Posts by Robby Schwarz

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

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…

Part One: 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…

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…

Kelly Grace is an accomplished architect based out of Washington DC, and the Managing Principal of Travis Price Architects, an award-winning architecture firm, widely applauded for their visionary aesthetics, informed by ecology, mythology, and technology.    Kelly is known to many as the “NONTOXARCHITECT” on social media, where she shares her advice on material selections, design…

Adam Berry, Building Codes Advisor with the Colorado Energy Office spoke with me about Colorados path to its 3rd statewide code.  Following plumbing and electrical the state energy code is a significant step for a home rule state where building codes are normally adopted, amended, and enforced at a jurisdictional level. In this case, through…