Libsyn Directory

EP117 Learning more about the HERS Index and Texas House Bill 3215 with James Rodriguez and Ned Munoz

Release Date: 06/12/2023

EP150 Women Building the Future: Voices from the RESNET® Community (March 2026)

RESTalk

QUOTES from the episode: “You absolutely belong here. There are many paths into this industry, and there’s room for everyone to thrive.” - Cindy Zeis “Patience, facts, and science always win the day.” - Sharla Riead “The future of women in building science is unlimited.” - Nancy St. Hilaire In this milestone 150th episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn marks Women’s History Month by highlighting the voices of women from across the RESNET® community. Through a series of short conversations, industry leaders share how they entered the world of building...

EP149 Inside the 2026 RESNET® Conference: The Next Era of HERS® (January 2026)

RESTalk

QUOTES from the episode: “The RESNET® Conference is where experience meets fresh perspective, and that’s where the real progress happens.” “This isn’t just another conference. It’s about shaping the next era of the HERS© industry.” “If you want to understand where the industry is headed, this is where the conversations are happening.” In this episode of RESTalk, Bill Spohn sits down with Noah Kibbe from RESNET® to preview the 2026 RESNET® Conference coming to San Antonio’s Riverwalk. Noah shares what goes into planning the event, from selecting the location and shaping...

EP148 A New Chapter for RESNET: A Conversation with Executive Director Shelby Gatlin (January 2026)

RESTalk

QUOTES from the episode: “What raters do makes the difference. Supporting them protects the credibility of the entire ecosystem.” “Energy and water performance are not abstract. They are measurable, verifiable, and they matter to families.” “My role is to protect what works, listen carefully, and help RESNET adapt without losing what makes it special.” In the first RESTalk episode of 2026, Bill Spohn welcomes Shelby Gatlin, the new Executive Director of RESNET©, for a thoughtful conversation about leadership, credibility, and the future of home energy ratings. Shelby shares her...

EP147 Best of 2025: The Year RESNET® Hit Another Gear (December 2025)

RESTalk

In this special “Best of RESTALK 2025” episode, host Bill Spohn looks back at the ideas and conversations that defined the year across the RESNET® ecosystem. Rather than a simple highlight reel, this episode weaves four major themes that kept surfacing—from sweeping QA modernization efforts to the market forces accelerating HERS adoption to the emerging leaders reshaping the industry to the on-the-ground projects proving that high performance and affordability can coexist. Across conversations with QA directors, software leaders, conference fellows, builders, lenders, and...

EP146 Beyond the Score: Market Signals, QA, and the Future of RESNET® with Steve Baden (October 2025)

RESTalk

QUOTES FROM STEVE: “The challenge isn’t how far we can push efficiency—but how affordable we can make it.” “Give builders a clear target and the market will respond.” “It’s been a hell of a ride—thanks for the memories. Now it’s your turn to take it to the next level.” Steve Baden tells the story of RESNET®’s early days—from Alaska’s energy-code back-and-forth to a market-based framework that encouraged builders with targets rather than rules. That experiment birthed home energy ratings, a national standard, and eventually RESNET® itself—formed with the Mortgage...

EP145 Turning Efficiency into Equity: Inside the C-PACE Model with PACE Equity with Tricia Baker and Karl Peer (October 2025)

RESTalk

QUOTES: “We created the CIRRUS Low Carbon program to speak to developers’ pocketbooks — build a better building, and you get a better rate.” — Tricia Baker “Early design is peace of mind — it saves you a buck or two and a lot of headaches later.” — Karl Peer In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn is joined by Tricia Baker, Senior Vice President of Strategy and Impact at PACE Equity, and Karl Peer, an in-house engineer with deep experience in HERS ratings and energy modeling. Together, they unpack the power of C-PACE (Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy) financing...

EP144 From Checklists to Real-Time Data: The QA Evolution at RESNET🄬 With Laurel Elam and Scott Doyle (September 2025)

RESTalk

EP144 From Checklists to Real-Time Data: The QA Evolution at RESNET🄬 With Scott Doyle and Laurel Elam (September 2025) “If you’re a professional and the rules of your profession change, you can’t afford not to keep up.” — Scott Doyle In this episode of the RESTalk podcast, host Bill Spohn sits down with two long-time leaders at RESNET🄬: Laurel Elam, Senior Director of Business and Standards Development, and Scott Doyle, Managing Director of Quality Assurance. Together, they unpack the evolution of quality assurance within RESNET🄬, culminating in the...

EP143 Sweat Equity Meets Smart Energy: Inside a Habitat Zero Energy Ready Build with Kevin L. Smith (July 2025)

RESTalk

“When you're in construction, you're just building sticks and bricks—until you understand how a house actually performs.” – Kevin Smith In this episode of RESTalk, Bill sits down with Kevin L. Smith, CEO of Habitat for Humanity of New Castle County, to explore a groundbreaking project: the Bennett Point Phase 1 homes, which earned both ENERGY STAR and DOE Zero Energy Ready Home certifications. Kevin shares how his team collaborated with Energize Delaware and New Ecology to build high-performance, all-electric townhomes aimed at long-term affordability and health for...

EP142 Home Efficiency by the Numbers: Highlights from the 2025 RESNET® Report with Ryan Meres (June 2025)

RESTalk

“RESNET members are now touching about a third of all new single-family homes. That’s a big number — and it’s only growing.” -Ryan Meres In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes back Ryan Meres, Programs Director at RESNET®, to explore the key insights from the 2025 HERS® Rated Homes Data Trends Report. This sixth annual edition reveals both expected and surprising patterns in how homebuilders, energy raters, and policymakers are driving efficiency across the U.S. housing market. With over 436,000 homes HERS rated in the past year, the report reflects RESNET®’s...

EP141 Ventilation, Codes & Comfort: What Builders Need to Know Now with Patrick Nielsen

RESTalk

"As homes get tighter, ventilation isn't optional—it's essential." — Patrick Nielsen In this episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn sits down with Patrick Nielsen, Global Technical Products Manager at Broan-NuTone, to discuss the evolving world of home ventilation. With over two decades of experience, Patrick walks us through the major drivers shaping residential ventilation practices today—from tighter building envelopes to the growing emphasis on indoor air quality and energy efficiency. Patrick explains the importance of dwelling unit ventilation (DUV), spot vs. whole-house...

More Episodes

“The trend is your friend.”

-Mark Zweig

With Texas as the leading state in new home starts, we can expect some housing trends first to arise there.

Why was House Bill 3215 developed and enacted in Texas?

What entities and organizations participated in developing the language in the bill?

How will this impact the HERS industry in Texas and elsewhere?

Joining us on today’s podcast is Ned Munoz, V.P. of Regulatory Affairs and General Counsel at Texas Association of Builders, and James Rodriguez, Executive Vice President at Fox Energy Specialists.

James shares with us the desire to set up a hybrid approach- that is, to introduce a second universal pathway of state energy compliance that is performance-based.

Which means Texas now recognizes the Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Index scores as a standalone compliance pathway which untangles it from the current ICC/IRC versions of the energy rating index (ERI) pathway.

Ned explains how the Texas Association of Builders recognizes the impact that mandated energy codes have on housing affordability while still encouraging energy-efficient home building and how these concepts influenced the wording of the bill.

It's important to note that the State of Texas overlay energy code for single-family new construction was not updated or changed by the bill.

Below are the HERS Index pathway thresholds remaining in effect for 10 years.

TIMELINE Climate Zone 2 HERS Index Climate Zone 3 HERS Index

09/1/19 to 08/31/22 63 63

09/1/22 to 08/31/25 59 59

09/1/25 to 08/31/28 57 57

09/1/28 to 09/01/31 55 55

Note: 2018 IECC mandatory items and building envelope thresholds must be upheld as part of these HERS scores.

LINKS:

2 articles on the topic:
https://www.resnet.us/builders/hb3215/

https://www.foxenergyspecialists.com/news/texas-house-bill-hb-3215-to-take-effect-on-september-1st

James Rodriguez on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-rodriguez-0523001/