EP147 Best of 2025: The Year RESNET® Hit Another Gear (December 2025)
Release Date: 12/15/2025
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...
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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...
info_outlineIn 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 RESNET® founder Steve Baden, 2025 revealed an industry that’s both maturing and reinventing itself. The year’s strongest clips capture this mix of evolution and momentum: real-time QA replacing annual reports, financing that rewards low-carbon construction, programs nurturing new talent, and innovative housing models—from 3D-printed concrete to all-electric Habitat townhomes—delivering measurable results for families.
Whether you're a rater, builder, program manager, lender, policymaker, or simply someone who cares about the future of housing, this episode connects the dots on where RESNET® is headed—and why the next few years will be pivotal for quality, credibility, and impact.
Major Themes Covered
1. QA as the Backbone: Apps, Automation & Trust
Episodes: EP137, EP140, EP144, EP146
How RESNET® is modernizing QA with real-time data, tech upgrades, stronger staffing, and clearer processes—protecting the credibility of HERS® as volumes scale.
2. Market Signals, Money & Scaling HERS®
Episodes: EP136, EP138, EP142, EP145, EP146
Why HERS® grows fastest where incentives and financing tools align—and how products like C-PACE and tax credits are turning performance into business value.
3. The People Pipeline: Conferences, Emerging Leaders & New Roles
Episodes: EP136, EP137, EP138, EP146
The next generation of raters, analysts, and QA specialists entering the field, and how programs like Emerging Leaders keep the talent pipeline strong.
4. High-Performance, Affordable & Innovative Housing in Practice
Episodes: EP139, EP141, EP143, EP145, EP146
Real projects—3D-printed homes, ERV best practices, net-zero-ready Habitat homes—showing that innovation and affordability can move together.
Featured Guests (Across 2025 Episodes)
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Scott Doyle – Managing Director of QA, RESNET®
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Laurel Elam – Senior Director, RESNET®
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Steve Baden – Executive Director & RESNET® Founder
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Tricia Baker – Senior VP of Strategy & Impact, PACE Equity
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Carl Pier – In-house Engineer & HERS® Modeler, PACE Equity
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Emerging Leaders & Fellows – RESNET® ELC participants
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Raters, Builders & Habitat Teams from EP139, EP143, and others
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