EP146 Beyond the Score: Market Signals, QA, and the Future of RESNET® with Steve Baden (October 2025)
Release Date: 11/10/2025
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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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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...
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EP140 The Future of QA at RESNET®: Automation, Oversight, and ENERGY STAR Updates with Scott Doyle
RESTalk
"You can’t manage what you can’t measure." — Peter Drucker In this insightful episode of RESTalk, host Bill Spohn welcomes Scott Doyle, RESNET’s Managing Director of Quality Assurance (QA), for a comprehensive update on what’s ahead in the world of RESNET QA®. Scott unpacks the most significant changes hitting the registry, Chapter 9 standards, and the QA app—all designed to modernize, streamline, and strengthen the QA process. The conversation delves into how these updates will affect HERS® raters and providers, with a major focus on the ENERGY STAR QA/QC program. Scott...
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EP139 Concrete Innovations: The Story of Arizona’s First 3D-Printed Home with Jason Barlow
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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EP138 From Learning to Leading: How the ELC Fellows Are Transforming the Industry with Jennifer Goldberg, Dorian Gothard and Alex Haworth
RESTalk
"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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Inside RESNET®: Quality Assurance, Collaboration , and Impact with Ryan Moore, Jordi Kimbrough, and Michael Matthews
RESTalk
“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...
info_outlineQUOTES 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 Bankers Association and state energy offices to create a uniform “MPG for homes.” The payoff: 4.8 million HERS®-rated homes to date and 420k+ in the last year, with large production builders using the RESNET® HERS® score to compete on quality in down markets.
Baden credits stepwise, consensus standards (HERS → ANSI©/RESNET® 301), rigorous QA, and healthy software competition for scaling with credibility. He highlights investments in the registry, virtual QA, and an “emerging leaders” pipeline to keep talent and ideas flowing. Looking ahead, he frames RESNET®’s million-ratings-per-year goal by 2028 against today’s affordability crunch: performance gains must be paired with cost sensitivity, or we lock people out of housing.
As Baden steps into a new chapter, he leaves a simple message behind: value the people, keep the partnerships strong, and keep RESNET moving forward.
Steve’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/steve-baden-54080212/
To the RESNET® community, we hear you and want to engage. Learn more at www.RESNET.us. For more info on this topic, contact RESNET at INFO@RESNET.US