Phius Senior Building Certification Consultant Tony Lisanti provides a roundup of the happenings at the recent RESNET Conference.
The annual RESNET Conference was recently held in Tempe, Arizona this year with a new twist. A departure from previous conferences was the addition of post-conference trainings, as opposed to traditional pre-conference offerings.
This year included a tour of Fulton Homes, a net-zero development in Avondale, Arizona, International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)/Home Energy Rating System (HERS) Compliance Specialist Training, and last but not least, Phius Certified Rater Training conducted by yours truly. I had the pleasure of having nine people attend the training with some familiar faces among them.
This year’s conference had a certain excitement surrounding it. Some of this past year’s achievements that were highlighted included:
A full accounting of all the 2024 achievements as described by RESNET Executive Director Steve Baden can be found here.
The conference kicked off on Sunday evening with an outdoor reception sponsored by the North American Insulation Manufacturers Association (NAIMA). Monday morning featured opening remarks by RESNET’s own Emma Bennet and welcome remarks by John Bennet, President of the RESNET Board of Directors. This was followed by an interview with Sheryl Palmer, chairman and CEO of Taylor Morrison Home Corp, during which she described their growth and corporate culture embracing energy efficiency and sustainability initiatives.
The opening session was capped off with a discussion hosted by Laurel Elam with Steve Baden. Steve has been the face of RESNET since I started in the business back in 2002. His involvement and creation of RESNET goes back to the 1990s. So it was with some mixed emotions that we all learned that Steve will be stepping aside as Executive Director effective Dec. 31 of this year.
It was great to hear Steve take us through his journey, which ultimately led to the formation of RESNET and its evolution to where it is today. In his words: there is still much work to be done including, the audacious goal of having 1 million homes rated annually by 2028. One of the other goals which is of great interest to me is RESNET and the International Code Council launching a new program designed to enhance energy code compliance mentioned earlier.
Phius also had a booth at the RESNET Conference, with Mark Smith and Lisa White meeting and greeting attendees while providing a variety of information on Phius programs. A key message that was shared was that the popularity of the Phius building standard is growing, and as the demand increases across the US for buildings built to the Phius building standard, more and more RESNET raters and verifiers also trained as Phius Certified Raters and Verifiers will be needed.
Below are some of the main resources that were shared:
Rater and Verifier training occurs at different times throughout the year, either all online, or in a combination of online (eight modules) and two days in-person. All training is followed by an exam. Phius Certified Rater and Verifier Training also occurs in conjunction with the RESNET Annual Conference. Phius Certification then enables a RESNET HERS ® Rater and Verifier to be involved in the certification of buildings built to the Phius standard.
Phius welcomes Certified RESNET HERS® Raters and Verifiers to obtain their Phius certification by registering for an upcoming class that fits their schedule.
