The work of the AEC is broader than buildings. On a daily basis we, collectively and individually, make decisions that have broad and lasting impacts on our lives, our health, and our world. These impacts can be either positive or negative; the choice is ours. This is the perspective of Gina Ciganik and her brilliant and motivated team at Habitable. 

Armed with powerful minds and compelling data, they are working to help society rethink material supply chains altogether. Formerly the Healthy Building Network, Habitable exists to help people understand that we need to fundamentally shift the materials economy to protect ourselves and our planet's ecosystems. These are also the people who created the Pharos database. Now they are releasing a powerful tool, The Informed Tool, to make it easy to make good decisions for materials using a simple Green, Yellow, Red system. It’s time to start.

If the term materials economy is somehow just a bit bland and doesn’t connect or feel engaging for you, consider these two facts to remind you of what we’re talking about:

1. Microplastics in the ocean: 58% of them are from one material - Paint. And 48% is from paint used in homes and buildings. We know latex gloves are plastic but somehow we forget that latex paint is as well. If we are going to ever get the plastics out of our waterways, oceans and bodies, we have to address this material and the upstream decision making process. 

2. Carpeting as single use material: 2 Millions Tons of carpeting are thrown into landfills and incinerators in the US every year. Our national obsession with fuzzy floors uses more plastic than all single use plastic bottles, plastic bags, and plastic straws combined (mic drop). 

OK, did those wake you up and help you understand that the decisions we make here in the AEC have implications and impacts far beyond what we normally consider our purview? Join Kristof and Gina in this lively wide ranging discussion as they unpack the work that Habitable is doing.

Gina Ciganik

Gina Ciganik is the CEO of Habitable and has been instrumental in growing and scaling the organization's vision since assuming the role in 2016.

Recognized nationally for her leadership in transforming human and environmental health, Gina’s strategic partnerships and innovative practices have reshaped housing standards across the affordable housing sector. With a proven track record of creating healthier spaces–including the groundbreaking 90-unit apartment building, The Rose–Gina’s leadership drives Habitable’s mission forward. She sees herself as a “dot-connector” and translator who amplifies the organization’s impact, fostering holistic solutions for planetary health. Determined, curious, and joyful, Gina is committed to creating healthier environments for communities worldwide.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

How can we build better supply chains for the built world?  When it comes to the inconceivably vast amount of wood we use in our buildings, one “simple” way is to use less virgin material and use more wood that would otherwise not make it to market. Instead it would be destined to decompose and emit its carbon into the sky. What if, instead, the forgotten trees were salvaged and turned into valuable, usable lumber?
This is a big idea whose time has come. Still, having a powerful idea is only the first step. Making it happen in the real world is the other side of the story. Starting with a focus on a smarter, more transparent wood supply chain, the ambitious team at Cambium Carbon are making powerful change happen in the human side of the wood ecosystem in the AEC. Their work is a key support for firms committed to sustainability. 
 Join Kristof in a thoughtful conversation with Ben Christensen to learn more about what Ben and his team are doing to find wood impacted by the four Ds: disease, decay, disaster, and development and keep it out of landfills. Instead of landfills the wood goes back into the built world for generations to come.

The company Living Carbon was mentioned during this episode as an interesting website to check out!

Ben Christensen

Ben, a Forbes 30 Under 30 lister and TedX speaker, is a thought-leader and industry expert. He is the CEO and Co-founder of Cambium, a climate-tech start-up backed by Joe Tsai, Steve Case, and many others. By working with cities to divert wood waste, local manufacturers to create sustainable products, and demand partners for offtake they are creating a new regenerative supply chain for urban wood. Ben loves to share his expertise on topics like circular economies, climate tech, leadership, and building teams. He earned his Masters of Environmental Management from the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

Luke Leung

Luke is a LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design) Fellow; He is also a Centennial Fellow from The Pennsylvania State University Architectural Engineering Department; Board of Directors for USGBC (United State Green Building Council), Illinois; Chairman of the ASHRAE (American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning) Committee on “Tall Buildings”; Chairman of the Building Pressure Committee, Chicago Committee on High Rise Buildings; Sustainable Committee with Council on Tall Buildings and Urban Habitat; Part Time Professor at IIT;  Member of the Chicago Sister Cities Program with China; MBA from University of Chicago, MS and BAE from Architectural Engineering at Penn State University.

Luke Leung is the Director of the Sustainability Engineering Studio for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill LLP. He is the incoming Chair of ASHRAE Environmental Health Committee; Team leader for ASHRAE Epidemic Task Force, Commercial Buildings; Group Leader for LCA and Embodied Carbon, ASHRAE Decarbonization Task Force; National Renewable Energy Laboratory IN2 Incubator Industry Advisor; BOMA Toronto, Health Committee Co-Chair. His work includes Burj Khalifa, the world’s current tallest man-made structure; Multiple times “Excellence in Engineering” award from the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE); Selected projects also include Pertamina Tower (Net Zero Supertall), General Motors Global Headquarters, XiongAn Net Zero Development, Beijing Finance Street, Embassy of Ottawa in Canada, Embassy in Beijing, Lakeside – 55 million sqft low energy development, a LEED Platinum building with the first large scale horizontal wind turbine in the city of Chicago; etc., and has served as a member of the editorial team for the CTBUH guide Natural Ventilation in High-Rise Office Buildings, ASHRAE “Design Guide for Tall, Supertall, Megatall Building Systems”, among other publications.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Produced by M. Walker

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Special Edition - Just Released. Listen and learn why you don't want to miss this event! Coming up next Friday 10/13/2017 here in Austin. 

Join Kristof Irwin and guest experts Matt Carlton and Brian Roeder for lively discussion on the surprisingly rich topic of stucco cladding systems. You'll never look at a stucco wall the same way again.

Special thanks to UltraAire for their generous support.

Hosted by: AIA BEC: Austin & RCI, Central Texas
Date & Time: Friday, October 13th, 8:30am-5:30am, registration opens at 8:00am
Location: JJ Pickle Research Center, Commons Conference Center, 10100 Burnet Rd, Austin, TX 78758
Price: Early Bird (unitl 9/15) $150/person, General Admittance (9/16-10/12) $190/person, Day Of (10/13) $225
CEUs: 6.5 LU AIA HSW Credits

Join Kristof for a thought-provoking conversation with Dr. Zoltan Nagy on intelligent environments and how building science principles are guiding predictive analytics to shape the future of building and home operations. As more intelligent buildings emerge, occupant-centric solutions to IAQ issues, mechanical issues, and energy issues can be addressed. 

The Intelligent Environments Laboratory (IEL), led by Prof. Zoltán Nagy, is an interdisciplinary research group within the Building Energy & Environments (BEE) Program of the Department of Civil, Architectural and Environmental Engineering (CAEE) in the Cockrell School of Engineering of the University of Texas at Austin.

The aim of their research is to rethink the built environment and define Smart Buildings and Cities as spaces that adapt to their occupants and reduce their energy consumption.

It's time to find the reset button. Time to re-examine our view of what we know about delivering conditioned space to our clients, to ourselves. The upside potential in buildings is staggering. From some vantage points, it's astounding and inexplicable why the very places we live continue to be held in a laggard state of performance relative to what's possible. Our industry transition is held captive to an outdated vision. Without a proper vision, our mission, strategy and tactics are ineffective. 

We are all front line advocates, operating within our spheres of influence. What creates effectiveness is knowing why we are engaged in a particular next action and how that relates to moving the industry and the market forward. Why comes first, then what. Many of us can't effectively advocate for best practices in homes/buildings- not because we don't know what to do. Rather it's because we don't know why we need to do what we want to do. If we don't know why then we can't effectively advocate for change with our project teams and the pent-up transition will continue to move forward at a languished pace; albeit inexorably. In this episode Kristof shares some ideas to help us find our reset buttons, or at least pose the idea that hitting reset is worthwhile. 

Join us for a fascinating conversation with Stephen Colley on earthen construction. 

Stephen currently practices architecture and runs his own architecture firm and is a long-time practitioner of green design and sustainable living. From 2010-2012 he served as the Program Manager in Green Initiatives for Palo Alto College in San Antonio developing training courses related to sustainable design and construction.

Stephen also participated in the Alamo Colleges Chancellor’s Council on Sustainability helping to write a new more sustainable policy for the Alamo College District.  The new policy was approved by the Board of Alamo Colleges in August of 2012. In his previous position as the Green Building Coordinator for Build San Antonio Green, he developed the criteria for San Antonio’s residential green building program, Build San Antonio Green, recognized by the National Association of Homebuilders as the Green Building Program of the year in 2009, and served on the Mayor’s (San Antonio, Texas) task force on Sustainable Policy as the City charted a significant shift away from conventional building, development, and transportation policy. Stephen was chosen by the National Association of Home Builders as one of the original stakeholders to write the Green Policy for the organization as basis for their nation-wide residential green building program, National Green Building Standard™.

In 2005, he co-authored the Texas Manual on Rainwater Harvesting for the Texas Water Development Board (3rd edition). The Manual is widely distributed and used as a reference for potable and non-potable rainwater harvesting system publications. He is also the former Chair of the San Antonio Chapter of the American Institute of Architects Committee on the Environment, a LEED® Accredited Professional, and President of Earthen Construction Initiative, a non-profit organization to advance and promote earthen construction. 

Noise can  have an adverse impact on people in offices, classrooms, hospitals and other commercial buildings (European Agency for Safety & Health at Work, 2005), interfering with their daily activities at work or school and at home. People’s performance levels and ability to concentrate can be negatively affected by noise and it can make it harder for them to share knowledge with one another.Join Kristof in this continuation of our IEQ series as he discusses acoustics and sound quality across the architectural spectrum with Keith Simon and John Poesnecker. 

Be sure to check out this wonderful TED Talk by David Byrne on sound and architecture.

How good should the building envelope be? How much energy should a building use? Finding answers require putting the building in context with the complex, interconnected, global networks of materials and resource flows in which they exist. Join Kristof for a wide ranging and slightly geeky discussion w Dr William Braham on systems ecology, exergy, emergy, and why a climax forest is a model for power and efficiency. 

Dr. William W. Braham FAIA is a Professor of Architecture at the University of Pennsylvania, where he served as Chair from 2008 to 2011 and is currently Director of the Master of Environmental Building Design and Director of the TC Chan Center for Building Simulation and Energy Studies. He received an engineering degree from Princeton University and an M. Arch. and Ph.D. Arch. from the University of Pennsylvania, where he has taught since 1988. At Penn, he teaches graduate courses on ecology, technology, and design. At the Chan Center, his most recent projects have been the Sustainability Plan, Carbon Footprint, and Carbon Reduction Action Plan for the University of Pennsylvania.

See more of Dr. Braham's work on his website.

In this episode, Kristof interviews Sean and Ian Harris, the owners of a duct sealing company called Aeroseal of Austin in Austin, TX. You'll hear discussion on why duct sealing is such a crucial component of healthy delivered air and energy performance of mechanical systems.

Sean Harris has been developing his interest in residential home construction since participating in a remodel project, certified by Austin Energy’s Green Building Program in 2005. With a degree in business administration, Sean combines his interest in green building and knowledge of business systems. Sean oversees the operations of Positive Energy and including product development, quality control, staffing, and marketing/sales. He is also a certified RESNET energy rater and conducts home performance inspections, energy code tests, ECADS, and HERS ratings.

Join Kristof in a wide-ranging discussion of building science topics with consultant John Semmelhack of Think Little. 

John Semmelhack is the owner of Think Little. He is a Certified Passive House Consultant, a member of the Passive House Institute U.S. (PHIUS) Technical Committee, and is a PHIUS Trainer for the Certified Passive House Consultant and PHIUS+ Rater training programs. He sits on the boards of the Passive House Alliance U.S. (PHAUS) and the Passive House Alliance U.S. – Capital Chapter.

John is also a certified Home Energy Rating System (HERS) rater, a Technical Advisor to builders in the EarthCraft House Virginia green building program, and a BPI-certified Building Analyst. He is a graduate of the Leeds School of Business (no, not that “LEED”) at the University of Colorado at Boulder.

In the continuation of our Indoor Environmental Quality series, Kristof discusses Indoor Light Quality with Keith Simon and Matthew Tanteri. This episode is sponsored by Risinger & Co. 

Keith and Matt are so appreciated for being such rock stars and for appearing on the podcast more than once. We couldn't do it without your expansive minds! 

In this first of a two part series on VRF, The Building Science Podcast brings you a compelling argument for why VRF technology matters and will follow up with an episode about how to consider and utilize VRF technology on your projects. Thanks to the generous support of Mitsubishi Electric Cooling & Heating, we're proud to bring you this latest installment of The Building Science Podcast focused on VRF technology and why it's important.

Chris Magwood

Chris works with the Embodied Carbon Team in the Carbon Free Buildings Program. He brings focus on carbon-storing material and the residential sector to the team, using his experience with LCA studies and policy development to support the team’s work.

Chris has been designing and building zero-carbon buildings throughout his 25-year career. From 2005 to 2018, he was a lead instructor in a hands-on design/build program at Endeavour Centre and was responsible for many zero-carbon, zero-toxin, and zero-waste buildings.
In 2019, he helped found Builders for Climate Action and codeveloped the BEAM tool for measuring material emissions in residential buildings. He authored four major studies of embodied carbon in new construction for Canadian governments and helped Canadian cities develop an embodied carbon policy.

Chris published eight books on green construction, most recently coauthoring Build Beyond Zero: New Ideas for Carbon Smart Architecture (Island Press, 2022) with Bruce King.

Jacob Racusin

Jacob Deva Racusin is co-owner of New Frameworks Natural Building, LLC, offering services in green remodeling, new construction, consultation, and education featuring natural building technologies.  Through their work as a builder, consultant, and educator, Jacob is able to merge their passions for fine craft, ecological stewardship, relationship to place, and social justice. 

Their goal in this work is to create a meaningful impact on the built environment in developing healthy, resilient communities.  Deva is an instructor at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School, where they are the former director of the Natural Building Intensive Program.  A BPI-certified contractor and Certified Passive House Consultant, Jacob has conducted field research on moisture and thermal performance of straw bale wall systems, which is featured in the book The Natural Building Companion which they co-authored with Ace McArleton (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2012). They have lectured and presented at universities, conferences, and other events across the Northeast.  Jacob lives with their family in Montgomery, VT, in a straw bale house on their permaculture-inspired homestead.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

In today's episode, we are joined by Keith Simon of BES/Terracon and Dr. Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard to discuss moisture issues associated with the use of spray foam insulation in attic assemblies. There's a little bit of background information on Joe Lstiburek's article called "Ping Pong Water & The Chemical Engineer" that you'll want to check out if you're trying to better understand where this conversation is coming from, as well as a few other Energy Vanguard articles to help wrap your head around it.

We also mention some cool RHT sensors in the show, which you can check out here. Also, be sure to keep an eye out for updates on The Humid Climate Conference 2017 in the new year. Big thanks to Ultra Aire Whole House Dehumidifiers for sponsoring this great conversation.

In this special Halloween short episode, we explore a frightening tale of invisible specters in an otherwise beautifully designed home... all because nobody wanted to look at the mechanical design. 

In the continuation of our Indoor Environmental Quality series, Kristof interviews Robert Bean in a 2 part series on thermal comfort. Robert Bean is an industry leading thinker and engineer. We think you're going to love this interview. This episode is sponsored by Ultra-Aire Whole House Ventilating Dehumidifiers

In the continuation of our Indoor Environmental Quality series, Kristof interviews Robert Bean in a 2 part series on thermal comfort. Robert Bean is an industry leading thinker and engineer. We think you're going to love this interview.  

Robert Bean is president of Indoor Climate Consultants Inc. and director of www.healthyheating.com. He is a Registered Engineering Technologist in Building Construction and a Professional Licensee in Mechanical Engineering and provides services related to the design of buildings and indoor environmental quality systems. He serves on numerous advisory boards and technical committees including ASHRAE 6.1, 6.5, 7.4, SSPC 55 and the new ASHRAE Presidential Residential Building Committee.

Big thanks to Risinger & Co. for sponsoring this episode! 

This introduction marks the beginning of a series on Indoor Environmental Quality. It's one of the most important topics we can discuss because we're exploring intersections of the inextricably linked fields of health and building sciences. We will discuss the constituent parts of IEQ in detail in hopes that you come away more informed to make better decisions for your clients.

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast, Kristof explores all the great mysteries of water (especially the water you don't see).

Pure water is tasteless, odorless, and colorless. Water can occur in three states: solid (ice), liquid, or gas (vapor).

Solid water—ice is frozen water. When water freezes, its molecules move farther apart, making ice less dense than water. This means that ice will be lighter than the same volume of water, and so ice will float in water. Water freezes at 0° Celsius, 32° Fahrenheit.

Liquid water is wet and fluid. This is the form of water with which we are most familiar. We use liquid water in many ways, including washing and drinking.

Water as a gas—vapor is always present in the air around us. You cannot see it. When you boil water, the water changes from a liquid to a gas or water vapor. As some of the water vapor cools, we see it as a small cloud called steam. This cloud of steam is a miniversion of the clouds we see in the sky. At sea level, steam is formed at 100° Celsius, 212° Fahrenheit.

The water vapor attaches to small bits of dust in the air. It forms raindrops in warm temperatures. In cold temperatures, it freezes and forms snow or hail.

But what about this mysterious fourth state? Tune in to find out! 

Also, be sure to check out this psychrometric app to run your own humidity experiments.

In this episode, Kristof interviews TreeHouse CEO Jason Ballard on his path into creating a more sustainable building supply retail space. 

Growing up in a small town in Southeast Texas, our co-founder and CEO Jason Ballard developed a personal connection with the pine forest, coastal prairie, and “big thicket.” In exploring nature, he learned the intricate ways in which humans and the planet rely on each other. At the same time, nearby petrochemical refineries clearly demonstrated the degradation that people can bring to the environment and their own health.

Jason studied ecology and biology to understand the underlying causes of environmental and human health issues. He learned that our impact on the natural world and our own lives are immediately affected by our approach to one of our most basic needs, shelter.

While working in green building along the front range of Colorado, Jason sprouted the idea for TreeHouse. He wanted to build a place that enabled and empowered people to reimagine their homes toward a true north of sustainability, beauty, and health.

This episode will focus on the practical and philosophical motivations to shift the industry focus to a more comprehensive building process that integrate teams, systems, and deliver better results. We will attempt to provide clarity for creative and logical solutions that can enable architects and builders to make this kind of philosophical shift toward a more outcome based future. Join us as Kristof interviews Corey Squire from Lake|Flato Architects for a great conversation! 

LEED AP O+M
Sustainability Coordinator  
Corey works with all Lake|Flato teams to establish sustainability goals, analyze designs with simulation software, and collects post-occupancy performance data. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Environmental Studies from Oberlin College and a Master of Architecture from Tulane University. In 2012, Squire was awarded the Eskew+Dumez+Ripple Research Fellowship to study building post-occupancy energy performance and sustainable design processes.

In this brief episode, Kristof runs down the basics of the vapor compression cycle existent in many HVAC technologies with which we're familiar. And the episode takes place in a van. So prepare yourself for the soothing background hum of the open road while Kristof records his thoughts with a mobile microphone. 

In this episode, Kristof interviews Keith Simon and John Posenecker of Building Exterior Solutions on how we can do better work in the construction and design industry.

Keith A. Simon is a Registered Architect, Certified Passive House Consultant (CPHC), and Legacy LEED AP with over 10 years’ experience in architectural design and building enclosure consultation. Mr. Simon is a Senior Architect at Building Exterior Solutions, Inc. and adjunct faculty at the University of Texas School of Architecture (UTSoA) in Austin. His consulting experience includes investigation, analysis, repair design, construction administration, testing, and peer review of design phase documentation. Mr. Simon was the founder of the Austin Building Enclosure Council (BEC: Austin) and currently serves as a board member for both
BEC: Austin as well as the Austin Passive House Alliance US (PHAUS). Mr. Simon is also a member of the American Institute of Architects (AIA), the Society of Building Science Educators (SBSE), and the Texas Society of Architects (TSA) Codes and Standards Committee. Mr. Simon was awarded the 2012 Emerging Professional Honor Award by the Austin AIA.

John Posenecker is also an incredibly talented and accomplished engineer, but we couldn't find his professional biographical information. We'll update once he sends it.

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 you’ll hear from Patti Gunderson with PNNL who is working with a talented team who are taking a thoughtful approach to this ambitious goal. One that focuses on modular design, carbon sequestering materials, thermal/energy efficiency, and a forward-looking circular approach that relies on cleverly designed, factory-built, bio-based materials right from the start. The outcome is a home that supports an owner’s right to repair (we need this with so many so-called durable products in our world today) and also allows the materials in the home to be disassembled and reused and the end of the home's lifecycle.

Patricia Gunderson

Patti Gunderson joined PNNL in 2021 and supports several projects in both the Energy Policy and Economics and Buildings and Connected Systems Divisions. A particular strength is collaborating with manufacturers, designers, builders, and trades people to understand and overcome barriers to adoption of optimized building technologies.

Patti most recently spent nearly six years at Home Innovation Research Labs where she proposed, designed, and led research projects to study constructability, functionality, energy efficiency and durability of buildings. Her background in building physics, engineering software tools, systems design, discipline coordination, project documentation, and construction administration provides valuable insight for research, analysis and client support.

Prior to HI, Patti worked in the DC office of SmithGroup, an international AE firm, on numerous high-profile projects including embassies, medical centers, university law schools and the flagship Net Zero Brock Environmental Center for the Chesapeake Bay Foundation. Patti is a big fan of collaboration and has benefitted from research partners and clients representing several national labs, the National Association of Home Builders, the Leading Builders of America, and numerous international manufacturers, as well as staff from DOE, FPL, HUD, and VA.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast, Kristof interviews Adam Reiser of Shelter Builders. We'll explore why construction practices aren't considered a public health issue and hear from Adam's personal story with a house that caused serious health issues.

In 2013, Adam and his family found out that their beloved house was filled with a dangerous toxin that was making them sick. After deciding to tear it down, they were unable to find a builder to help them rebuild a healthier, safer home – so they did it themselves. Today, their house is the Shelter model home – and one of the healthiest houses anywhere in America.

Adam has spent his entire professional life as a champion for health and health education. He has spent the last six years working with the Engine 2 program and Whole Foods Market, developing healthy eating education curriculum, programs and events. He is the founder of FoodCoaching, a national training program for people helping others make healthier diet & lifestyle choices. He is the co-founder of Jack & Adam’s Bicycles in Austin, one of the leading cycling and triathlon lifestyle stores in the country.

Married with two children, Adam is a graduate of Rice University, where he was a captain of the Track & Field Team. He also has a law degree from the University of Texas School of Law, and gave up a perfectly good career as a Assistant District Attorney in Houston in order to help people find and sustain their health. He is currently working on a Master’s Degree in Environmental and Occupational Health Sciences at the University of Texas School of Public Health.

Join The Building Science Podcast on a California adventure to learn about radiant heating and cooling panels made by Messana.

Messana is a small company based in Italy and California with big ideas. They are passionate advocates of RADIANT COOLING, committed to change the way spaces are conditioned to improve the thermal comfort of their occupants, all while lowering the carbon footprint.

We were lucky enough to mix things up and change our episode format with some live interviews with the Messana team! 

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast, we interview the great Dr. Allison Bailes of Energy Vanguard Blog about all things HVAC. 

From Dr. Bailes world renowned blog, Energy Vanguard: 

"It took me a while, but I've finally figured out how best to use my PhD in physics (University of Florida, 1998). I've always loved science, and I started off on the traditional academic path after graduate school, but that wasn't really enough for me. I loved teaching, but I needed to find a way to use my interest in energy and the environment as well as my love of buildings, especially houses.

A lot of little steps along the way brought me to where I am now:

Reading The Integral Urban House in the '80s

Buying the Real Goods compendium the Alternative Energy Sourcebook (now called the Solar Energy Sourcebook) in the early '90s

Subscribing to Home Power magazine in 1994

Building and using a solar cooker

Serving on the Gainesville Energy Advisory Committee while in grad school

Watching (and helping a little bit) my PhD thesis adviser build an off-the-grid solar house in Florida

What really started the ball rolling for my new career and the founding of Energy Vanguard, though, was when I built a house myself. In 2001, I bought a piece of land and spent the next two years building a green home that's beautiful, efficient, and comfortable. Having never built anything bigger than a bookcase prior to taking on this project, I had a steep learning curve in front of me—and I loved it!

After finishing the house in 2003, I became a home energy rater and left academia for my new career in the field of high performance homes. My first business was called ab3 energy, and I offered home energy ratings and building science consulting. When that turned out not to be enough to keep the business afloat, I started offering Manual J heating and cooling load calculations, and I even got into the contracting business. I did air-sealing, duct-sealing, insulation, and crawl space encapsulation to provide homeowners with a comprehensive package to improve their home's performance.

That business was going well when life threw some curve balls at me, so I ended up going to work for another home performance contractor (The Hoots Group) in Atlanta. I learned many new business and contracting skills, and then got the opportunity to work for one of the premier energy efficiency and green building organizations in the country—the Southface Energy Institute. At Southface, I started off as the regional manager for the EarthCraft House program and then also became the manager of Southface Energy Rated Homes, their HERS rating providership. Again, I learned a lot there that would have been much harder to learn on my own.

In 2008, I decided that I really wanted my own company again, so I left Southface and started Energy Vanguard. In some ways, this company is a continuation of ab3 energy, but it's also a lot more than that. Energy Vanguard is more about teaching and less about fixing, although we do offer HVAC design services. It's focused more on the big picture—creating markets, spreading the word (such as for Energy Efficient Mortgages), expanding networks—and less on individual components. I see this company as being on the forefront of change—the vanguard—in the way we see and use energy in our homes.

It's been a bit of a winding path, but I'm doing what I love now and feel that I've finally figured out how to combine my interests, skills, experience, and education in a way that lets me serve clients to the best of my ability. The fact that Energy Vanguard is growing in a down economy is testament that I've made good choices. It's also evidence that you can succeed in this field as well. There's plenty of room for growth here.

Please let me know how Energy Vanguard can help you, whether it's with training, as your HERS rating provider, or with some other building science related need you have."

-- Allison A. Bailes III, PhD

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast, we dive into part 5 of 5 on the control layers that we use to separate ourselves from the external environment. This episode explores the thermal barrier and how it interacts with the other control layers.

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast, we dive into part 4 of 5 on the control layers that we use to separate ourselves from the external environment. This episode explores the vapor barrier and how it interacts with the other control layers.

In part 3 of our 5 part series, Living Inside Anywhere, we dive into the Air Control Layer of the building assembly. Although understanding the assembly as a fully integrated system is crucial, breaking things down can be useful. 

In part 2 of our 5 part series of Living Inside Anywhere, we explore the air control layer and what it means for your project.

The building enclosure is a complex system that is configured differently for every project. In this 5 part series, we'll break down each control layer and hopefully demystify it! 

Join Kristof as he discusses the ins and outs of attic ventilation. If you find this topic helpful or interesting, take a moment to dive into the resources below! 

http://www.greenbuildingadvisor.com/blogs/dept/musings/all-about-attic-venting

http://buildingscience.com/documents/digests/bsd-102-understanding-attic-ventilation

http://builditgreendallas.org/sites/builditgreendallas.org/files/www/files/rr-9801_vented_sealed_attics.pdf

http://www.structuretech1.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/12/Early-History-of-Attic-Ventilation.pdf

What do you really know about your HVAC system? Well wonder no more. We've got you covered!

At Positive Energy, we design high performance HVAC systems. Just to be perfectly clear, we design systems that rely on Variable Capacity (VRF) HVAC equipment. 

Simply put, installers and mainstream MEP engineers launch into designs thinking about air handlers, plenums and ducts, while we start by thinking about your enclosure, your pulmonary system and health, and how your body perceives comfort. Having a carefully designed, high performance HVAC system is the most sensible way to deliver health and comfort in your home or building. Positive Energy has a team of passionate, creative, and thoughtful engineers and we love what we do. Learn more about our process, outlining the architectural and mechanical design processes to see where we’ll intersect along the way.

A quick reference mentioned in the podcast on humidity and asthma:

You don’t have to be a building nerd or an engineer for a question like this to be relevant and important to consider. There are many reasons why AWHP systems make an attractive alternative to our batch of current “normal” heat pumps that rely on refrigerant for thermal distribution. Some of the reasons AWHP are appealing include: (1) reduced refrigerant volumes, thus reduced refrigerant leakage into the atmosphere; (2) larger selection of indoor unit options relative to refrigerant based systems; (3) the ability to support comfort via thermally active surfaces (aka radiant heating/cooling); (4) your home is better future-proofed and more technology-agnostic, and (5) these systems affordably unlock thermal storage (for thermal loads), which can provide energy resilience for their owners as well as dispatchable grid-level energy storage This episode is why you listen to the Building Science Podcast, somehow this multifaceted emerging story has still not hit the mainstream. 

In our very first short episode, the show's producer rambles while gives a brief overview of building science's role in societal change and how it could affect our lives.

The PHIUS+ 2015 Passive Building Standard provides the climate-specific sweet spot where aggressive energy and carbon reduction overlap with cost effectiveness. It accounts for a full range of variables including climate zone, source energy, and costs. 

In cooperation with Building Science Corporation under a U.S. DOE Building America Grant, the PHIUS Technical Committee developed passive building standards that account for the broad range of climate conditions, market conditions, and other variables in North American climate zones. 

In this week's episode, we explore the above code practice of Passive House and its role in American architecture and building. 

Special thanks to the Austin PHAUS Chapter for their generous support of this episode.

"“Why do we heat and cool buildings with air? How did a thermodynamically and physiologically irrational medium of heat transfer - air - become the dominant method of heating and cooling buildings? 

Water is 832 times denser than air. Energy Density is directly related to the density of a material. Water can capture and channel far more energy per unit volume than air. Thermally active surfaces are built around this basic principle. 

The human body is a hydronic, thermally active surface system. Heat energy is transferred in and around a body through the hydronic circulatory system. The heart circulates heat through the blood back and forth between the core of the body to its skin, a thermally active surface. Its thermal system is decoupled from its ventilation system. 

Thermally active surfaces in buildings follow this logic, literally. This alters energy consumption and amends human comfort. Thermally active surfaces in buildings are not metaphors for the body and do not mimic a natural system. Rather, they share the same thermo-dynamical system. In this century, building science and systems will follow how the body actually functions. 

The human body uses radiant transfer to exchange most of its thermal energy. Buildings based on this logic will significantly amend current patterns of energy consumption and human comfort. 

Achieve greater human comfort with low air temperature heating and high air temperature cooling. Thermally active surfaces utilize low-supply temperature heating and high-supply temperature cooling to achieve human comfort. This can save an immense amount of energy in the next century of building. 

Cooling is a deceptive concept. If a building does not get hot, it does not need to be ‘cooled.’ Thermally active surfaces ‘cool’ by continuously removing heat energy. This is fundamentally different from air based approaches to cooling. If a surface is cooler than the bodies and objects in its space, it is removing heat from those objects and has the effect of cooling. There is no circumstance when the surface temperature should be near or at the dew point temperature to heat or ‘cool’ a space. As such, condensation is not an impediment to thermally active surfaces. 

De-fragment buildings and the building industry. Integrated practices must occur on societal levels in how teams and projects are structured as well as on material levels in the form of simplified, yet higher performing, building systems. 

Thermally active surfaces engender more deeply integrated design of material and energy systems for more robust buildings.

What would change if we heated and cooled buildings with water rather than air? 

Thermally active surfaces stand to advance architecture’s practices and performances: its techniques, technologies, professional and ecological sustainability, budgets, and formal possibilities.” 

-Kiel Moe, Thermally Active Surfaces In Architecture

In this episode of The Building Science Podcast we explore one of the world's most potent and revolutionary technologies - thermally active surfaces, or radiant heating and cooling. 

We take the air conditioner for granted, but imagine what life would be like without it. 

Once considered a luxury, this invention is now an essential, allowing us to cool homes, businesses, hospitals, data centers, laboratories and other buildings vital to our economy and daily lives. In fact, air temperature is so important to us that 48 percent of all energy consumption in American homes is a result of cooling and heating, according to the Energy Information Administration.

Like most important breakthroughs, modern commercial and residential air conditioning technology is a result of a series of advancements by scientists and inventors who challenged themselves to come up with creative solutions to problems of the day.

How much do you really know about where air conditioning comes from? 

From Benjamin Franklin to the vast scientific HVAC advancements of the future - in this episode of The Building Science Podcast, we explore the rich and fascinating history of air conditioning and discover something fascinating about the difference between air and water.

In this episode, Kristof interviews world renowned lighting consultant Matthew Tanteri on the complexities of the windows in architecture. 

Matthew Tanteri runs Tanteri + Associates to provide architectural lighting design services to architects, designers, building owners and developers.  We work on light projects large and small that include retail, residential, commercial, institutional, landscape and much more.

For 25 years, their collaborations on lighting projects all over the world have been recognized by many of the lighting industry’s most distinguished awards.  With natural and electric light they seek to enhance and define the visual experience. They are constantly exploring new methods, materials, and applications in which to use light.

Join us for a wonderful conversation and enjoy!

In our first ever episode of the building science podcast, Kristof & Michael introduce a wild product that could change how your home can passively handle heat loads. A phase change material (PCM) is a substance with a high heat of fusion which, melting and solidifying at a certain temperature, is capable of storing and releasing large amounts of energy. Heat is absorbed or released when the material changes from solid to liquid and vice versa; thus, PCMs are classified as latent heat storage (LHS) units.

Join us as we begin this wild adventure with very little knowledge of how to make a podcast. We hope it goes well and that you enjoy! 

We spend the vast majority of our time inside yet we actually know very little about what it means to live indoors. This is the case even though what happens indoors impacts us in nearly every way. Our comfort, health and overall well-being all are deeply impacted by what's in the air we breathe and what’s happening in and on the surfaces all around us. 

Enter Corbett and Grace Lunsford. 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 “good home” is far more than what it looks like and how much it will sell for in the market. In the process, Corbett and Grace have become leading voices in the role of educating us about the many and hidden dimensions of home performance. Join us in this episode as they unpack the why, the what, and they created the Home Diagnosis TV show on PBS.

Corbett Lunsford

Corbett began working in the realm of home performance expertise in 2008 with Grace. He quickly discovered the challenges within the construction industry—its inherent messiness, time constraints on professionals, and inadequate compensation, all of which adversely affect homeowners throughout their lives. Their shared objective is clear: to present building performance in an accessible manner for both professionals and consumers, contributing to the improvement of structures globally.

In 2009, Corbett initiated the Building Performance Workshop. He has also been prolific in sharing knowledge through more than 500 YouTube videos, 80 interviews for the Building Performance Podcast, and the authorship of the book "Home Performance Diagnostics: the Guide to Advanced Testing." Additionally, he developed the APT Reports software tool.

Not bound by conventional expectations, Corbett and Grace designed and constructed the world's highest performance tiny house on wheels, the #TinyLab, in 2016. They toured the U.S. and settled in Atlanta, Georgia, creating the groundbreaking TV series "Home Diagnosis," the first of its kind on public television across the U.S.

Grace Lunsford

Grace Lunsford is the powerhouse behind The Building Performance Workshop’s videos and the Home Diagnosis TV series. She started the 'Home Performance' YouTube channel, and has produced over 500 videos to date, gaining 4 million views and 23k subscribers. Grace is the creator, co-host, and Executive Producer of 'Home Diagnosis', the first-ever TV series about measured home performance, which has aired on over 60% of the PBS stations across the U.S. Her short films and feature film, The Other One, have won awards at film festivals, and as a Hewlett-Packard sponsored artist, she presented workshops on her work methods at both Sundance and Cannes.

She founded the media firm Sterling Rock Productions because the media she wanted to see was not being made.  She has served on the Boards of Directors of the Screen Actors Guild Midwest and the Illinois Production Alliance (which lobbies for tax incentives in the film industry), where she spearheaded an initiative to bring the production of major motion pictures and television shows to Chicago. She also founded the 501c3 Chicago Acting in Film Meetup, a professional support group of over 150 screen actors.

Grace's career in film and television and voiceover continues in Atlanta, GA, where she's represented by Stewart Talent.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

Moving heat with a heat pump is an unsung superhero in the global energy transition. Chances are nearly 100% that you’re using a heat pump right now - to heat or cool yourself, refrigerate your food, or keep your car comfortable while you drive. The vapor compression process may be the thermodynamic engine of a heat pump, but where the rubber meets the road is the heat exchanger, aka “the coil”. 

Getting heat exchanger coils right is a balancing act. On one hand we want the coils wall material to be as thin as possible so they move heat efficiently, on the other hand we don’t want the working fluid, typically a high GWP refrigerant, to leak out into the sky. This is a costly hassle for us as well as a tragic outcome for the atmosphere. 

This is the backdrop for today’s conversation with Todd DeMonte on coils, coil failures, and the future of refrigerant based heat ex. Todd has been one of many smart folks around the world working to help society move past the vexing issue of formicary corrosion. Enjoy the feast of ideas in this episode!

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 John Banta and Erica Elliot MD dedicated themselves to write a book. This happened 35 years ago with the 1st Edition of Prescriptions for a Healthy Homes, last year (in 2022) the 4th Edition was published and it is a richly updated treasure trove of motivation, guidance and actionable information that we all need to know more about. What we need now is a step change of sorts in the way society thinks about and delivers housing to itself. We need a Healthy Home Revolution.

With that in mind, Kristof sat down with Paula to have a conversation about her journey exploring and understanding the connection between the built environment and our health. After hearing her stories and absorbing the understanding and knowledge in her book, it is clear that homes can be so much more than we currently ask them to be. Homes are more than a visual-spatial-economic situation, more than a place to hold ourselves, our families and our stuff, more than an exercise in energy efficiency and resource use; The places we live are in truth highly immersive and tactile experiences for our bodies and minds, and profoundly impactful opportunities to promote our health and the health of the planet.

Designing and building a sustainable passive house is a powerful moment for all involved - the client, the architect, and the planet. For the owners the process is deeply personal and emotional, with layers of financial impacts and the significant time investment involved. For architects the key is to talk in a way that clients can hear them, and listen in a way that they can hear their clients*. For both the architect and the client the first few conversations set the stage for what comes next. 

Join us in this interview with Graham Irwin of Essential Habitat where we unpack the seemingly simple question: How does effective communication between the client and the architect happen? The answers may surprise you. 

 “Designing a home is an incredible opportunity, let’s ensure the results are extraordinary”

-Graham Irwin, Essential Habitat

*with respect and appreciation to the amazing parenting book

Stated another way: Why is it that some firms produce a consistent stream of high-performing buildings, while others have trouble crafting a single project that moves beyond traditional practice? The answer is Practice; the environment and practices within which each particular firm carries out or exercises its professional role in the society. Join us in this episode as Corey and Kristof enjoy a thoughtful and lively discussion of architectural practice along the dimensions of Vision, Culture, Process and Knowledge. This is one for all of you out there that recognize the power of architecture and want to better understand how to unleash its positive impact into the world. 

Topics include the basics of particulate capture, the tradeoffs between filtration efficiency, clean air delivery rate, and energy use, filter media types, and electret degradation.  If you want to learn about the role of filtration in delivering clean indoor air for your self, or if your role in society has agency in making sure your clients are breathing healthy air, you will appreciate what you learn here. Mark is a filter nerd with the ability to break things down and communicate clearly.

Today we’re continuing the conversation on modular construction w/ Rommel Sulit and Chris Krager. Buckle up for some quotable quotes and impactful ideas in this episode. A recurring theme from part 1 is present here. Could it be the case that because modular delivery must rethink basic assumptions, it may be the first area of the AEC to do what the rest of the AEC is not. At core, the role of architecture is to create the link between design intent and what is actually built. This is not easy, nor simple. It means managing multiple streams of expertise and action so that they are effectively coordinated and integrated into a finished livable space.

Modular requires a high resolution understanding of why we build the way we do, what are its strengths and weaknesses, and, particularly, where are the key leverage points to unlock change. Because as they say in this episode, there’s no way around the reality that when it comes to AEC practices, We have to Pivot at somewhere. Modular delivery is perhaps, at heart, a recognition of this truth.

Rommel Sulit

Founding Principal and Chief Operations Officer at Forge Craft Architecture + Design. With 25 years of experience, Rommel founded Forge Craft with Scott Grinder to improve lives through the art and science of architecture and design. Rommel developed his architectural philosophy working on projects that span demographics, geographies and types at the Office of Metropolitan Architecture (OMA) with Rem Koolhaas, Page Southerland Page, Rhode Partners and BOKA Powell. 

Before Forge Craft, Rommel’s work in Europe and across the U.S. centered on ambitious, large scale urban developments. Rommel now oversees projects across Forge Craft’s six Architecture + Design Craft Studios including Commercial, Affordable Housing, Interior Architecture, Residential Use, Modular Architecture and Emergent Technologies.

Chris Krager

Chris Krager has a BA in Business Administration from Michigan State University, and he received his March First Professional from the University of Texas at Austin School of Architecture. Krager formed KRDB (Krager & Associates, Design/Build), a develop/design/build company, in 2001 with the intention of creating financially accessible architecture, while focusing on sustainability in the urban environment (www.krdb.com). The firm’s projects cover a broad range from single-family developments, small lot projects, mixed-use and multi-family developments, hotels, creative office, alternative senior living models, and more.

KRDB’s work has been recognized locally and nationally including winning the AIA Austin’s prestigious “Firm Achievement Award” in its first year (2001). Their work has appeared in the New York Times, Dwell, Architectural Record, Residential Architect, and Metropolitan Home amongst others. It has been published in numerous books including “Modern Shoestring: Contemporary Architecture on a Budget” by Susanna Sirefman, “Good House/Cheap House” by Kira Oblensky, “The Perfect $100,000 House” by Karrie Jacobs, and two of Sheri Koones’ “Pre-Fabulous” books. There work has also been featured on shows such as “This New House”, “Small Space, Big Style”, “Dream Builders”, “Dwell TV” and “What You Get For Your Money”.

KRDB’s Sol Austin project, a 40 unit model for holistic sustainable design, was one of the first net-zero capable projects in the US, and was awarded an AIA Austin Merit award, the inaugural Austin Green, “Project of the Year” and was featured on the front page of the NY Times Homes section (www.solaustin.com).

KRDB introduced ma modular in 2008, their line of affordable modern modular homes and are currently working on projects in Austin, Los Angeles, Dallas and New York
(www.mamodular.com). What began as a single-family endeavor, has now grown to
include projects ranging in scale from a 4 unit small lot development, to a 135 unit, 150k sf project on 6 acres.

Team

Hosted by Kristof Irwin

Edited by Nico Mignardi

Produced by M. Walker

Topics include the basics of particulate capture, the tradeoffs between filtration efficiency, clean air delivery rate, and energy use, filter media types, and electret degradation.  If you want to learn about the role of filtration in delivering clean indoor air for your self, or if your role in society has agency in making sure your clients are breathing healthy air, you will appreciate what you learn here. Mark is a filter nerd with the ability to break things down and communicate clearly.