The Building Science Podcast

By Positive Energy

Society & Culture Arts Design Philosophy

What's The Building Science Podcast about?

If you're a human being and you live indoors, this podcast is more relevant to your life than you probably ever knew. Exploring the ways building science helps humans thrive in the built environment.

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The Building Science Podcast episodes:

04.10.2024
Next Level Leverage
What if it’s true that “We can not solve our problems using the same level of thinking that created them”(1)? Could it be that a building science understanding is limited? Could it be that even the clarity of understanding we gain...
03.26.2024
Houses are Made of Stories
Residential builders are where the rubber meets the road when it comes to delivering houses to society. Because of this, the builder perspective in the industry is tremendously important and impactful. Then again, it’s also true that, even within the...
03.12.2024
Entropy, Insight and Our Time to Shine
“Engineering and science is poised to deliver a whole new thing to the world but the world isnt ready to ask” - Luke Leung (Not sure about adding the quote?) As a society, we have entered a time where the...
03.01.2024
Wood is Good?
What’s old is new again. This episode shines a light on the current industry move back toward biogenic building materials, with a specific focus on the wood products we use for the construction of homes and buildings. The core question...
02.13.2024
Circles All the Way Down
How do we design and build affordable net-zero, carbon-negative homes? That important goal is the subject of today’s episode and is the focus of a multidisciplinary team that includes PNNL, Virginia Tech, and Green Canopy NODE. On the podcast today...
01.24.2024
Air-To-Water: Hydronic Hype or the Future?
Could it be that Air-to-Water Heat Pumps (AWHP) using hydronic distribution are poised to become the new normal for residential HVAC systems? Can simply switching the thermal distribution fluid from refrigerant to water/glycol have significant positive impacts? As you will...
01.16.2024
Not Your Grandpa's Home Improvement Show
Knowing that what we don’t know about our homes matters a lot, they took on the challenge of creating a TV show on home performance for mainstream audiences. Their show, now in it’s third season makes it clear that a...
12.18.2023
Excuse Me, Your Coil is Leaking
Moving heat with a heat pump is an unsung superhero in the global energy transition.
12.01.2023
Healthy Home Revolution
As a society we are learning, slowly but surely, how to design and build healthy indoor spaces for ourselves and our loved ones. Seeing the need to both guide and accelerate this learning process, Paula Baker LaPorte and her wingman...
11.27.2023
Green Glop & Hair Shirts - Perspectives on Client Communication
Designing and building a sustainable passive house is a powerful moment for all involved - the client, the architect, and the planet. How we talk about it matters a lot.
11.21.2023
An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book Part 2 - Design Excellence through Practice
“The pen controls the backhoe” is a slogan (from Part 1 of this series) that clearly expresses the power and deep impact of architecture on our world. Given that it is the architect’s pen that controls the backhoe, it makes...
11.07.2023
Filter Feast Part 2
This two part interview on air filtration, air filters and filter media with Mark Davidson from Camfil covers a range of topics, from basic to advanced.
10.18.2023
Filter Feast Part 1
This two part interview on air filtration, air filters and filter media with Mark Davidson from Camfil covers a range of topics, from basic to advanced.
09.26.2023
The “Roaring 20s” for IAQ
Join us for this engaging and somewhat nerdy discussion with Dr Pawel Misztal, an assistant professor from the University of Texas at Austin’s Civil Architectural and Environmental Engineering department. In this conversation Pawel unpacks the story of indoor air emissions...
09.11.2023
An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book
There are few roles in society with the broad and lasting power of Architecture. Architecture both reflects and directs the story of a civilization and its cultural milieu by signaling what’s important, who has value, and how society functions. Recognition...
08.25.2023
Making Quality Homes A(a)ffordable?
In a Seattle neighborhood, close to public transportation, Dan Whitmore and his associates are putting the money where their ideals are and making affordable housing happen. Not just affordable but high-performance Passive House affordable per the Phius standards, plus they...
08.17.2023
The Future of Homes
Today we are going to dig into The Future of Homes with two home builders intent on delivering that future in the present. How do we make truly healthy, exceptionally durable homes that also respect the environment, the new normal?
08.09.2023
Hempcrete Homes: A Growing Industry
Why is the AEC industry still mostly ignoring hempcrete?
08.02.2023
Architectural Solar: A New Normal
The best place to generate electrical power is where it’s used. We all know that solar PV adds value for both owners and society by improving resilience, reducing energy costs and decreasing carbon emissions and climate impact. Yet traditional design...
07.19.2023
Build. Not too much. Mostly with plants.
Join Kristof as he interviews architect and builder, Greg Esparza, with a sweeping introduction to mass timber construction, as well as other natural building materials like cork insulation, hemp insulation, wood fiber board insulation, etc.
07.12.2023
Building Science Journalism
We invite you to join us in exploring the significance of Building Science Journalism in today's world. Our conversation features two accomplished, knowledgeable, and profound authors who have dedicated themselves to this field: Brian Pontililo and Aaron Fagan. Along the...
07.05.2023
Low Carbon Buildings - What’s Next? Wow. Just Wow
Join us as Kristof talks with Bruce King about his work as a stubborn optimist and powerful motive force in the realm of low carbon buildings.
06.30.2023
Direct DC-to-LED Lighting (Bonus Short Episode)
Join us for this short interview with Murray Freeman, a pioneer and stubborn optimist in the DC Lighting space. We will learn the basics and leave you with an informed perspective on the fascinating realm of direct DC-to-LED lighting, where...
06.28.2023
An Introduction to Embodied Carbon & Buildings
Andrew Himes is all about helping groups move society forward by focusing on the convergence of technology, communication and social activism. Join us for this fast paced and compelling interview with Andrew as we talk about the theory of change...
06.21.2023
Do you like it hot? Do you want it now? Do you want it to last forever?
Join us in this action packed interview with Gary Klien, a true national treasure in the realm of water heating and distribution as he applies simple logic again and again to break down the How and the Why of having...
11.04.2022
Building Passion For Passive
Join Kristof as he interviews Graham Irwin, AIA, CPHC and the rich discussion that follows.
09.26.2022
Proving Passive House Is Practical, Possible, & Promising (In Climate Zone 2A)
Join Kristof as he interviews architect and Passive House nerd, Trey Farmer, in a wide ranging discussion about remodeling his personal residence.
01.12.2022
The Business of Building Science
Happy New Year! Welcome back to the 8th season of our little show. We can hardly believe it. In this episode, we ask the question “what is it actually like to run a business that focuses on building science?” Turns...
11.09.2021
Energy With Memory
Join Kristof as he interviews Miaomiao Hou and Dr. Bill Braham on the topic of emergy and how an understanding of it impacts the built world.
11.04.2021
Keep It Dry !
Do we really need dehumidifiers when we’ve got VRF units? How do dehumidifiers work? Why do we need dehumidifiers now when we’ve never had them before? These are valid questions that deserve scientific answers and we’re here to dig in....
11.04.2021
PFAS In Building Products
One of the most uncomfortable topics for anybody to wade through is the nearly ubiquitous and constant exposures to hazardous chemicals and compounds which we all encounter in daily products. The construction industry is no different - many building products...
06.23.2021
Zen & The Art of Continuous IAQ Monitoring
The world of indoor air quality monitoring can feel like the Wild West and it’s high time we sort it out. Join Kristof as he interviews Stanton Wong, President of RESET Standard, about the landscape of sensor technology, accuracy, data...
05.03.2021
To Grow A Home, To Grow A Future
Industrial hemp is poised to proliferate across many verticals in the construction materials marketplace. It’s a raw material with an unfortunately politicized history and so many potential applications it’ll make your head spin. Join Kristof and Miguel in conversation with...
03.10.2021
One Wheel Down and The Axle Dragging: The Texas Grid Failure Explained
Join Kristof as he interviews Dr. Joshua Rhodes and Dr. Charles Upshaw, of IdeaSmiths (and of Positive Energy if you don't mind the bragging). In this episode we discuss what happened in Texas, separating myth from fact and understanding the...
02.01.2021
Indoor Data Quality
Join Kristof as he interviews Anjanette Green, Director of Standards at RESET.
11.20.2020
What Would This Old House Say?
Join Kristof as he interviews Chris Ermides of the This Old House team and the Ask This Old House podcast about leveraging stories to create meaning and context for anyone building a home.
10.23.2020
"Faster Horses" & The Future Of HVAC
"Some people say give the customers what they want, but that's not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they're going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, 'If I'd ask customers what they...
09.23.2020
Through The Looking Glass Of High Performance Windows
What do we actually know and have available to us in the United States market when it comes to high performance windows? The answers may surprise you. Join Kristof as he interviews Sam McAfee of Zola Windows in a wide...
08.07.2020
Ventilation & Virus Transmission Prevention (And Other Topics Too)
How well do we understand the behavior of the novel coronavirus in our homes? What can we do to make our homes healthier? What is a CERV? Join Kristof as he interviews Ty Newell to find out!
08.03.2020
The Westford Summer Camp Blues
For the first time in its 24 year history, the Westford Symposium on Building Science was forced to take a hiatus by the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic (it would have began as of the release of this episode). If you’ve never heard...
07.18.2020
Obsessed With Humidity
Kristof interviews Pamela Cabrera about the expansion of humid climate zones in the future and the development of passive, membrane-based dehumidification.
06.05.2020
Constructal Law Meets Building Science - Flow Systems Are Everywhere
In a very entertaining and fascinating departure from our usual discussion of building science, we dive deeply into the concepts underlying Contstructal Law with its discoverer, Professor Adrian Bejan of Duke University.
05.29.2020
Stewardship & The Future of Engineering
Join Kristof in an interview with members of the Engineering Change Lab USA.
04.03.2020
Passive House Accelerator
If you’ve never heard of the Passive House Accelerator, that all changes now. For too long, there has not been a centralized place to find information on all the Passive House resources and efforts. The Passive House Accelerator changes the...
03.31.2020
A House Needs To Breathe... Or Does It?
Allison Bailes is writing a book! Allison writes the popular Energy Vanguard Blog. With a PhD in physics and thousands of hours spent in attics and crawl spaces, he knows a thing or two about houses. Join Kristof in a...
03.24.2020
The 5 Principles Of A Healthy Home - Start With A Good Enclosure
Now, more than ever, there is a tremendous amount of attention on how interconnected we are to our immediate environmental conditions (and to each other). As building science consultants. Our family, friends, colleagues and clients have asked us for years about...
12.20.2019
2019: Looking Back & Looking Forward
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. It’s been an incredible year. Let’s unpack it together and take a look at what’s coming your way in Season 6 of the show. Join producer Miguel & host Kristof for a fireside chat...
12.09.2019
Death Of The Suburbs: An Urban Manifesto
It’s time to fundamentally reevaluate the way we build - not just at the level of detailing, but at the scale of the city. What are the decisions we make about density and how do they affect our daily lives?...
11.23.2019
Carbon Fluency
Architects and engineers have great power because they make decisions that influence resource and energy use in their buildings. With great power comes great responsibility and now is the time to become fluent in the language of embodied carbon. In...
11.09.2019
The Insulation Decision
While insulation and airtightness are critical elements of a high performance building, they also can significantly increase the risk of health and moisture failure issues. In addition, if using high "embodied carbon" impact materials then high performance buildings can have...

What's The Building Science Podcast about?

Download our free app to listen on your phone

The Building Science Podcast episodes:

Next Level Leverage

Houses are Made of Stories

Entropy, Insight and Our Time to Shine

Wood is Good?

Circles All the Way Down

Air-To-Water: Hydronic Hype or the Future?

Not Your Grandpa's Home Improvement Show

Excuse Me, Your Coil is Leaking

Healthy Home Revolution

Green Glop & Hair Shirts - Perspectives on Client Communication

An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book Part 2 - Design Excellence through Practice

Filter Feast Part 2

Filter Feast Part 1

The “Roaring 20s” for IAQ

An Architectural Optimist Wrote a Book

Making Quality Homes A(a)ffordable?

The Future of Homes

Hempcrete Homes: A Growing Industry

Architectural Solar: A New Normal

Build. Not too much. Mostly with plants.

Building Science Journalism

Low Carbon Buildings - What’s Next? Wow. Just Wow

Direct DC-to-LED Lighting (Bonus Short Episode)

An Introduction to Embodied Carbon & Buildings

Do you like it hot? Do you want it now? Do you want it to last forever?

Building Passion For Passive

Proving Passive House Is Practical, Possible, & Promising (In Climate Zone 2A)

The Business of Building Science

Energy With Memory

Keep It Dry !

PFAS In Building Products

Zen & The Art of Continuous IAQ Monitoring

To Grow A Home, To Grow A Future

One Wheel Down and The Axle Dragging: The Texas Grid Failure Explained

Indoor Data Quality

What Would This Old House Say?

"Faster Horses" & The Future Of HVAC

Through The Looking Glass Of High Performance Windows

Ventilation & Virus Transmission Prevention (And Other Topics Too)

The Westford Summer Camp Blues

Obsessed With Humidity

Constructal Law Meets Building Science - Flow Systems Are Everywhere

Stewardship & The Future of Engineering

Passive House Accelerator

A House Needs To Breathe... Or Does It?

The 5 Principles Of A Healthy Home - Start With A Good Enclosure

2019: Looking Back & Looking Forward

Death Of The Suburbs: An Urban Manifesto

Carbon Fluency

The Insulation Decision