Colorado Mountain College is helping those interested in learning how to help homeowners make their homes more energy efficient through special classes being offered in Rifle and Aspen for the spring semester.

The building analyst training program began last fall to help the city of Aspen’s efforts to promote energy efficiency among homeowners. The city offers rebates of up to $350 for private homeowners who make energy efficiency improvements, using Building Performance Institute (BPI) standards to guide its qualifications.

Begun in 1996, BPI is a nationwide group of construction industry representatives that support and certify high-quality workmanship in building construction.

“CMC’s courses focus on the fundamentals of building science and analyzing building performance problems,” according to a press release announcing the classes.

Classes cover energy efficiency, safety, health and indoor air quality, as required to prepare for the BPI Building Analyst certification achieved by passing written and field exams.

The classes will be held at the CMC Aspen Campus Jan. 11-18 and Jan. 29 through Feb. 1, and at CMC’s West Garfield Campus in Rifle April 5-10 and April 23-26.

The first class includes introductory material as well as a package deal that includes both exams.

The second class will be shorter and more intensive, also including both exams in the pricing. It is geared to those who have already completed the building analyst training at another location or by those who may have failed their BPI test and want to brush up on the particulars before they take the test again. Included will be a day of classroom review, followed by the written exam, then a day of field review and practice with a BPI-certified instructor and equipment. The final two days of this five-day program are set aside for one-on-one field exams.

For more information, visit http://www.coloradomtn.edu/gba.