336: Deep Dive Series: Applying Building Science, Episode 4: Building science in action, with heat pumps

The Art of Construction

This is episode 4 of 4 discussing the national organization BS + Beer and Building Science.
Today's episode features Devon and Robby as co-hosts chatting with Shawn LeMons of Mitsubishi wrapping up the 4 episode Deep Dive Series on BS + Beer. They explore how to get contractors on board with heat pump technology. The episode highlights the role of collaboration and innovation in moving the industry forward and emphasizes the importance of bridging the gap between theory and reality. They explore the changing landscape of heat pumps and the options available for builders. They emphasize the need to take small steps towards energy efficiency and the importance of testing and double-checking specifications. They also discuss the power of a long-term mindset.
"Treat the product you are providing your customer with a 10-year warranty mindset. What opportunities would that open up for you?"
Robby Schwarz has been a champion of home performance for over 25 years, focusing on building performance, applied building science, and system thinking. He is committed to helping industry partners, builders, code jurisdictions, and others understand residential energy, applied building science, systems thinking, home performance and our role in the built environment. His interest started in 1995, while exploring how to incorporate green building materials into the production building environment. Soon after, Robby founded his first company, BuiltWright, Inc. In 2006, he cofounded EnergyLogic, now the largest energy rating firm of its kind in Colorado. In 2020 he became the principal thinker and founder of BUILDTank, Inc., a pragmatic building think tank specializing in actionable applied building science solutions. He is actively involved in energy code development, builder and trade training, and educating the next generation of residential energy experts. He has helped Colorado jurisdictions develop and implement their energy codes, presented code language that was successfully adopted at the national ICC® code hearings, and encouraged implementation of the simulated performance path for code compliance. His ability to integrate applied building science and systems thinking with building programs such as Energy Star®, Indoor airPlus®, and DOE Zero Energy Ready Homes® has lead to thousands of certified homes in Colorado.
Energy and resource efficiency, sustainable buildings, and community abundance have become Shawn LeMons' life focus. He enjoys contributing his experience and intuitive problem-solving skills to this history-changing industry. The time is now to meet these challenges head-on. He has enjoyed a broad range of professional experiences from management in large corporations to ownership of small businesses. He truly enjoys being at the center of an organization and working cross-departmentally to find innovative solutions for clients and industry partners with Mitsubishi (#heatpumpnation). He can navigate complex project dynamics from detailed specifications, operational processes, field quality assurance, customer experience nuances, and business development strategy. He considers himself a change-agent and team player with a systems-oriented approach to the development and integration of products, services, and processes.
Register for the Advancing Prefabrication Conference with the discount code: PODCAST10
Watch a clip of this in-person studio podcast!

Listen to Robby's podcast, BuildCAST!

Learn how a heat pump works!

Visit Mitsubishi Electric Trane Youtube Chanel.

Visit Mitsubishi Electric heat pump tech-spec website!