Insulation Institute Blog

Posts Categorized: Building Performance

Pandemic Could Drive Net Zero Construction

Pandemic May Drive Zero Energy Construction

iStock-916028432-1-1An increasing number of states and municipal governments are considering more stringent energy efficiency goals into their updated building codes. For example, new residential construction in several locales within Colorado must comply with the U.S. Department of Energy’s Zero Energy Ready Home program. While Colorado may be on the leading edge, states that have targeted carbon reduction are ramping up efforts to move to more stringent building codes. The pandemic may accelerate that activity.

Details »
Pandemic Could Drive Net Zero Construction

How to Nurture Workforce Development

Even as the home building industry sees a record surge in sales, it still faces a tough challenge with labor for the foreseeable future. Novel approaches to attracting young people into the trades and efforts like North Carolina Building Performance Association (NCBPA’s) workforce development initiative may ultimately be the catalyst to solving significant workforce challenges. In this third and final of a three-part blog series, we look at why and how state and national organizations can get involved with these initiatives.

Details »
How to Nurture Workforce Development

Seeds for Workforce Success

While the terms sustainable, energy-efficient, and green building are broadly used to describe construction that centers on Building Performance, there’s no national program that focuses on career development in Building Performance. That’s why North Carolina Building Performance Association (NCBPA) Founder and CEO Ryan Miller is investing heavily in developing the Building Performance workforce in the state.

Details »
Seeds for Workforce Success

Developing Careers in Building Performance

Eighteen months ago, Insulation Institute spoke with North Carolina Building Performance Association (NCBPA) Founder & CEO, Ryan Miller, about a comprehensive Building Performance workforce development initiative that could serve as a model for other states and organizations in recruiting workers into the Building Performance trades. The initiative

Details »
Developing Careers in Building Performance

5 Reasons to Build with Mineral Wool

5 Reasons to Build with Mineral Wool

Chris Laumer-Giddens is an architect and custom builder. He’s an HVAC designer and building enclosure specialist whose current design-build project is a 2,800 square-foot, three-bedroom, two-and-a-half-bath home in Marietta, GA. Given the many hats Chris wears, it’s remarkable that he still finds time to educate others about high-performance, energy-efficient building practices, but he does.

Details »
5 Reasons to Build with Mineral Wool

Real Challenges of Uniform Code Enforcement

Thomas Branch is president of Comfy House, a Pennsylvania-based home performance company that specializes in building energy modeling, energy efficiency retrofits, and energy efficiency inspections. As a RESNET and BPI certified rater with decades of experience in the business, Branch is qualified to speak about the deficiencies he sees in energy code enforcement. Insulation Institute recently spoke with Branch about what he sees as a noticeable decline in code enforcement and how the system should change.

Details »
Real Challenges of Uniform Code Enforcement

Meet America’s Best Installer

Gerardo Macias, an insulation installer with Northern Insulation in Wauconda, IL, is the winner of the 2019 “America’s Best Installer” competition, held Nov. 7-9 in Denver, CO, and won the event’s top prize of $10,000. The annual competition, hosted by Insulate America and Johns Manville, saw Macias compete against contenders for the title in the competition, now in its sixteenth year. Insulation Institute staff witnessed the final competition and talked with several of the attendees, judges, and contractors about what it takes to walk away with the title and more importantly, deliver top quality insulation installation in the field, where proper installation is essential to achieving peak home energy efficiency and comfort.

Details »
Meet America’s Best Installer

A Model for the Net Zero Built Environment

New York State Energy Research and Development Authority (NYSERDA) has some of the most advanced policies and programs in the country to support a net zero built environment for existing and new construction homes. Other states would do well to follow their lead.  

Details »
A Model for the Net Zero Built Environment