Track 7: What the Pros Want To Know

Track Chair(s): F.L. Andrew Padian, The Community Preservation Corporation; David Stecher, IBACOS, Inc

22nd Century: Can Your iPhone (or Android) do an Audit?

11:00 AM – 12:30 PM Wednesday, March 7, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Speaker(s): Lester Shen, Tom Spielman

Young and old practitioners have been creating applications for iPads and smart phones for years (well, two years for an iPad). See the latest and fastest tools to make your life in the field easier. This session was highly rate at BuildingEnergy11 by both experienced and new users that have trouble using their phones.

Building Resilience for Climate Risks

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Wednesday, March 7, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Chair(s): Joel Gordes
Session Speaker(s): Katherine Silverthorne, Alex Wilson

This session will examine not only why we need to create buildings and communities that are resilient to the impacts of climate change (heat waves, intense storms, sea level rise, flooding, etc.), but also how to ensure that these buildings and communities will fare well in the aftermath of such events – when we may experience extended power outages, interruptions in heating and transportation fuels and prolonged water shortages. Building design, effective land-use planning, and local food systems will all be addressed.

Smart Buildings: Can They Be Smarter Than We Are?

4:00 PM – 5:30 PM Wednesday, March 7, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Speaker(s): Joe Phillips

IBM gave us home computers, software, portable computers, and now they are into buildings and cities. Can the Giant who made us all learn about computers help us learn about better buildings and cities? Learn from the Director of IBM’s Smarter Buildings/Smarter Cities about the direction in which this initiative is going and their goals and current successes.

Energy Modeling: Stop Wasting Your Time

8:30 AM – 10:00 AM Thursday, March 8, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Speaker(s): Michael Blasnik

Numerous studies have known that sophisticated energy models can be very inaccurate due to multiple factors, while simpler models can lead to greater accuracy if they employ better assumptions. Join one of the best building science researchers as he walks us through the pitfalls of too much detail and the beauty of simplicity in energy modeling.

When Walls Work and When They Don’t

10:30 AM – 12:00 PM Thursday, March 8, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Speaker(s): Chris Schumacher

Chris Schumacher will talk about his research with several industry partners called the thermal metric projects – how to measure the thermal performance of full-scale wall assemblies over a range of pressure and temperature differentials. He will discuss the final results of this research and some of the implications in the field.

Oops, the Envelope is too Good! (Now I Can’t Find a Small Enough HVAC System)

2:00 PM – 3:30 PM Thursday, March 8, Beacon Hill Complex
Session Speaker(s): John Straube

By working hard on the thermal enclosure, your reward is finding out that you can’t find a properly sized piece of equipment to heat or cool it. It’s a chicken and egg problem; manufacturers won’t make the systems without a great enough demand for installation, and builders can’t spec them if they don’t exist. Listen to the newest and oldest technologies, and solutions to this not-getting-any-better problem. Bring your questions and solutions.