Certified Energy Manager® (CEM®) Exam Body of Knowledge Updated

August 14, 2018

A new form of the CEM exam will take effect September 14, 2018.  All exam candidates sitting for the live paper and pencil exam administered at the end of an approved live seminar on or after September 14th, are strongly encouraged to review the new body of knowledge, available https://www.aeecenter.org/certifications/resources/cem-resources#study.  The exams given at PSI remote testing centers will use the previous body of knowledge until December 6, 2018..

The High Performance Buildings section moved to the Codes and Standards section; and the Motors and Drives section merged with the Electrical Systems section called Electrical Power Systems and Motors.  While the biggest change to the body of knowledge was a reorganization of the information, there were some content updates to the subtopics.  Subtopic additions that may show up as questions are; Behavioral Modification under Maintenance and Commissioning and Energy Audits and Instrumentation; Electronically Commutated Motors under Electrical Power Systems and Motors; Micro-Grids and Battery Storage under CHP Systems and Renewable Energy; Smart Pumps under HVAC Systems; Chilled Beam Systems under HVAC Systems; Internet of Things (IOT) under Building Automation and Control Systems; Phase Change Materials (PCM) under Thermal Energy Storage Systems; Thermal Storage for Heating under Thermal Energy Storage Systems; Luminaire Specific Lighting Controls under Lighting Systems; Utility Energy Services Contract (UESC) under Energy Savings Performance Contracting and Measurement and Verification.

A top priority for the Association of Energy Engineers is to maintain, update and validate its ANSI accredited exams. An important element of this process is to conduct a Job Task Analysis (JTA) survey approximately every five years. The survey examines the current state of the energy industry, which includes the responsibilities, knowledge and skills required to fulfill those responsibilities – and provides a benchmark for updating the exams.

A JTA was recently conducted for the CEM certification exam. The results of the 2017-2018 Job Task Analysis survey, conducted in partnership with Authentic Testing Corporation test development partner, confirms the CEM exam continues to measure important knowledge areas relevant to Certified Energy Managers.

For questions, contact Helen Johnson, CEM Certification Director.