BUILDTank / buildCAST Robby Schwarz

Asa Foss is the program manager for the ENERGY STAR Nextgen Certified Homes program, which is the first federal new construction certification program focused on operational decarbonization.


The program requires that the base home be labeled under EnergyStar for new homes, and then install a climate specific heat pump for heating and cooling, a
hot water heating heat pump, an electric or induction cook top, and finally electric vehicle ready infrastructure.



Asa explains these programs and requirements and their new link to the Builder 45 L tax credit. He was a wealth
of information and clearly demonstrates how working within a building program can benefit builders and homeowners and help move the construction industry as a whole forward to more sustainable and resilient homes.


Asa Foss on LinkedIn

EnergyStar NextGen

EnergyStar for new homes

45 L Tax Credit

LEED certification for residential

Northeast Energy Efficient Partnership (NEEP) heat pump list

Northwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (NEEA) heat Pump Water Heater

Alison Bailes has a PhD in Physics and tried academic life but found his true passion in building science while building his own house.  He has moved on and is now fully renovating his current house kind of in the same way that he moved on from home energy ratings, where I first met him, to concentrating on HVAC design. From the broad to the specific one might say. Applying building science through HVAC design led to this discussion on the buildCAST because I had the pleasure of hearing Allison speak at the Colorado Chapter of the ICC’s code education institute on all things heat pumps. We concentrated our discussion on heat pumps, and I know you will enjoy hearing it, but don’t forget that Allison also just published the newest addition to our collective building science library. A House Needs to Breathe...Or Does It?  An Introduction to Building Science.



Allison Bailes III, PhD on LinkedIn

Energy Vanguard and the Allisons Blog

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships NEEP Cold Climate Heat Pump website

A House Needs to Breathe...Or Does It?  An Introduction to Building Science

SouthFace InstituteEnergy Vanguard on Instagram @energyvanguard

Emily Mottram often describes herself as a “little Nerdy” and as an architect that expresses itself in a focus on people and planet, through high performance design of residential buildings. Emily helped to define high performance construction, as one of the authors of the “Pretty Good House” book which states that the goal is a well thought-out, carefully crafted home, designed to maximize performance and comfort within a budget. Performance incorporates metrics like R-values and ACH50 numbers but is more about setting and achieving a goal for the performance of the house which in turn, is more about how it feels: comfort, safety, livability, beauty, healthy, efficient, and the team, science of building, and economics that are brought together to achieve the goal.



Emily Mottram on LinkedIn

Mottram Architecture

Emily’s Energy + Efficiency + Emily or E3 Podcast

The Pretty Good House website

Dr. Robert Tino Sonora 10 Minutes on the Economics affecting the building industry

Dr. Ian Giammanco is the Managing Director for Standards & Data Analytics and a Lead Research Meteorologist at the Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety Center. He has been instrumental in the creation of IBHS’s Thunderstorm Ready Home program which was created in the wake of severe weather events. In 2023 alone 20 states were impacted by 19 severe convective storm events, each causing over $1 billion in damage.

 

Building from the Fortified Homes, Fortified, Roof, and Wildfire Prepared homes programs the voluntary Thunderstorm Ready Home program is another example of the results of applied research and inspection that IBHS is doing to impacting the built environment in positive ways.

Dr. Ian Giammanco on LinkedIn

 

About Dr. Ian Giammanco

 

IBHS Thunderstorm Ready Homes



Insurance Institute for Business and Home Safety (IBHS)

IBHS Research video


BUILDcast #16 – 2022 Fred Malik and the
Fortified Construction Program


BUILDcast #20-2022 Dan Gorham and the new IBHS Wildfire Prepared Home Program

The ability to take a deep dive into construction topics is never greater than at IBS. Because of the electrification of our home’s movement, my work in the Marshall Fire rebuild and the huge incentives that are now available to those electrify their homes, I chose to dive into heat pump water heating. Yes, they are more efficient at heating hot water, but several questions still needed to be answered. Are they loud, how much do they lower the ambient room temperature, what’s their recovery efficiency, can you use a recirculation loop, why is the contracting community still dragging their heals, and are they more difficult to install and maintain, where just a few? I was able to speak with American Standard, AO Smith, Rannie, did you know they now are offering a heat pump water heater, and Rheem whose conversation will be released on a buildCAST FOCUSED episode.  I was also able to speak with Master Plumber Eric Aune after one of his IBS trade floor in booth talks.  All in all, I think I was interesting to hear the relative consistency of answers from the different manufacturers of water heating heat pumps and to feel a little more grounded in my ability to recommend their installation.


American Standard Heat Pump Water Heaters

AO Smith Heat Pump Water Heaters

Rinnai Heat Pump Water Heaters


Eric Aune

Aune Plumbing and Heating

Mechanical Hub

Make Trades Great Again Podcast