Sarah Gudeman, a mechanical engineer with Morrissey Engineering, joins Nate and Kristen to talk about energy modeling, building performance, and sustainability workflows in practice.

Discussion topics:

00:31 Have you ever watched unboxing videos?

01:22 Introducing Sarah Gudeman, Omaha-based mechanical engineer

01:56 The philosophy behind the Prove It podcast

02:26 Nate is getting social media and event fatigue

03:55 Designers and builders want to make better buildings

04:44 Highlight cool stuff happening in the Midwest

06:01 Lower incentives to change process when business is good and busy

06:50 What is good enough - letting perfect get in the way of good

08:28 Sarah's blog - WTH is Energy Modeling

13:29 The assumptions that go into a model - the art of energy modeling

18:14 Tracking deltas and metrics between stages of design

20:50 Approaches for demonstrating a track record and real-world validation

23:25 Weather - and weather files - as a variable

25:30 How is climate change affecting energy modeling?

28:26 Did you know it is hot in July?

29:00 Thermal comfort and the behavior of people as major variable

31:14 Andy Payne's smart fan prototype and personal comfort devices

33:34 Unprecedented data on the built environment

36:36 Commentary on Proving Ground's thermostat

37:44 Nate intentionally does not have smart home devices

39:20 Kristen discusses data collection and when ad targeting goes wrong

39:53 TIL about beards

40:35 Drinking water purification

42:07 How did Sarah get into engineering?

44:50 Sarah worked for an energy modeling startup

45:52 Startups filling gaps not covered by conventional practices

50:17 Sarah created voice narration to Omaha's plumbing code.

52:51 The benefits and risks of democratizing tools and knowledge for specialized knowledge

55:16 Technology and the disruption of professions - UpCodes and ICC legal troubles

58:51 Response and resistance to radical change and disruption

1:00:46 How likely is it that your job will be automated?

1:02:46 Technology and experts speaking up about positive change and benefits of technology

1:03:23 What work is exciting Sarah right now?

1:09:16 Sarah's advice to other engineers and professionals