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Ian Finlayson is the Deputy Director of Building Codes and Policy at the Massachusetts Department of Energy Resources’ Energy Efficiency Division.  He has been intimately involved in the development of the Massachusetts statewide energy code that has been tailored to meet the Commonwealth's net-zero carbon 2050 goals. The code emphasizes energy performance rather than simple prescriptive recipes and has been instrumental in bringing recognition of high performance building principles to the code world through the use of a passive house compliance pathway. Thanks for liking and listening. Ian Finlayson on LinkedIn Summary of the Massachusetts Building Energy Code NEEP article on the 2030 IECC X code Adam Berry from the Colorado Energy Office - buildCAST

At ETRO construction they say that “this isn’t just what we do-its who we are,” and that describes Shaun St-Amour to a T.  Shaun is the Manager of Revive at ETRO, a Construction company based in Vancouver British Columbia. Revive is ETRO’s division that focuses on creative, cost-effective strategies to restore, upgrade and modernize buildings and structures for the next generation of owners and tenants. Shaun brings his breath of experience to manage ETRO’s revive team to center their attention on performance using passive house construction principles and methods. It’s just who he has become as it’s now ingrained in his being. Enjoy your listen and thanks for liking and listening to the buildCAST Shaun St-Amour on LinkedIn ETRO Construction British Columbia’s Energy Step Code Passive House Accelerator Shaun on Instagram @shaun_stamour

Welcome back to my conversation with Ed May. As you may remember, Ed, is a partner at Building Type, a design consulting firm that concentrates on passive house energy modeling and successfully guiding projects to certification and/or just achieving their performance goals. The conversation picks up where we left off discussing how Passive house integrates with code compliance. We also speak to his work with Honey Bee open source software and his thoughts on resiliency and indoor air quality. Ed May on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Building Type ⁠ PH-TOOLS ⁠open-source tools⁠ for Passive House energy modeling Building Type ⁠Learn⁠ ⁠Parsons School of Design⁠ Parsons Solar Decathlon ⁠Team⁠ More information about ⁠Construction Instruction

Welcome to part one of my conversations with Ed May.  Ed, is a partner at Building Type, a design consulting firm that concentrates on passive house energy modeling and successfully guiding projects to certification and/or just achieving their performance goals. Ed’s carrier started as a carpenter/builder who then got his master’s in architecture at Parsons School of Design. These two worlds collided when he became a faculty team lead of the 2009 Parsons DOE Solar Decathlon project.  Ed now spends his time on the science of building performance including energy modeling simulations,envelop detailing, hygrothermal analysis, and helping to develop open-source software that ties it all together. In our conversation Ed openly explains the pros and cons of passive house and high-performance buildings. Ed May on LinkedIn Building Type PH-TOOLS open-source tools for Passive House energy modeling Building Type Learn Parsons School of Design Parsons Solar Decathlon Team More information about Construction Instruction

My discussion with Doug Hansel of DHP Energy follows his move from being a respiratory therapist to becoming a building science consultant. We begin with work that he has done documenting the R-value of installed insulation and then move into how he has blended respiratory health, indoor environmental air quality and his new passion for building science.  He has created his own Frankenstein ERV system that he feels meets the modern needs and realities of our housing today.  Broan and others manufactures of ERV are listening. DHP Energy LLC. Doug Hansel on LinkedIn Air Quality Index Explained: How AQI Affects Our Environment IQ Air Air Barrier Association of America (ABAA) QAP program https://airbarrier.org/qap-overview/How to measure spray foam insulation density Build Equinox Advanced Air Quality Management CADR Rating Explained

Sean Vo US director of Sales and Partnership and Vanessa Wright Sustainability Manager spoke to me about LEVVEN Electronic, the company they work for.  Interestingly LEVVEN basically sells one product, radio frequency controlled switch that replace normal toggle or dimmer switches in a home and comply with the new 2021 IECC section  R404.2 Interior lighting controls requirement that permanently installed lighting fixtures be controlled with either a dimmer, an occupant sensor control or other control that is installed or built into the fixture.   Sean and Vanessa explained to me how these fixtures actually work, which took awhile for my dense brain to understand, and how their installation can improve a home’s performance beyond control electrical usage. House tightness, cost of construction, and future uses for the technology were all touched on. Sean Vo on LinkedIn Vanessa Wright on LinkedIn LEVVEN

Nick Burch is the Director of Finance at SASHCO, a family owned and operated business that is celebrating their 90th year of operation this year. Nick got his real start at SASCHCO filling caulking tubes as a baby. As they say, labor laws were less strict in the ’80s, but really, he worked on the floor manufacturing caulks and sealants while growing up. We learn more about Nick and the history of this 90-year-old company and the business philosophy that has made it a success all these years. I know you will enjoy this listen and will learn some interesting management and business strategies. SASHCO Products that work SASHCO’s history timeline Caulk and Sealant Catalog Get a SASHCO Pro Sample Kit

Welcome back to Part Two of my conversation with Carl Grimes. Our conversation picks up where we left off explaining more of the five principles and then gets into how Environmental health is impacting the building of homes. Enjoy Hayward Score Healthy Home Director Carl Grimes, has a unique combination of experiences. He has personal experience of the disabling impact of an unhealthy home, and professional experience working in the Indoor Air Quality field. Both these experiences lead him to the Hayword Score where they are helping people live healthier lives by first believing in the negative health experiences they are having in their home, and second by offering a tool that can help homeowners understand these experiences. Carl understands that moisture and mold are not the only things that lead to poor indoor air quality and is trying to work out the synergistic interactions between occupants, house, and building science that can result in either a health supporting or health degrading environment. Carl Grimes on ⁠LinkedIn⁠ ⁠Hayward Score⁠ Indoor air quality ⁠Association ⁠ The Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory⁠(Symptom Star)⁠ ⁠ASHRAE Guideline 10-2023⁠ -- Interactions Affecting theAchievement of Acceptable Indoor Environments Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance ⁠(TILT) ⁠- ChemicalIntolerance Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and RestorationCertification ⁠(IICRC)⁠ ⁠ANSI S520-2025⁠ Standard for Professional Mold Remediation

Hayward Score Healthy Home Director Carl Grimes, has a unique combination of experiences. He has personal experience of the disabling impact of an unhealthy home, and professional experience working in the Indoor Air Quality field. Both these experiences lead him to the Hayword Score where they are helping people live healthier lives by first believing in the negative health experiences they are having in their home, and second by offering a tool that can help homeowners understand these experiences. Carl understands that moisture and mold are not the only things that lead to poor indoor air quality and is trying to work out the synergistic interactions between occupants, house, and building science that can result in either a health supporting or health degrading environment. Carl Grimes on LinkedIn Hayward Score Indoor air quality Association The Quick Environmental Exposure and Sensitivity Inventory(Symptom Star) ASHRAE Guideline 10-2023 -- Interactions Affecting theAchievement of Acceptable Indoor Environments Toxicant-Induced Loss of Tolerance (TILT) - ChemicalIntolerance Institute of Inspection, Cleaning and RestorationCertification (IICRC) ANSI S520-2025 Standard for Professional Mold Remediation

Ken Nelson is well known as an applied building science and indoor air quality (IAQ) expert at Panasonic North America. Our conversation wandered through the three ventilation strategies and further explained Panasonic’s Oasys System, which I really did not realize is an innovative approach for heating and cooling not just whole house ventilation. Ken is passionate about the subject and seamlessly explains the benefits for all stakeholders as well as some of the stumbling blocks we need to look out for during installation. Ken Nelson on LinkedIn Panasonic Ventilation Panasonic Oasys

Randy Plumlee specializes in energy code and building performance with SPEER or the South Central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource which is one of six regional Energy Efficiency Organizations. Jason Helm is the CEO for Texas Home Energy Professionals. In this conversation you will hear the three of us debate whether the International Energy Conservation Code requires both Whole House controlled mechanical ventilation and local, or spot, exhaust ventilation systems to be tested to achieve the flow rates required by the International Residential Code or IRC.  This is of special interest to me since I introduced the proposal in the 2021 IECC for this testing requirement and I definitely have a point of view. Randy and Jason do as well.  Let’s see what you think after listening to the conversation Randy Plumlee on LinkedIn SPEER Jason Helm on LinkedIn The Home Energy Rating Systems Council RESNET Home Certification Organizations (HCOs)Building Science Institute (BSI) John Krigger's Residential Energy

Bill Rectanus spent the bulk of his career in the world of construction innovation. Seeking out materials and solutions to drive production building to zero energy while being cognizant of cost effectiveness and bottom-line economics. Working for midsize regional production builders in Colorado for the bulk of his career, Bill found his next chapter aligning with Automated Architectural. AUAR as the company is known, is a company from England that has the capability to turn a job site into a factory by deploying Micro-Factories to build wall, floor, and roof panels directly on the building sites where they will be installed.  This new phase of panelized construction has potential to address skilled labor shortages, as well as the economics of constructing homes that could be the next innovation that the construction industry is looking for. Bill Rectanus on LinkedIn Automated Architecture – “AUAR”

Welcome back to our buildCAST conversation with Rich Truitt, Harford County Maryland Deputy Code Official.  In this second half of our conversation we dive deep into the Approved Third-Party Inspection Agency section that has been expanded and better explained in the 2024 IECC. Through Rich’s experience we see again the good, the bad, the ugly, and the potential future of this relationship between jurisdictions and Approved Third-Party Inspection Agencies. Rich Truitt on LinkedIn   Harford County Maryland RESCheck Software Example Private company code implementers SHUMS Coda and Associates  SAFEbuilt

At the time of our conversation Rich Truitt worked for Harford County Maryland.  He is now with the Internation Code Council. Rich began his career in the code world as a plan reviewer with Harford County, became the Chief Building Inspector and then served as the Deputy code Official.  I met Rich through our mutual interest in the continual development of the International Energy Conservation Code, and our conversation is based on Approved Third Party Inspection Agencies and his experience working with third parties who are assisting with Energy code enforcement.  The good, the bad, and the ugly. Our conversation was long, so I broke it up into two parts.  Part one introduces Rich and defines the IECC as a stand-alone code vs. the energy code in chapter 11 of the IRC. We also speak to how code officials, architects, builders are currently understanding how to work within the energy code, and finally we speak to sections in chapter one that come before the Approved Third-Party Inspection Agency section which we speak to in Part two of our conversation. Rich Truitt on LinkedIn Harford County Maryland  RESCheck Software

Unless you have your own company, most of us in the building industry have been laid off.  I was laid off in the early 1990’s and decided to start my own company rather than work for someone else.  Before getting laid off, however, I was exposed to blower door testing and energy modeling through a state of Colorado funded technical assistance program.  I then worked for that State program for a while before becoming a certified energy Rater and home inspector. My new business fully embraced the idea of being able to offer an Energy Improvement mortgage (EIM) to existing home buyers and an Energy efficient mortgage (EEM) for new construction home buyers. It became apparent very quickly that I would not be able to sustain and grow a business on the back of a mortgage product that realtors and mortgage lenders would not embrace so I pivoted with the industry writlarge to working primarily with builders. Energy related mortgages never fully died, and the golden grail has been, to figure out how to more directly adapted the mortgage Principal, Interest, Taxes, and Insurance equation (PITI) to include Energy (PITI+E) Fast forward 30 plus years and let me introduce you to Don Worthington, a mortgage lender with Primary Residential Mortgages who is specializing in bringing back the energy efficient mortgage (EEM) and the improvement mortgage (EIM) through the LOWTILITY mortgage product. LOWTILITY is a home loan designed around the true cost of home ownership that does not ignore operational cost, or the additional costs, that traditionally always occur, to make a newly acquired home livable and comfortable. Don Worthington on LinkedIn LOWTILITY Energy Efficient Mortgages Green Builder Media Frontlines of Climate Action: TurningUtility Bills Into Buying Power Primary Residential Mortgage, Inc