EP233 Thermal Cameras, AI, and Comfort: HomeBoost’s Big Idea with Selina Tobaccowala (July 2025)
Release Date: 08/29/2025
EP252 The Perfection Trap in the Trades With Eric Kaiser (December 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Quotes from the episode: “Good enough isn’t a fixed point. It’s a moving target shaped by goals, expectations, and consequences.” “Perfection can push us forward, but it can also quietly pull us off track.” “If I delivered what I promised, in the time promised, using the resources promised, that is good enough for me.” “The real skill is knowing when extra effort adds value and when it just adds ego.” In this solo monologue episode, Eric Kaiser explores a deceptively simple question: Can good enough be perfect? Drawing on years of experience in the trades, Eric...
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EP251 Innovation in HVAC: The Quiet Shifts That Matter Most With Bill Spohn (December 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Quotes from the Episode: “Innovation in HVAC isn’t one big breakthrough. It’s a series of quieter shifts that slowly change how we work.” “The future of HVAC depends on the people who measure, verify, and continuously improve.” “Collecting data is getting easier. Interpreting it well is where the real value lives.” “True innovation isn’t about chasing trends. It’s about reducing uncertainty and delivering better outcomes.” “Homes aren’t a collection of parts. They’re systems, and HVAC sits right in the middle of that system.” In this solo episode,...
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EP250 Beyond the Equipment: Reflections on 250 Episodes of HVAC and Building Science with Eric and Bill (December 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Quotes from the Episode: “Good building systems don’t start with equipment—they start with a plan and a thoughtful process.” “Most comfort problems aren’t equipment problems; they’re building problems we haven’t taken the time to understand.” “If even one episode helps someone take the next step in their career, then it’s all been worth it.” Episode 250 of the Building HVAC Science Podcast flips the script. Instead of Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser doing the interviewing, TruTech Tools’ Senior Marketing Manager Ginny Hebert steps into the host seat to reflect on 250...
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EP249 The Hidden Hazards: CO, H₂S and the Tech Behind Modern Gas Detection With Dave Massner from Sensorcon (December 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Episode quotes: “Hydrogen sulfide doesn’t announce itself. It can drift in, hit your mucus membranes, and start causing real harm before you know it’s there.” “You can’t treat sensor response like magic—it’s physics, chemistry, and smart filtering working together to tell you what’s actually happening in the space.” In this episode, Bill & Eric sit down with Dave Massner from Sensorcon, a long-time technical contributor in the world of portable gas detection, to dig into the realities behind CO, H₂S, and O₂ sensing in both HVAC and industrial environments. Bill...
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EP248 Balanced Comfort, Brutal Lessons: Scaling, Losing Half Your Revenue, and Starting Over with AI with Aaron Husak (November 2025)
Building HVAC Science
“Inspect your marketing the way you’d inspect a home—run diagnostics, don’t guess.” – Aaron Husak “Attitude is way more important than aptitude. One bad apple really can infect the whole company.” – Aaron Husak In this episode of the Building HVAC Science podcast, Eric and Bill sit down with long-time friend and contractor-turned-marketing pro, Aaron Husak. Aaron traces his winding path from solar in the mid-2000s to building performance and BPI training, and then to founding Balanced Comfort in Fresno, CA. What started as a small HERS and energy-audit firm bootstrapped its...
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EP247 From CEO to Chief Education Officer: Bill Spohn on Legacy, Leadership & Better HVAC (November 2025)
Building HVAC Science
“Get mad at the problem, not the person. When people feel safe, they’ll actually bring you the real issues.” - Bill Spohn “We’re woven into the fabric of this industry. The industry made me—so in a way, it owns me.” - Bill Spohn “What we have to learn to do, we learn by doing.” - Aristotle In this episode, Eric turns the mic around and interviews his co-host, Bill Spohn, about the evolution of TruTech Tools, his leadership philosophy, and why he’s shifting from “Chief Executive Officer” to “Chief Education Officer.” Bill traces the roots of TruTech back to late...
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EP246 Beyond MERV: The Truth About Smoke, Sensors, and Standards With Sissi Liu (October 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Episode quotes: “Below about 0.4 microns, many low-cost PM sensors are basically guessing—right where wildfire smoke and aerosols live.” — Sissi Liu “Electrostatic filters can look great at first—and then fall off a cliff in smoke. Pressure drop won’t warn you.” — Sissi Liu “Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge.” — Carl Sagan Eric digs into the “fresh air” myth with Sissi Liu, CEO/co-founder of Metalmark Innovations and active ASHRAE committee member. Sissi explains why “outdoor = fresh” is context-dependent—urban...
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EP245 Retrofit the Future: Inside PHIUS’s New Revive Standard with Al Mitchell and Haley Harlow (October 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Eric Kaiser sits down with Haley Harlow and Al Mitchell from PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) to explore Revive 2024, a groundbreaking new retrofit standard focused on thermal resilience and healthier, safer existing buildings. Haley shares her path from Pennsylvania College of Technology to her current role managing building certifications at PHIUS. At the same time, Al recounts his journey from aspiring car engineer to building scientist, drawn to the elegant complexity of whole-building systems. Together, they unpack how Revive differs from traditional PHIUS new-construction standards....
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EP244 Envelope, HVAC, and Humans: Solving the IAQ Puzzle with Brantley May (October 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Quotes by Brantley: “Most moisture problems are a three-way dance—envelope, mechanicals, and the occupants.” “Skim the light, don’t blast it. The right flashlight technique makes the invisible visible.” “If you only understand one piece of the system, you’re solving 1/3 of the problem.” Indoor environmental specialist Brantley May joins the show to unpack how he investigates moisture, mold, and air-quality problems through building forensics. Starting as a mold remediator in his family business, Brantley shifted to assessment work and now runs national...
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EP243 Three Sensors, One Strategy: Making Maintenance Truly Smart With Kevin Weaver from SmartAC (October 2025)
Building HVAC Science
Episode Quotes from Kevin Weaver: “If we can quantify delivered capacity on the air side, we can work our way back to what’s happening on the refrigerant side.” “We don’t have to diagnose everything remotely — we have to be great at saying, ‘there’s a problem,’ and prioritizing action.” “Even the best design can be wrecked at installation. Execution matters.” Chief Engineering Officer Kevin Weaver joins Eric and Bill to go beyond “remote monitoring” and explain how SmartAC is really a loyalty and trade-intelligence...
info_outlineOn this episode of the Building HVAC Science Podcast, Bill Spohn and Eric Kaiser are joined by seasoned tech entrepreneur Selina Tobaccowala, founder of HomeBoost.com, to discuss a new consumer-driven solution that brings energy comfort diagnostics into the modern era. Selina, whose background includes co-founding Evite and serving as President/CTO at SurveyMonkey, now applies her tech and behavioral insights to a space closer to home: energy efficiency and comfort.
Selina shares the inspiration behind HomeBoost, a unique platform that empowers homeowners to scan and diagnose thermal and energy issues in their home using a FLIR thermal camera and guided app. The HomeBoost experience pairs smart tools, a mobile app, and AI plus human auditing to generate actionable home energy assessments — all while remaining accessible and affordable for the average homeowner.
NEWSFLASH: HomeBoost Pro Launched on Oct 8, 2025!
https://www.homeboost.com/pro/
Learn more at this link: https://www.linkedin.com/posts/homeboost_homeenergy-buildingperformance-bpi-activity-7381730191758438400-xW19
The conversation dives into product design, user testing, partnerships with utilities and contractors, and the launch of a pro version that streamlines report generation for BPI-certified energy assessors. The team also explores broader themes, including the cultural value of skilled trades and how education models from Europe could inspire new respect and opportunity for trade careers in the U.S. The episode closes with a hopeful vision of HomeBoost expanding nationally and scaling its impact — one home, one assessment, and one contractor at a time.
“It’s not about selling energy — it’s about helping people use less of it.” – Selina Tobaccowalla
“We had scientific accuracy, but we hadn’t built a product consumers liked — that took iteration.” – Selina
“AI won’t replace a tradesperson. That’s why we need to value skilled trades more — like they do in Germany.” – Selina
HomeBoost: https://www.homeboost.com/
Selina’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/selinat/
This episode was recorded in July 2025.