AEE Business Energy Professional study guide
AEE Business Energy Professional · Work through your exam, one topic at a time.
The Business Energy Professional (BEP) is an Association of Energy Engineers (AEE) credential that recognizes business, marketing, and energy professionals who demonstrate a high level of competence and ethical fitness in business/marketing and energy-management disciplines, including the laws that govern and affect energy professionals. It is designed for people who bridge technical energy work and business decisions: business professionals who oversee energy professionals, energy professionals who present and justify energy-saving projects to executive management, consultants who propose efficiency projects to clients, and staff who decide which business-improvement programs get approved. The AEE Business Energy Professional study guide has 11 sections and about 3,298 words.
01Codes and Standards
Codes and standards questions test whether you know which document governs which building type, which edition applies, and which compliance path is being used. The most common commercial energy code is ASHRAE Standard 90.1, while the IECC contains residential and commercial provisions.
274 words, about 1 min02Green Buildings
Green-building questions focus on rating systems, prerequisites versus credits, and the metrics used to prove performance. LEED requires prerequisites before any credit can count and awards points across energy, water, materials, indoor environmental quality, and location.
249 words, about 1 min03Energy Fundamentals
Candidates must move confidently among power, energy, heat rate, load factor, and efficiency. Know that power is instantaneous (kW) and energy is power over time (kWh); 1 kW = 3,412 Btu/h; 1 hp = 0.746 kW; 1 therm = 100,000 Btu; 1 MMBtu = 10 therms.
237 words, about 1 min04Utility Rate Structures
Utility tariffs combine energy charges, demand charges, customer charges, riders, and sometimes minimum bills. Understand flat, block, time-of-use, real-time pricing, seasonal rates, demand ratchets, power-factor penalties, and standby charges.
256 words, about 1 min05Electric and Gas Procurement
Procurement questions test contract structures, risk allocation, and cost components. For electricity, know fixed all-in pricing, fixed energy with pass-through charges, block-and-index, index pricing, hedges, capacity tags, renewable energy credits, and retail choice.
223 words, about 1 min06Energy Accounting
Energy accounting establishes a baseline, normalizes for drivers such as weather, occupancy, and production, and reports performance against that baseline. Know EUI, energy intensity per unit of output, cost avoidance versus cost savings, variance analysis, utility bill management, and accrual accounting.
226 words, about 1 min07Carbon Accounting
Carbon accounting follows the GHG Protocol: Scope 1 direct emissions, Scope 2 purchased electricity/steam, and Scope 3 value-chain emissions. Know organizational and operational boundaries, consolidation approaches, emission factors, CO2e, and global warming potential versions.
228 words, about 1 min08Metering and Energy Information Services (EIS)
Metering questions cover meter types, interval data, accuracy, and data handling. Know utility revenue meters, submeters, current transformers, potential transformers, pulse outputs, and AMI.
237 words, about 1 min09Energy Assessment and Instrumentation
Energy assessments range from a walkthrough to an investment-grade audit. ASHRAE 211 defines commercial audit levels; Level 1 is a screening walkthrough, Level 2 adds detailed surveys and analysis, and Level 3 adds rigorous engineering and financial analysis.
226 words, about 1 min10Energy Economics and Alternative Financing
Economics questions test simple payback, discounted payback, net present value, internal rate of return, life-cycle cost, and escalation. Simple payback ignores the time value of money; NPV compares discounted cash flows with the initial cost; IRR is the discount rate that makes NPV zero.
238 words, about 1 min11Commissioning and Measurement & Verification (M&V)
Commissioning verifies that systems meet the owner's project requirements and basis of design. Know design review, installation checks, functional performance testing, seasonal testing, training, O&M documentation, and ongoing commissioning.
904 words, about 5 min