RESTalk
"Innovation is taking two things that exist and putting them together in a new way." — Tom Freston In this episode of the RESTalk podcast, Bill Spohn sits down with Jason Barlow, former President & CEO of Habitat for Humanity Central Arizona, to discuss a groundbreaking achievement in homebuilding—the first 3D-printed concrete home in Arizona. Jason shares how this innovative project, born from a collaboration with ASU graduates and a German scaffolding company, PERI, pushed the boundaries of affordable housing construction. From overcoming extreme heat challenges to designing...
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"Leadership and learning are indispensable to each other." – John F. Kennedy In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes the 2025 Emerging Leadership Council (ELC) fellows—Jennifer Goldberg, Dorian Gothard, and Alex Haworth—for an insightful discussion on their career journeys, experiences at the RESNET conference, and their visions for the future of energy efficiency and building science. Each fellow shares how they entered the industry, what drew them to the ELC program, and how they apply their knowledge professionally and personally. The conversation covers key...
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“Excellence is never an accident. It results from high intention, sincere effort, intelligent direction, skillful execution, and the vision to see obstacles as opportunities." – Aristotle (adapted interpretation) In this insightful episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn interviews three key members of RESNET's team.: Ryan Moore, Jordi Kimbrough in Quality Assurance, and Michael Matthews in Programs. Each brings a unique background and perspective to their roles, strengthening RESNET’s mission to ensure high-quality standards in energy-efficient home ratings. Ryan Moore, the Quality...
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Networking is not about just connecting people. It’s about connecting people with ideas and opportunities -Michele Jennae In this episode of RESTalk, Bill Spohn chats with Clara Hedrick, Lead Events Coordinator for RESNET®, to discuss the upcoming 2025 RESNET® Conference. Clara shares the event details, which is set to take place from January 26-29, 2025, in Tempe, Arizona. Attendees can look forward to engaging sessions, dynamic networking opportunities, and exciting receptions hosted by sponsors like NAIMA and Knauf. Clara highlights the innovative offerings this year,...
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"The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams." – Eleanor Roosevelt Welcome to a special episode of RESTalk: "Best of RESTalk 2024"! This year has been transformative for RESNET® and the residential energy efficiency industry. From setting bold goals to launching innovative tools and forming impactful collaborations, 2024 has redefined what's possible in energy efficiency and sustainability. In this episode, we revisit the year's most insightful and impactful moments, featuring highlights from the conversations that shaped the industry. Join us as we...
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Without continual growth and progress, such words as improvement, achievement, and success have no meaning. – Benjamin Franklin In this episode of RESTalk, Bill Spohn speaks with three guests to discuss the RESNET® QA app, an innovative tool designed to streamline the quality assurance process for home energy ratings. Bill is joined by Billy Giblin, RESNET®’s quality assurance field specialist, Kelvin Abong and Kiro Bondarev from The Fourth Dimension (4D), RESNET®'s technology partner. Together, they explore the app’s journey from ideation to execution, its role in harmonizing...
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Knowledge is of no value unless you put it into practice. Anton Chekhov In this episode of the RESTalk podcast, host Bill Spohn talks with Mark Johnson from the International Code Council (ICC) and Steve Baden from RESNET® about a new collaboration to enhance energy code compliance. They discuss the growing complexities of energy codes, particularly the challenge of ensuring compliance amid increasing technical and regulatory demands. To address this, ICC and RESNET® are introducing a program to involve HERS raters as third-party verifiers, providing quality assurance and supporting...
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Quality is never an accident; it is always the result of intelligent effort. John Ruskin In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn is joined by Scott Doyle and Ryan Meres from RESNET® to discuss their ambitious goal of achieving one million ratings annually by 2028. The conversation begins with an overview of RESNET®'s significant progress, which recorded 360,000 ratings in 2023—a 136% increase since 2013. The discussion highlights the importance of quality assurance in maintaining the credibility of the HERS rating system, particularly as RESNET® scales its operations and...
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The greatest value of a picture is when it forces us to notice what we never expected to see. John Tukey In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes his most frequent guest, RESNET staff member, Ryan Meres, to discuss the latest trends in the 2024 edition of the HERS-rated homes. This report, created as an initiative of the RESNET Suppliers Advisory Board, highlights data trends and analysis in the residential construction market. The report shows a consistent year-over-year increase in HERS ratings, with the total number last year reaching 362,000, and projections for...
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Great things in business are never done by one person. They’re done by a team of people. Steve Jobs Bill Spohn welcomes RESNET staff member Clara Hedrick to discuss the upcoming RESNET 2025 conference. Clara, the lead events coordinator for RESNET, shares her excitement about the event and details her responsibilities. The conference is scheduled for January 27-30, 2025, in Tempe, Arizona, a location praised for its accessibility, nightlife, and natural beauty. Clara highlights the venue, Tempe Mission Palms, chosen for its amenities and feedback from previous events. With a...
info_outline“It is a capital mistake to theorize before one has the data.”
Arthur Conan Doyle
Details make the difference to builders and their customers, really to the whole new home construction industry.
Trends emerge when one studies HERS rating details over a large national dataset and over time.
What kind of theories can we draw from data in “Trends in HERS Rated Homes, 2022”?
RESNET’s Program Director Ryan Meres joins us to “crunch the numbers” in HERS rating trends for 2021. The data is compiled from the rating providers' data files.
We learn about trends in index scores and the basic characteristics of HERS-rated homes, for example, the number of bedrooms, conditioned floor area, annual energy costs, and energy savings.
The report also reveals summary data on foundation types, insulation, window U-Value and SHGC, envelope air leakage rates, ventilation types, heating, cooling, and water heating equipment, and the use of Solar PV on HERS rated homes.
We get an overview of climate zone and regional data, including states and cities that lead the pack in the number of HERS-rated homes. Ryan also shares some data highlights, as well as the percentage of new homes in the state that receive ratings, noting some of the possible reasons for the way the data plays out.
Members of the RESNET Suppliers Advisory Board get the first look at the report and can benefit from custom reports. Learn more about joining the SAB here: www.resnet.us/about/sab/
Look for an announcement in the RESNET newsletter regarding the final report “Trends in HERS Rated Homes, 2022 which will be published in Mid-June 2022.
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Learn more at www.RESNET.us
Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]