Requirements for Acquired Skills (e.g., KSAs, Core Competencies)
The University Consortium, and our partners in the US Department of Energy and other university organizations, envisions a building science certification requirement for design and construction professionals. Currently, there are certification requirements in Canada and Europe. For example, the Ontario Building Envelope Enclosure Council provides a certification for a building science professional (http://obec.on.ca/BSSO/default.asp).
Also, a number of A/E firms have their requirements. Below is an example of one engineering firm’s preliminary list of requirements for a building science professional. This particular engineering firm designs, investigates, and rehabilitates structures and building enclosures. Other firms required for different aspect of the planning, design, analysis and building of quality, high performance housing (and commercial and institutional buildings) may have a different set of desired KSA’s.
“For an individual to be prepared for the building science profession, the following skill set is desirable on top of the standard requirements for accreditation and licensure for architects and engineers:
- An understanding and competency in building physics (heat, air and moisture transfer, including an understanding and ability to evaluate heat flow under each heat transfer mechanism (conduction, convection and radiation), an understanding of air flow and moisture-laden and contaminant laden air transportation and understanding of diffusive vapor transportation, and an understanding of wetting and drying mechanisms (i.e. all of the necessary building physics fundamentals and theory – all building scientists should be capable of relating software results back to first principles).
- Understanding of psychrometrics and how to use the chart to understand the HVAC process as well as to determine all of the parameters of importance for building physics from the chart. They must also be able to calculate dewpoint.
- Ability to run hygrothermal modeling tools (like WUFI) and heat transfer analysis (THERM, HEAT and HEAT 3-D), and equally as important, translate the results and be able to explain the results as they apply to the real world.
- An understanding of architecture, architectural engineering, structural engineering, building enclosure design, building technology, and other aspects of the other building sciences outside of building physics (lighting and day lighting, acoustics, fire and smoke control, blast and hardening of structures for security measures)
- Understanding of the four major building enclosure systems and how they are interrelated and tie-ins between materials and systems for the rainwater management system (waterproofing and flashings), air barrier system, thermal barrier system, and diffusive vapor flow control systems, as well as how building physics relate to these systems.
- Ability to draw design details for residential and commercial structures, tie-ins, and explain how each layer of the system is engineered to deal with a certain aspect of building physics, and where the details have to compromise to accommodate the predominant feature needed (say water tightness)
- Understanding of commercial and residential construction, including concrete framed, metal framed (structural steel and light-gauge framing) and wood framed structures
- Understanding of testing equipment/tools used on-site to test flow paths or air, water and thermal transfer, including water infiltration testing (spray rack and nozzle), pressure gauges, theatrical smoke, blower doors, temperature and relative humidity gauges and data loggers, and an understanding of how to interpret the results of the tests
- Understanding of HVAC interaction with the building enclosure, the enclosures impact on lighting and day lighting choices, and the impact of varying percentages of fenestration.
- Ability to analyze building performance, including the ability to run a refined and more accurate energy model, understanding parameters like the effect of adjacent buildings, the effect of space versus occupancy in deciding how much space needs to be conditioned and lit, versus “dead” space, and potential impacts of climate change, all related and tied back into the fundamentals of building physics”.
