EP94 Learn more about embodied carbon in housing with Andy Buccino, Sara DeVico, and Mike Browne
Release Date: 04/11/2022
EP116 RESNET Data Sheds Light on Energy Efficient Home Trends with Ryan Meres
RESTalk
“Data is the most valuable asset in the world.” - Brittany Kaiser Housing trends have significant importance to the RESNET community. In addition to tracking progress with RESNET HERS Ratings, the hundreds of data points collected on each home provide insights into the trends in energy efficiency, component selection and electrification. What are some of the latest trends in HERS Rated homes? What value can this data provide to all the stakeholders in RESNET? RESTALK welcomes back RESNET’s Program Director, Ryan Meres, to share with us some insights he has...
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EP115 The New RESNET Embodied Carbon Advisory Committee with Chris Magwood from RMI
RESTalk
“Doing your best in this moment puts you in the best place for the next moment.” -Oprah Winfrey A critical element in the decarbonization of homes is the embodied carbon produced in the construction of homes. As the current RESNET Carbon Index® only covers the carbon produced due to energy used in a home, what do we do next? What type of standards exists to perform this assessment? What are the challenges and roadmap ahead? Recently, the RESNET Board of Directors formally authorized the creation of an effort to explore the development of a residential embodied...
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EP114 Meet the new RESNET Board leaders, Mark Johnson & Cy Kilbourn
RESTalk
“Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality.” -Warren Bennis What are some of the qualities embodied in outstanding board leaders? Someone who has experience in business leadership roles. A person that has a proven track record in developing and executing strategy. Someone who demonstrates a forward-thinking mentality. In today’s podcast, we are joined by two outstanding board leaders, Mark Johnson, Executive VP and Director of Business Development at the International Code Council, and Cy Kilbourn, Vice President of Engineering at Ekotrope. We...
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EP113 Update on RESNET Carbon Index with Philip Fairey and David Goldstein
RESTalk
“The big picture doesn’t just come from distance; it also comes from time.” -Simon Sinek Climate change is becoming an increasing concern. The private sector, individuals as well as state, local and federal governments are seeking to combat climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. As the energy used in all buildings, including homes, is cited as a major contributor to greenhouse gas emissions, how do these entities get an accurate metric on emissions?Is there a way to use this info to address when energy is used in a home?As well as how much home energy...
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EP112 RESNET's 2023 Goals and Priorities with Steve Baden and John Hensley
RESTalk
“The achievements of an organization are the results of the combined effort of each individual. -Vince Lombardi Strong organizations fulfill their mission by periodically reflecting on their goals and priorities. RESNET is no exception having adopted their 2023 Mission, Goals and Priorities by vote of the Board of Directors on October 7, 2022. How are the goals crafted that align with and fulfill the mission? How are priorities and budgets set so these goals are achieved? How is 2023 looking to shape up? John Hensley, President of the RESNET Board of Directors, and Steve Baden, RESNET...
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EP111 The Best of RESTalk 2022 with Bill Spohn
RESTalk
Without reflection, we go blindly on our way, creating more unintended consequences, and failing to achieve anything useful. - Margaret J. Wheatley 23 episodes, 23 topics and 34 different guests. We covered a lot of ground in the RESTalk podcast in 2022, now going into our 5th year of episodes. (Over 12 hours of conversations about the world of RESNET!) We hope we stimulated your thinking and moved you into action in this often-complex world of home energy ratings. If you’d like to dig a little deeper into the topics covered in these episodes, see the list mentioned in each section...
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EP110 The State of RESNET Quality Assurance 2022 with Laurel Elam, Billy Giblin, and Scott Doyle
RESTalk
I remind myself every morning:Nothing I say this day will teach me anything. So, if I’m going to learn, I must do it by listening. Larry King Change is a constant. Gathering feedback, reviewing changes and trends and acting upon the results is critical to maintaining a successful business, organization or system. As we look back on 2022, and look froward into the coming years, what type of changes are happening at RESNET with regard to QA? We welcome back RESNET’s multifaceted QA Team - Laurel Elam, Billy Giblin, and Scott Doyle for an...
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EP109 The Pretty Good House with Emily Mottram
RESTalk
Those that educate the market, own the market. Emily Mottram We’ve all heard of advanced housing concepts that require little net energy to operate. Architects, builders, and suppliers in the residential construction industry often get together at conferences and locally and sometimes birth new concepts while challenging others. What kind of ideas develop when you ignite their passions, crowd source ideas, and marinate for a few years? What if you aspire to build a Pretty Good House? What does that look like? How do you go about educating others? Joining...
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EP108 Unpacking the ANSI-RESNET-ACCA-ICC 310 HVAC Rating Standard series: Tasks 4&5 Blower Watt Draw and Refrigerant Charge with Jim Bergmann, MeasureQuick
RESTalk
The only source of knowledge is experience. Albert Einstein The message is clear, HVAC equipment is often the largest energy-consuming system in a home. While listeners likely know about blower door and duct leakage tests, what impact do blower Watt draw and refrigerant charge on HVAC energy use? What can we learn from an HVAC expert with so much experience? Today’s podcast continues down the technical trail with the last installment of a three-part series on cracking open the details of the ANSI/RESNET/ACCA/ICC Standard 310. Previous podcasts...
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EP107 Learn more about the RESNET CO2e Index with David Goldstein and John Taylor
RESTalk
Passion provides purpose, but data drives decisions Andy Dunn What does CO2e mean? What are the impacts of time and location on energy use and production? How and why are we morphing from energy as a proxy for emissions? We are joined on today’s podcast by David Goldstein, Energy Co-Director at the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and John Taylor, Deputy Director of The Consortium for Energy Efficiency (CEE) to discuss a new tool that RESNET has underdevelopment: The CO2e Index The RESNET CO2e Rating Index is among the first in the...
info_outline“Science does not know its debt to imagination. “
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
More and more we hear of the impact of carbon on our society and environment.
Recent data says that operational carbon (the carbon that comes from energy, heat, lighting, etc. ) is becoming less of a factor.
Now. attention is now shifting to embodied carbon - the carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions associated with materials and construction processes throughout the whole lifecycle of a building or infrastructure.
Today we are joined by Andy Buccino (Stephens & Company), Mike Browne (Advanced Building Analysis, LLC) and Sara DeVico (Building Efficiency Resources) are all very active in the NE HERS Alliance or NEHERS.
They form the core of the NE HERS Alliance Embodied Carbon Working group which is interested in collaborating with individuals and organizations that can help achieve the following goals:
1) Adaptation of the HERS index software to include embodied carbon in the calculations.
2) Conducting a baseline study for the Northeast.
Additionally, and simultaneously, they seek support from Energy Efficiency programs to help incentivize the market and adopt carbon tracking as a standard practice.
RESNET Certified Home Energy Raters already collect data to produce detailed reports defining Operational Emissions for the HERS Index. Much of the data collected for the HERS Index overlaps with the data needed to calculate Embodied Carbon Emissions.
They have developed a worksheet that outlines the approximately 65 data points already being collected in one of the RESNET Accredited HERS Rater Software Systems that apply to both operational and embodied construction carbon emissions, with a list of additional items that would need to be added for a comprehensive carbon outlook of the built environment.
With some simple software innovations, it is possible to produce an Embodied Construction Carbon calculation as a quantifiable output alongside the operational calculations already being used. Designers and builders can use these calculations to dial in both energy and carbon targets as they select building components for a given project.
You can learn more about and join with the activities of the NEHERS Embodied Carbon Working Group here:
https://www.nehers.org/embodied-carbon
It would be a big help if you sign on the letter of support at that link.
RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.
Learn more at www.RESNET.us
Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]