The Building Performance Podcast

Today we talk with Kristof "Handsome" Irwin, founder of Positive Energy in Austin Texas, about why your air conditioner is probably an idiot (bless its heart) and HVAC heaven that you might not have heard about.

Today we talk with Dr. Iain Walker of Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory about the frontier of air tightness, fresh air ventilation, and why we're arguing about it in the first place.

Today we talk with Sandra Adomatis, Appraisal Institute's green valuation expert and author of Residential Green Valuation Tools, about greening the MLS, swimming pool ROI, and the future of appraiser apprenticeship (which, yikes).

IT'S A PARTY! Today we talk about the universe of home performance in California with: Dan Perunko & Gavin Healy of Balance Point Home Performance Mike MacFarland & Brian Tyrrell of Energy Docs Natalie Freidberg & Scott Nyborg of Home-ology Caroline Veerman of Loisos Design and Judy Rachel of Green Achers Sustainable Solutions (that spells GASS, but she doesn't care- she's Judy Rachel!)

Today we talk with Brett Singer, air quality scientist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, about the red herring of worst-case depressurization on combustion testing, and the actual hidden enemy in every home.

Today we talk with Keith Aldridge, VP of Business Development for Advanced Energy, on what the programs get wrong, why human QA will disappear, and what your clients really want. Recorded at the ACI Regional Home Performance Conference in San Diego, CA.

Today we talk with Kerry Langley of Synovus Mortgage about how his company collaborated with Southeastern builders, HERS raters, and homebuyers to make an absolute killing for everyone involved. Corbett: "Why hassn't everyone been lending money this way?" Kerry: "I have absolutely no idea." YOU NEED TO HEAR THIS.

Today we talk with Dan Whitmore of Hammer and Hand and Adam Cohen of Structures Design Build about why and how to build like a badass. You got this.

Today we talk with Brian Christensen, senior engineer for REM at Architectural Energy Corporation, about how energy models work, why they work, and how not to drive yourself insane.

Today we talk with Gord Cooke of Construction Instruction about his beginnings as a home performance expert, and ways to win homeowners and contractors to your side.

Today we talk with our first panel of experts, all top trainers in the U.S. home performance industry.  Scott Suddreth of Building Performance Engineering, Anthony Cox of the New River Center for Energy Research and Training, Brett Dillon of IBS Advisors, and Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard all pitch into a spirited discussion on classrooms, mentorship, props, and real life.

Today we talk with Joe Nagan of Home Building Technology Services, the unofficial Research and Development department of the home performance industry. Joe is one of my personal heroes, and is a true Building Scientist, not just a practitioner, and he has special insight into practical applications.

Today we talk with Neil Moyer, researcher and trainer for the Florida Solar Energy Center, about what the Performance Path REALLY means, and what building performance was like over thirty years ago.

Today we talk with Paul Raymer, chief investigator for Heyoka Solutions and Ventilation Guru, about his book, his facial hair, and the reasons for all the fuss over fresh air in homes.

Today Corbett bounces off the walls with C.R. Herro of Meritage Homes as they discuss homebuyers, how to woo them, and why Meritage rocking the boat in homebuilding markets across the U.S.

Today we talk with Teresa Lopez of Green Energy Money about the future revolution of high performance home mortgages and the current problems that plague the financial system.

Today we talk with the larger-than-life Hank Rutkowski of technical HVAC fame, about the right and wrong way to condition our homes and the who, how, and why of the ACCA Manuals.

Today we talk with Sam Rashkin, Chief Architect for the Department of Energy's Building Technologies Office, about the government's top certification for high performance new homes.

Today we talk again with Don Stevens, National Research & Development Manager at Panasonic Eco-Solutions, about the history of ASHRAE 62.2 residential ventilation standard, and the upcoming changes in 62.2-2013.

Today we talk with Mark Kuntz of Mitsubishi Heating & Cooling about the latest and greatest in heat pump technology (that you can use in Montana) and the many applications of ductless mini-split HVAC systems.