HPC National—Live from Chicago

It’s always a challenge at the HPC national to take in as much as possible until my brain tells me “I’m full”. All these great topics, presenters and attendees is an embarrassment of riches.

So here are a couple of personal highlights. Hope it gives you a taste of what happened in Chicago yesterday. 

• Terry Nordbye actually sang the praises of the stack effect and holes in the building envelope, in his informative and entertaining presentation, “Retrofit Air Sealing—Wood Frame Buildings”. Terry describes himself as an Air Sealing Specialist, and suggested that you can judge a sealant by its Flexibility, Adhesion, Longevity, and by your Access to sealing locations. He recommends using elastomeric material for sealing. A little more expensive than traditional foam, but much improved according to the first three qualities above. Note that Terry is an “Air Sealing Specialist”.
• Keith Ohara, president of Eco Performance Builders in Concord, California, discussed “Full Scope Retrofits for Performance & Profit: The How Tos of the Work & the Business, Part 1”. He will pay thousands of dollars to someone who can take the “black box” of a ducted mini-split system and make it do what he wants it to do.
• Rick Karg and Paul Francisco put on a “Ventilation Extravaganza”. Rick said that multifamily ventilation is “tough to get right”. But it can be done. Paul showed a slide of a 1948 engineering handbook that recommended ventilation levels according to a child’s socioeconomic class. Enough said about that. Paul let us know that moisture in a home has more of an adverse effect on the occupants health than does mold.
• I am writing this overlooking the still-green-from-St. Patrick’s-Day Chicago River in a hotel where I think I celebrated my senior prom in college.

Now some practical information. If you are attending the conference—see the link below to participate online—please stop by the HPC booth #605 and add your name to two important letters asking committee leaders in Congress to: 

1. Prevent devastating budget cuts to the Department of Energy’s energy efficiency initiatives, including the Weatherization Assistance Program (WAP) and the State Energy Program (SEP), and the Building Technologies Office (BTO). Sign at the booth or online here.
2. Support the Blue Collar to Green Collar Jobs Development Act of 2019, a workforce development bill that would provide assistance to energy efficiency businesses seeking to educate and train new hires and existing employees. 

More tomorrow.