

And well done to Dave, you must be one of the very few ASHRAE BEMP's about !

Are there any people out there interested in forming a study group ? We
have ASHRAE and IBPSA Forums on www.linkedin.com that would provide a home and allow all us to gather and share study
material.

ASHRAE Fundamental seems to be a good starting point, but which chapters ?
The 90.1 User Manual is the cornerstone ? The books by Muneer and Moss are
definatelly required reading anyway, but the Stein / Reynolds book is a slab
of a book and may only help non-US people get up to speed with US
terminology.

I don't have any of the CIBSA material yet - how useful is the Applications
Manual AM11: 1998, Building energy and environmental modeling ? It seems a
little long in the teeth ?

The ASHRAE Standards are required for any LEED work anyway

For those of us outside the US, the ASHRAE BEMP and HBDP exams are an
important opportunity to stand out in a world of "dabblers", and probably
the only way to benchmark yourself against the international community.

Thanks,

Mike Barker


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Hello Michael,
IBPSA-USA is planning on offering an HVAC systems simulation course at
the SimBuild 2010 conference this summer. While it is not a BEMP
"prep" course, it will cover many of the topics that are included on
the exam, plus more. You may have seen the RFP that was recently
issued. There was also an RFP for a lighting simulation course. The
intent for these courses is that they can be repeatable and widely
used, both in the US and internationally.
Best,

Shanta Tucker

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Hello Mike:

To follow up on Shanta's email, IBPSA-USA is also now planning a half dozen or so additional energy modeling workshops across the US over the next year using the material from the HVAC systems simulation course at the SimBuild 2010 conference this summer. It would seem a logical extension for IBPSA-USA to collaborate with various international IBPSA chapters and possibly other organizations (ASHRAE, etc) to organize and present this material in 1- or 2-day workshops worldwide. As Shanta has said, the intent for these courses is that they can be repeatable and widely used, both in the US and internationally.

Cheers,

Joseph J. Deringer, AIA, LEED AP

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Mike, et al

Yes, I'd join in on this study group, so please do set it up. I'd join it
for sure and you'd probably have at least 3 or 4 other members from ZED too.

Like you , we at ZED-UK believe that this assessment is going to be a good
way to stand out from the crowd.

My only slight concern is whether this is going to just be a matter of
learning ASHRAE 90.1 etc inside out and then being tested on that or is it
going to be a more in depth look at whether you know what the principles of
building physics are?

Can anyone give me a clue on this?

I have taught Building Physics and Computational Modelling both within
academia and as a trainer for commercial software providers. I try and
teach some principles even within my short 3 day software courses as it's
imperative to do so, in order that people can get a grasp of why you do
certain things in models, particularly in a low energy passive naturally
ventilated building. This sort of work seems to me to be partly contrary to
ASHRAE regulations require and so I'm just wondering if my slightly lesser
knowledge of exact types of systems will be a hindrance. I know the
fundamentals and general elements of most systems having served my
apprenticeship as a BMS controls engineer, but I am not a complex system
mechanical HVAC designer. I am a physicist after all, that's what my PhD is
in.

The AM11 book, in my view although getting quite old now, is a really good
guide in how to scope and carry out a simulation study. It is however quite
a bit out of date, particularly when you look at the tools it has used.
We've suggested a re-write to CIBSE a few times and I think it will happen
at some point, but I think it's going to take a while.

Cheers

Dr Paul Carey

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Oswaldo,
?
these professionals would like some info on the BEMP certification exam study material, perhaps you could give some ideas that could help.
?
Paul,
Whenever you have that group formed, I would like to participate,
?
Thanks,
?
Walter Lenzi.

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Paul,

I do not remember there being any ASHRAE-specific questions on the exam.
It was oriented much more toward principles of building physics and
modeling. General knowledge of HVAC system types and control strategies
will be helpful, but you don't have to be an HVAC designer to pass. If
you're going to read any of the ASHRAE Fundamentals, I'd look at Chapter
19 - Energy Estimating and Modeling Methods. Several of the sections in
the chapter cover items listed in the Detailed Content Outline provided
by ASHRAE. (Warning: with apologies to the authors, Ch. 19 is very
technical and will put you to sleep trying to read it.) Also, there were
no software-specific questions, so I wouldn't be too concerned if your
references are starting to get old. One of the things I read was
"Guidelines for Energy Simulation of Commercial Buildings", from 1992,
and available here:
http://www.osti.gov/energycitations/product.biblio.jsp?query_id=0&page=0
&osti_id=5291948

I didn't have access to AM11 so I can't compare.

Regards,

William Bishop, EIT, BEMP, LEED(r) AP

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Thanks Bill, much appreciated.

Pretty much all text books send me to sleep anyway but then I do have
Narcolepsy.
I remember having to read that chapter and the ones on ventilation and
infiltration. They too were fairly technical and hence almost
automatically sent me to sleep.

Regards

Paul

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