RESTalk
"Advocacy is the mirror reflecting the voices of the community into the corridors of power." - Unknown In today’s podcast we cover the topic of advocacy and public policy in the context of the residential energy sector learning from our guests Robert Pegues, General Manager of Technical Delivery at US Ecologic, and RESNET board member, and Carl Chidlow, a lobbyist representing RESNET. Robert shares his background in the sector, highlighting his experience at last year’s policy forum and his involvement with regional and national energy councils. Carl provides insights into RESNET's efforts...
info_outline EP126 From Audits to Advocacy: Trailblazing Women in Energy Efficiency with Sharla Riead and Emelie Cuppernell-GlitchRESTalk
"I never dreamed about success. I worked for it." - Estée Lauder We welcome Sharla Riead, Lead Instructor at Energy Smart Institute and Emelie Cuppernell Glitch, VP Programs at Performance Systems Development to focusing on the recognition of women in the HERS (Home Energy Rating System) rating industry. Sharla shares her extensive background, beginning with founding an energy auditing company in 1979, which evolved into a HERS rating company, and subsequently into roles in quality assurance and training within the industry. She emphasizes her company's impact and the shift she has...
info_outline EP125 QA in Your Pocket How a Mobile App is Empowering RESNET HERS Ratings with Cassandra Wright, Leo Jansen and Billy GiblinRESTalk
The best way to predict your future is to create it. - Abraham Lincoln Data is king, they say. How can the RESNET Quality Assurance (QA) app's data insights revolutionize how we rate energy-efficient homes? Imagine a world where getting your home energy rating was made easier by using a smartphone app. Is that the future the RESNET QA app promises? Our trio of guests, Quality Assurance Designees (QADs) Cassandra Wright from Strand Systems and Leo Jansen from Energy Efficient Homes Midwest, and RESNET Quality Assurance Field Specialist Billy Giblin, help us to...
info_outline EP124 RESNET’s audacious goal for 2028 and supporting initiatives with Steve Baden and Mark JohnsonRESTalk
Time is neutral and does not change things. With courage and initiative, leaders change things. - Jesse Jackson The advent of a new year naturally brings broader thinking, more introspection, and the creation of future goals. What future goal has RESNET’s board recently adopted? What near-term initiatives create the path to that goal? How confident is RESNET in meeting that goal? What is “embodied passion index?” In 2024’s inaugural episode of RESTALK, Steve Baden and Mark Johnson discuss RESNET’s ambitious goal of achieving one million ratings by the end of 2028. This...
info_outline EP123 The Best of RESTalk 2023 with Bill SpohnRESTalk
That’s the funny thing about time. It is only in looking back that it’s easy to connect the dots. To see exactly why everything needed to happen the way that it did. - Rebecca Serle 11 episodes, 11 topics, 17 different guests and over 5 hours of RES-Talking in 2023! We covered a lot of ground in the RESTalk podcast in 2023, now going into our 6th year of episodes. We hope we stimulated your thinking and moved you into action in this ever-evolving world of home energy ratings and peripheral topics. Listen in to this fast-paced recap of the year in RESTalk, maybe you missed a...
info_outline EP122 Best Practices in Construction Technology Education with Michael Lee, Texarkana CollegeRESTalk
Whatever good things we build end up building us. -Jim Rohn In today’s episode we chat with Michael Lee coordinator of the Construction Technology Program at Texarkana College in Texarkana, TX. We learn of his back story which led him to this role. He thoughtfully describes the approach he has taken to build the construction technology department at Texarkana College. Michael describes the students that come through the program, where they come from, what they’re taught, and where they end up working. He spends extra effort in enriching his instruction by...
info_outline EP121 Back Together and Stronger, the RESNET 2023 Conference with Clara Hedrick & Emma BennettRESTalk
Coming together is a beginning, keeping together is progress; working together is success. -Edward Everett Hale On today’s podcast we welcome Clara Hedrick and Emma Bennett to give us up to date and inside information about the Upcoming RESNET conference: Nov 15-17, 2023 in San Diego, CA. Since the last face to face conference was in 2020, and after virtual conferences in 2021 and 2022, Emma shares what will be the same and what will be different as compared to past conferences. We also over a few of the specific events that attendees can look forward to as well as recommend...
info_outline EP120 Energy Efficient Homebuilding at Scale with Robert Broad of AMH DevelopmentRESTalk
Sustainability is no longer about doing less harm. It’s about doing more good. -Jochen Zeitz In this episode of the RESTalk podcast we are joined by Robert Broad, Senior Vice President of Development at AMH (NYSE: AMH), where he oversees new home and community development operations - including land acquisition, land development, purchasing, product development, and construction. Robert shares with us AMH’s focus on a desire to create more energy efficient homes using scalable techniques and measurable goals. During this conversation we learn of some new and...
info_outline EP119 RESNET appoints a new ESG Advisory Group with Matthew Cooper, PEGRESTalk
Sustainable development is the pathway to the future we want for all. It is a framework to generate economic growth, achieve social justice, exercise environmental stewardship and strengthen governance. -Ban Ki-moon ESG has become an integral factor in the financial world. The Structured Finance Association estimates that $11.6 trillion, or $1 of every $4 invested in the United States, was invested under ESG investment strategies. RESNET® HERS® Ratings are increasingly becoming the metric for Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) reporting on the energy performance...
info_outline EP118 Santa Fe's Habitat for Humanity Homes achieve HERS-ZERO scores with Rob Lochner and David BestRESTalk
“Example is not the main thing in influencing others. It is the only thing.” -Albert Schweitzer Habitat for Humanity’s mission is to help families build and improve places to call home. In the process developing strong and stable communities with affordable housing. Often household utility costs make affordability a challenge. What factors need to fall into place to address this challenge of affordability? How are cozy, comfortable, attractive homes that use no net energy being built in the Habit for Humanity model? Join us as Rob Lochner, Construction Director at Habit for...
info_outline“Anytime we step boldly to make changes, we take a chance that we might fail.
But the only way to get better is to try.“
-Joyce Meyer
How do you define sustainable home building?
What will sustainable home building look like in 2022?
Where can you get a handle on data to help drive your decisions in this area?
What are the bold steps you can take?
RESTALK is pleased to welcome back Sara Gutterman, co-founder and CEO of Green Builder Media to give us insights about the state of sustainable building for 2022.
Sara highlights how over nearly two years, the pandemic has acted like a surprise jolt upon the building industry. She reflects on how this has changed the landscape.
She helps us understand that to create a meaningful impact on runaway Climate Change, we need to set our sights on the full-scale decarbonization of our economy, reaching net zero emissions across all sectors as boldly and quickly as possible.
She highlights this “perfect storm” of limited housing inventory, high material costs and labor shortages which have pushed competent building companies into high demand.
Sara also notes analysts expect the storm to continue in 2022—at first. Economic experts are forecasting early in the year growth in single-family home construction, sales and pricing at a pace that is about 40 percent to 50 percent the levels seen in 2021.
Look toward Green Builder Media’s COGNITION smart data (www.greenbuildermedia.com/cognition-smart-data) for more depth of detail on the forecasts we discuss.
Sara has also published a blog post on this topic that can be found here:
https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/blog/the-state-of-sustainable-building-2022
While the Sustainability Symposium 2022: Roadmap to Decarbonization happened last month, you can still learn more at the comprehensive Housing2.0 Program found here:
https://www.greenbuildermedia.com/housing-2.0
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]