RESTalk

- Modified from John "Hannibal" Smith from the A-Team TV Series

Open communication.Creative solutions.Engaged dialog.

These are just a few of the qualities embodied by RESNET's QA team of Laurel Elam, Scott Doyle and Billy Giblin.

Or the A-Team as they are called by colleagues.

In this podcast, we get an interactive overview of the QA team's activities over the past year.

Scott explains some new pilot programs which incentivize quality assurance efforts while Laurel covers the partnerships with RESNET providers engaged in utility programs.

Laurel gives insight into policy improvements which stand to reduce the time burden of certain quality assurance activities while Scott discusses the evolution of Quality Assurance Designee (QAD) training.

We also hear where the infield visits have taken Billy, across climate zones and learn of his choices for the best places to eat!

Billy and Scott wrap up the conversation by covering some of the valuable feedback received from providers during both face to face visits and online review meetings.

You can reach the QA team by email:

[email protected] [email protected] [email protected]

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

When you have a system, you kind of get in a routine of what's important. And then you spend a lot more time on thinking of things that would make it better.

-Nick Saban

Structured thinking.

Systems thinking.

Our guest today (and his company) embody systems thinking at a very high level.

Panelization in construction is a very structured, systematic topic. If you are not familiar with panelized construction, you soon will be.

When you dig into it, panelized construction has its roots in the 1950s. In 2014, the top 20 US builders used panelization in roughly 40% of their builds. Yet, overall, modular, precut and panelized construction amounted to only 3.6% of the market in 2016.

Anthony Grisolia, Managing Director Innovation at IBACOS, joins us to discuss the history, background, process and role of the HERS rater in the world of panelized construction.

Anthony shares with us his technical and market understanding of panelization and its relationship to costs, labor and BIM (Building Information Modeling).

He discussed the implications for HERS raters across the range of panelization modes with regard to topics like: where the inspection process takes place, as some of the traditional inspections can be done in the manufacturing plant and duct and air tightness testing which still need to be completed on building site.

You can reach Anthony by sending an email to his attention at [email protected]

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

Life can only be understood backwards; but it must be lived forwards.

-Soren Kierkegaard

If anyone could write a book for understanding life in the housing market, it's Jeff Bentley. His understanding comes from many years of living the experience forwards, in a variety of roles.

Carpenter, builder, rater and realtor, this self-identified kid in the classroom that always asked why, Jeff Bentley has developed a keen understanding of what goes into making a high-performance home and which aspects uniquely interest prospective buyers.

Jeff is a 4th generation home builder turned realtor who has personally supervised the construction of over 4,000 homes in the Dallas-Fort Worth market. He acutely understands that buyers buy on emotion, yet they justify the costs (money and time) with logic.

Jeff has assisted clients in designing and building high performance, energy efficient homes. Including the first LEED Gold home in Frisco, TX.

He shares with us his five rules: take care of the customer, train continuously, top down commitment, verify the work, be willing to evolve.

In his writings, he suggests that every superintendent and operations person should be energy rater certified, so that energy raters wouldn't need to be the "kW police". He believes these concepts, many of which are embodied in RESNET standards, have changed homebuilding forever.

He stresses the importance of air sealing and accountability of the trades yielding work properly completed the first time and the concept that quality is still free!

His experience and capabilities guide his clients in selecting architects, home builders, lots, lenders and subcontractors or suppliers. His clients enjoy a high-performance home while the maximizing the benefits of energy tax credits, utility rebates and supplier discounts. Jeff shares what he has learned within his company and at national appraisers' conferences. You can reach out to Jeff at [email protected]

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

The success of a production depends on the attention paid to detail.

-David O. Selznick

Building any new home requires tremendous attention to detail.

And if you are looking for high performance features, the details skyrocket.

The details of what a customer wants, what materials and designs are available and proven are super critical for proper integration into a sometimes unique, yet always complex system.

If only there were a way to collect and evaluate these details in advance to improve performance, lower cost and shorten build times.

Well… there is.

Multi-award-winning builder, Jay Epstein joins us to discuss Building Information Modeling (BIM) systems and how they can integrate and connect all the building plans across the trades.

Across his 30+ year career as a builder in Virginia, Jay always strives to appeal to a buyer's senses, while searching for simplicity of the build.

He shares key insights like understanding a new home buyer's perspective by reflecting on the house they are coming from and how using BIM for a high-performance home can achieve cost neutrality (or better) than market rate "equivalent" homes. He serves as the interpreter between technical numbers and a customer's expectations.

We also get to take a virtual walk through some of the communities that he has built and is building. The road to these results is paved with research and learning from subcontractors and consultants, like his HERS raters.

Jay can be reached at [email protected] and you can see some of his latest work at www.WFSolarHomes.com – the first Zero Net Energy Ready community in Virginia.

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

ICC and RESNET Collaborate to Increase Energy Code Compliance and Home Energy Efficiency

When you need to innovate, you need collaboration.

- Marissa Mayer

Mark Johnson, Executive VP and Director of Business Development for the International Code Council (ICC) joins RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden to review their joint goals and activities associated with increasing energy code compliance which drives towards the outcome of increasing residential energy efficiency.

They review activities that are designed to build trust and creditability with code officials while helping to relieve some of the officials ever increasing work load, by allowing officials to focus on the public safety aspects as an ICC Certified HERS Rater focusses on the energy and building science aspects.

HERS Raters proudly bring their attributes of training and certification through RESNET's Gold Standard which provides oversight as a national third-party quality assurance process.

Additionally, transparency is delivered through the RESNET National Buildings Registry which will soon include a code official portal for immediate code document review.

So far, 200 HERS Raters have trained and been certified by ICC for energy code plans review and inspection. Raters that attend the National conference have a unique opportunity to train and be tested in a pre-conference session. This certification can easily add to their rating business' "product line".

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

It's true: teamwork makes the dream work.

-Natalya Neidhart

It used to be that designing and building a Net Zero home was a far-fetched idea.

Now, there are several Net Zero competitions with utilities, raters, builders and home owners working together to raise public awareness of this accelerating trend showcasing the benefits of building beyond code requirements.

Join us to hear Mike Loughlin program manager with the utility, Eversource, and Joe Rando, a senior engineering assistant and HERS rater with GDS Associates, describe the Drive to Net Zero Competition which is starting into its third year in New Hampshire.

We learn about background and details of the competition and hear about the 2018 winners including a deep dive into the five criteria which define the competition.

Joe describes the HERS rating and ENERGY STAR® certification services GDS Associates provided for the winning high-performance home. While Mike discusses leveraging the benefits of state level supported energy efficiency programs and the continued partnership with the region's utility providers and building industry.

Like many companies involved in HERS ratings GDS works with the local utilities and builders to assist in the pivotal market transformation that continues to bring recognition to the benefits of building comfortable, durable, healthy and efficient homes.

Mike offers his contact info for anyone considering developing such a program in their area: [email protected]

For more info see the press release:

https://www.nhbr.com/best-practices-in-homebuilding-energy-efficiency-honored/

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

Real, sustainable community change requires the initiative and engagement of community members.

-Helene D. Gayle

RESNET plays a big role in the Home Energy ecosystem.

Part of RESNET's role is to give a voice to the variety of organizations involved.

Some of these organizations are suppliers of materials and equipment essential to the management and control of energy and other factors in homes.

Staff member Ryan Meres joins us in this podcast to describe why RESNET formed the Suppliers Advisory Board (SAB), its activities and the benefits to organizations that join.

One of the key benefits is data from rated homes. SAB members periodically receive a supplier intelligence report: a rich insight into the trends in building practices. This data is derived from the over 2.5 million (and growing) rated homes in the US.

These insights often describe state and regional variations into the types of equipment installed, as well as home performance factors such as insulation levels and envelope leakage data and even instances of on-site power production, amongst many other factors.

In several cases, this data can be used to bolster the impact of arguments in the code adoption process.

Some of the other benefits include a booth at the annual conference, Webinars

and access to the HERS Affiliate Training course. The course provides product supplier representatives and sales staff with an understanding of how RESNET's Home Energy Rating System (HERS) works.

To learn more about the Suppliers Advisory board visit, www.resnet.us/about/sab/

Or at this link to jump right to the benefits:

www.resnet.us/about/sab/resnet-suppliers-advisory-board-benefits/

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

What is the RESNET Index Adjustment Factor (IAF)

with Philip Fairey of the Florida Solar Energy Center

Taste as you go. When you taste the food throughout the cooking process you can adjust as you go.

-Anne Burrell

Feedback (tasting) and adjusting make a better recipe.

RESNET is all about feedback.

Join us as Philip Fairey, Deputy Director of the Florida Solar Energy Center and Secretary of the RESNET Board of Directors unravels the story behind the development of the Index Adjustment Factor (IAF), also called the Home Size adjustment factor in Addendum E-2018.

The IAF stemmed from anecdotal reports that unwarranted HERS credit was given to larger homes, or that smaller homes were penalized.

These inequities in rating calculation were believed to be caused by the presence of two factors causing the HERS index to fall: larger conditioned floor area and greater number of stories. Additionally one factor, a greater number of bedrooms, was observed to be causing the index to rise.

After extensive research and detailed modeling, the IAF was developed and has helped to significantly reduce the range of variation for all three factors.

To learn more, including in depth technical details, see slides from Philip's presentation at the 2019 RESNET Conference at this link: www.bit.ly/RESNET-IAF

The IAF is baked in to the modeling software and does not cause any change to the responsibilities of a Rater or RFI and does not increase the cost of HERS ratings.

NOTE: HERS Raters will be required to use the size adjustment compliant software on homes that are issued a building permit on or after January 1, 2019..

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

I have always believed in helping your fellow man is profitable in every sense, personally and the bottom line.

-Mario Puzo

For some, a broader definition of housing includes more than just rental cost.

It also includes energy, water, transportation and healthcare – where in many cases the location has impact on Indoor Air Quality.

Listen in as RESNET Board member Abe Kruger (SK Collaborative) describes how half of his work now relates to working with states to help determine ways that lead to improving this broader definition of affordable housing.

Many of the skills he learned and knowledge he acquired in the course of his career as a HERS rater now come into play in the assessment of affordable housing.

Learn about the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) has created 3 million affordable housing units across the country as well the impact being made by the policy tool of Inclusionary Zoning (IZ) in market-rate housing

If you would like to learn more, get in touch with Abe by emailing him at [email protected]

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]

Moving Towards the Integrated Home – Connected, Interactive, Interoperable, AND Efficient

Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future.

-John F. Kennedy

Tim Carter (Georgia Power) & Shon Richey (Alabama Power) join us today to discuss two very forward-thinking Smart Neighborhood projects that address grid balancing and consumer engagement amongst other objectives.

They reveal how new home programs are looking beyond just asset-based performance of homes by considering many other factors including the time and location-based value of efficiency as well as non-energy benefits that flow from an integrated, connected (two-way communication) home.

We dive deep into the concepts of the home of the future, as well as the 'utility of the future' which will impact the design and methods used in new construction.

You will hear about utility offerings designed to achieve objectives beyond traditional energy efficiency, such as load management and behavior change.

You can download a copy of the slides from Tim and Shon's session at the 2019 RESNET conference by following this link: http://conference.resnet.us/data/energymeetings/presentations/MovingTowardsIntegratedHome1.pdf

RESTalk: To the RESNET community, we hear you and want to engage.

Pros can learn more at www.RESNET.us/professional

Consumers can learn more at www.RESNET.us

Or for more info on this topic contact RESNET at [email protected]