Test Item and Simulation Development for the Guidelines for Home Energy Professionals Energy Auditor and Quality Control Inspector Certifications

Background: The National Renewable Energy Laboratory (NREL) is a national laboratory owned by the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE). NREL is the only federal laboratory dedicated to research, development, commercialization, and deployment of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies. NREL is managed and operated for DOE’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy by The Alliance for Sustainable Energy (Alliance), the “M&O Contractor”.

NREL and their stakeholders in the home performance industry have produced and validated job task analyses (JTAs) of the competencies necessary for the single-family Quality Control Inspector (QCI) and Energy Auditor (EA) to perform those jobs competently and safely since 2013. Since 2013 when the EA and QCI certifications first rolled out, the field exam modality did not allow for simulation during practical examination.

In 2022, the scheme committee approved the allowance for proctored field simulation exams by qualified certification bodies. This enables scalability of exam accessibility within the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) network and beyond.

Objective: The objective of this Sources Sought is to identify potential subcontracting companies that are qualified and capable of meeting the project objectives. The project objective, at a high level, is to develop and rollout a novel certification EA field simulation exam in parallel with the development of EA and QCI written item banks (exam forms) and execute a pilot exam and reimbursement process.