The Inflation Reduction Act will soon be rolling out financial incentives for more efficient HVAC systems like heat pumps to save energy and improve home comfort for American households. But what happens if these systems are improperly installed? According to a recent analysis by the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy, 70% to 90% of residential HVAC systems have at least one problem with their installation that is wasting energy, whether it’s improper refrigerant charge or airflow. The Department of Energy’s Smart Tools for Efficient HVAC Performance (STEP) Campaign is working to address this issue through widespread adoption of smart diagnostic tools in the HVAC industry. Smart diagnostic tools can help technicians commission new HVAC systems and verify optimal performance. When used in quality installation programs to ensure new HVAC systems are installed without energy-wasting errors, these tools can be the solution to ensuring IRA-backed HVAC systems are delivering the home comfort and energy savings promised.

Learning Objectives:

- Learn about smart diagnostic tools and how they work

- Understand the business value of smart diagnostic tools for HVAC contractors

- Understand how smart diagnostic tools align with the goals of the IRA

- Learn how smart diagnostic tools can be incorporated in quality installation programs

Climate change has caused unprecedented power outages and soaring energy costs, and homeowners are paying the price. As new codes and standards continue to push for efficiency and connectivity, homeowner expectations are evolving too — and Schneider Electric is positioned to play a major role in the transition.

In this webinar, we'll introduce Schneider Home, an all-in-one, grid-to-plug home electrification system that makes it easy to monitor, manage, and maximize energy use in residential homes. By ensuring homes are future-ready for the new energy landscape, we can advance a new energy economy that is sustainable, resilient, and affordable.

Learning Objectives:

1) Learn about the outsized role the residential building sector plays in the push for electrification and decarbonization.

2) Understand how both building codes and customer demand are converging to help drive these energy solutions.

3) Discover what homeowners expect from a modern home are smart technologies that are interconnected and intuitive - Yet the reality today is that these solutions are fragmented.

4) Recognize that Schneider is the only technology provider that can deliver a full grid-to-plug solution with a single digital interface thus fulfilling consumer demand and helping to achieve emerging electrification and decarbonizing goals.  

Aaron Smith, CEO of EEBA, is joined by Adam Robertson, co-founder and principal of Sustainatree Consulting from Calgary, AB Canada. With a background of over 10 years in civil engineering within the construction industry, particularly in wood building products, Adam brings a wealth of expertise. Embodied carbon, a topic gaining traction among builders and developers, encapsulates the totality of greenhouse gas emissions and removals throughout a product's lifecycle. This includes inputs, outputs, raw materials, energy, and more, each with its own carbon footprint. Our aim is to provide a comprehensive, quantified understanding of the climate impacts associated with each product's journey. Stay tuned as we delve deeper into the significance of embodied carbon for builders and its implications moving forward.

With water scarcity concerns rising, we must look at what can be done at saving potable water use. By treating and reusing lightly contaminated greywater at both the residential and commercial level, there is the potential to save millions of gallons of potable water use each year. Decentralized greywater treatment can be implemented into new builds across the United States to start this mission of saving water up to 35% per home. One home alone can save more than 12,000 gallons of potable water usage in one year, giving relief to infrastructure, saving energy for pumping water and reducing consumption. Hydraloop is a patent device that has been installed all over the world, holding NSF 350 certification as well as UL-979 and IAPMO.

4 Learning Objectives:

1.    Understand the types of water in the home.

2.    Learn about technology used to treat lightly contaminated greywater.

3.    Understand implementation of greywater treatment into the home.

4.    Identify potential water savings by getting the consumer involved, ultimately leading to savings in infrastructure, density and energy.

While the building industry continues to move in the direction of Net Zero or Zero Energy Ready Homes, there is still concern by builders, developers, architects, and home buyers that this level of high-performance homes is a goal that is too hard and too costly to achieve for their projects. During this webinar, attendees will be shown how air sealing a tight building envelope achieves Net Zero/Zero Energy Ready housing that is much easier to achieve and more affordable to build – even at a production level. Case studies will be presented, and building envelope air sealing will also be reviewed, including benefits, pain points, and methods used. 

While the building industry continues to move in the direction of Net Zero or Zero Energy Ready Homes, there is still concern by builders, developers, architects, and home buyers that this level of high-performance homes is a goal that is too hard and too costly to achieve for their projects. During this webinar, attendees will be shown how air sealing a tight building envelope achieves Net Zero/Zero Energy Ready housing that is much easier to achieve and more affordable to build – even at a production level. Case studies will be presented, and building envelope air sealing will also be reviewed, including benefits, pain points, and methods used. 

Learning Objectives:

1. The perceived challenges of Net Zero homes around achievability and affordability

2. How air sealing a tight envelope makes Net Zero more achievable and affordable

3. Understand the different methods of air sealing, along with their benefits, challenges and cost implications

4. Learn of new, innovative methods for air sealing

Radon is the second leading cause of lung cancer in the United States. AprilAire’s Get Radon on Your Radar course is a 30-minute learning seminar designed to help people understand more about radon, a radioactive gas commonly found indoors at dangerous levels.

The program is appropriate for anyone who wants to learn more about radon and about how to test for it and fix problems.

This program will teach participants to:

A home today must not only be high performing, resilient and built using sustainable methods, the home must provide the individuals living within it a healthy environment. There are many factors that contribute to the overall healthy environment we provide our homeowners, but one of the most critical is the quality of the air they breathe. This session will focus on the efficiency and indoor air quality advantages of balanced ventilation systems with recovery (HRVs/ERVs) and how indoor air quality monitoring and automation will shape the future.

Learning Objectives:
Why today’s homes and lifestyles are more problematic for indoor air quality;
How HRVs/ERVs work and why they're so efficient;
Proper HRV/ERV selection and installation;
How indoor air quality monitoring and automation will shape the future.

The consumer mindset around what is desired in a home is constantly evolving. Review the latest survey insights from homeowners and single-family renters from around the country. Dive deep into energy awareness, motives, and the current mindset of home occupants. Get a glimpse into consumers' understanding of different energy-efficient programs and terminology and future plans for living more sustainably. Data, design, and marketing messages are paired with real-world examples of how to apply this to the future of homes and communities.

Learning Objectives:

1. Discover consumers' awareness and understanding of environmental factors and terminology;

2. Utilize consumer survey results to adjust your home designs and/or marketing messages;

3. Understand the latest consumer mindset on healthy homes;

4. Gain an understanding of the top motivators for consumers regarding health, wellness, and energy efficiency as they pertain to the home.

States and local governments around the county have set ambitious climate goals that center net zero newly constructed buildings as a key component to meeting these goals. Two new models are now available to help jurisdictions achieve their climate goals: New York State Stretch Energy Code (NYStretch) and the Zero Energy Appendix in the 2021 IECC. The nearly finalized NYStretch development process has taken the recent IECC credits approach to the next level. This credit system provides flexibility and refocuses on decarbonization and resilience in buildings as the objective. The development of the NYStretch took a unique approach to cost analysis considering that electrifying now is cheaper than retrofit and future fuel projections are highly variable. The Zero Energy Homes (ZEH) Appendix to the IECC provides an off the shelf opportunity for both commercial and residential new construction. Additionally, the Inflation reduction Act will provide $670 million in aid for local adoption of the ZEH Appendix. Since the ZEH Appendix is published as part of the model IECC, it can be easily modified by adopting states and jurisdictions to better meet local climate goals, or by incentive programs or builders to meet their market demands. NBI is currently developing a guide to aid jurisdictions and program implementers in this process.