Green Architects' Lounge

00:00 Welcome To GAL
00:02:50 The Old Pal Cocktail
00:06:14 Meet Scott Libby
00:11:30 Why Heat Pumps Belong In Maine Now
00:13:47 The Right Home For Heat Pumps
00:21:55 Insulation And The Bigger Picture
00:24:05 Multi Zone vs Single Zone
00:31:53 Why Ducted Is Worth It
00:43:27 Bad Installs And Real Complaints
00:53:45 Scott's Three Wishes
01:06:52 New Refrigerants And What's Coming
01:11:25 Final Call

00:00 Welcome To GAL

00:01:42 Low Voltage Spritz Cocktail

00:07:01 Why Low Voltage Now

00:08:55 Phil's Attic Fire Story

00:12:44 Rethinking LED Circuit Math

00:17:16 Copper Costs And Scarcity

00:20:03 The Real Cost Savings

00:21:09 What Electricians Think

00:24:28 Moving The Transformer To The Panel

00:28:42 Wireless Switches And Relays

00:31:32 Is This Only For New Homes

00:34:04 The Downsides And Fixture Limits

00:36:59 Transformer Failure Points

00:38:16 Low Voltage Beyond Lighting

00:41:28 What's Coming Next

00:42:14 Final Call

Chris Briley checks in with a quick update on this week’s episode of the Green Architects Lounge. Phil is taking care of a few things outside the show, and Chris assures listeners they’ll be back on schedule soon.

Until then, he’s holding down the fort with a fig old-fashioned in hand.

00:00 Welcome To GAL

00:02:48 The Last Word Cocktail

00:11:19 Why Mechanical Rooms Keep Growing

00:17:41 How Much Space Do You Actually Need

00:20:05 Think Distribution From Day One

00:22:04 Heat Pump Water Heaters

00:25:20 Ducted vs Ductless Heat Pumps

00:31:14 New Refrigerants New Space Requirements

00:32:35 Maintenance Nobody Talks About

00:34:51 ERVs And How To Route Them

00:41:52 Obstructions Clearances And Surprises

00:47:27 Show Up To The Pre-Construction Meeting

00:53:35 Final Call

00:00 Welcome To GAL
00:33 House Burping Trend
02:47 Scorched Earth Cocktail
09:05 What Is Lüften?
11:07 Measuring CO2
13:34 Air Changes Matter
16:08 Indoor Air Problems
19:14 Burping Tradeoffs
20:19 ERVs And HRVs
23:10 Testing Old Homes
25:38 Better Material Choices
31:02 Chemicals To Avoid
35:23 Fresh Air Strategy

00:00 Show Intro
02:43 Hot Paper Toddy
06:21 Why Housing Hurts
11:36 Musical Chairs
13:07 Durability Matters
14:35 Sustainability Tradeoffs
17:07 Density And Growth
19:01 NIMBY Roadblocks
24:31 Small Project Barriers
26:11 Code Changes Coming
35:11 When Green Goes Too Far
38:38 Practical Solutions
47:12 Modular Momentum
50:15 Final Call

05:20 Back In Play
05:26 What Makes Finishes
10:19 Drywall Alternatives
12:30 Flooring Reality Check
21:56 Low VOC Paint
28:42 Exterior Coatings
32:30 Countertop Tradeoffs
36:36 Specialties Grab Bag
44:00 Smarter Appliances
56:15 Heat Pumps Ventilation
59:20 Electrical Futureproofing

00:00 Back to windows
01:11 SHGC cocktail
03:18 Sponsor break
07:00 Why windows matter
11:22 The key metrics
13:24 U-factor basics
17:36 SHGC and comfort
23:57 VT and tint
27:17 Low-E decoded
36:19 DP vs PG

00:00:00 Welcome Back
00:04:10 Why specs matter
00:10:05 Division 01 basics
00:20:30 Site and salvage
00:26:45 Low carbon concrete
00:32:45 Masonry and metals
00:33:55 Wood and toxicity
00:44:15 Decking decisions
00:57:20 Insulation and WRBs
01:08:05 Doors and hardware

00:00 Welcome back
01:09 Storm chaser cocktail
04:05 Passive house wildfire
10:37 Resilience vs durability
15:23 Designing for hazards
22:35 Durable cold climate details
28:54 Resilience and equity
33:52 How buildings learn
38:56 Future ready services
43:04 Outboard module idea

00:00 Welcome & scope creep defined
02:02 Cocktail: Classic Bramble
05:51 Why projects grow beyond plan
09:38 Program exercise: rooms, office & garage
14:45 Square footage reality check
17:40 Basements & garages aren’t “free”
21:54 Program–budget method (checklists & meetings)
28:33 Contingency & finish tiers
38:58 Fork in the road: cut scope or raise budget
55:53 Price updates, escalation & communication

00:00 Intro & Cocktail of the Day
02:42 What We Mean by “Airhole”
08:05 Why Air Sealing Matters
14:47 Ventilation vs. Infiltration
21:19 Building Science in Action
36:31 Common Air Sealing Mistakes
42:50 Tools and Techniques
50:04 Audience Q&A and Wrap-up

00:00:00 Intro & setup
00:00:53 Cocktail: Whiskey Sour (recipe + dry shake)
00:06:50 Basements: the "free room" myth
00:08:48 When a basement makes sense
00:10:47 Concrete & embodied carbon reality check
00:13:52 Phil’s numbers: foundations vs CO₂e
00:19:09 Water 101: drains, dimple mat, daylight
00:22:21 Insulation: outside vs inside
00:27:16 Slab build-up & vapor control
00:34:34 Capillary breaks + the termite shield tale
00:38:16 Foam glass underfoot (Glavel 101)
00:41:02 Slabless slab: concrete-less floors
00:46:03 ICFs: pros, cons, pour-day realities

Welcome back for part 2 of Jacob's lecture from the PassivhausMAINE lecture series on addressing embodied carbon in our built environment. We close the episode with a song from one of the bands Jacob records with; Fantasma by Mal Maiz! Enjoy!

Cheers!

Chris and Phil were not only lucky enough to attend a lecture by Jacob Racusin, but they were also able to record it! Our friends at PassivhausMAINE invited Jacob to share his insights on low-impact, high-performance building technologies and discuss some of the ground-breaking work he has been involved in lately regarding plant-based construction and carbon sequestration in our built environment. He's a wonderful speaker with contagious passion for combating climate change through better building.

This is part one of his lecture, be sure to check out part two which will be released in about a week. Also be sure to visit our lame facebook page for cocktail recipes and links to Jacob's slide deck. Visuals help, but the the audio holds up on its own as well.

Also, new theme song.

Cheers!

Welcome to Episode #50!!! So many people are talking about offsite construction as an inevitable next step to solve the myriad housing issues we currently face, and we can't help but envision high-performance as going hand in hand with this movement. We discuss the evolution of these systems from the Sears Kit Homes of the 20's, to the race-to-the-bottom Post-war Mobile Home industry, to the Dwell Prefab dreams of the oughts, to the realities of today - both in the USA and in Europe. We'll discuss how the companies currently innovating in the space (including Phil's own BrightBuilt Home) are faring with their various business models, and what are the challenges and limitations are being faced by the different approaches.

We concoct a Corpse Reviver #2 just in time for Halloween, the recipe for which can be found on ourFacebook page.

We know. You want a sustainable siding that is maintenance free and affordable. The problem is that there are just so many options from which to choose and it's difficult to wade through the ocean of literature and opinion to find the perfect siding for your sustainable home. Lucky for you, Chris and Phil have hit the record button on an in-depth conversation about siding (as well as a cocktail for the fleeting summer, the Montenegroni). Be sure to look for an upcoming article with GreenBuildingAdvisor.com and the article Chris authored for Green & Healthy Maine Homes magazine! Pro-tip it contains the chart mentioned in the podcast which can also be found at our lame Facebook page. Cheers.

Embodied carbon is carbon that is emitted in the production of materials, and the building industry is responsible for 40% of global annual emissions. Buildings are the problem AND the solution and understanding the immediate impacts of embodied carbon is absolutely vital. We define the critical difference between operational and embodied carbon, and explain why net zero energy buildings simply aren't enough at this moment in time. We take a pass at understanding the numbers behind them. We also spend the second half of the podcast talking about the materials that we either must, or absolutely should not specify. Wood is good, steel and concrete are bad, but anyone in the industry knows that this doesn't leave us with a simple puzzle to solve.

Be sure to head over to Greenbuildingadvisor.com for additional content and related articles. The cocktail of the episode is the Bennett Cocktail. Be sure to check our our lame Facebook page for a detailed recipe. As always, our theme music is Zelda's Theme by Perez Prado, and our featured song this episode is "747" by Bill Callahan.

In this episode, Chris and Phil head over to the Portland Pod to record because they have not one, but two guests (Geoff Sparrow and Fred Greenhalgh of Revision Energy) to talk about Solar Storage! With lithium ion batteries hitting the market at ever more affordable prices, perhaps you've considered adding them to a project. The whole gang will sip fancy sunny cocktails and talk about the pros and cons of solar storage, when to consider them, and your options for installation.

What is a Living Building? It is rooted in place yet harvests all it needs (energy, water), is adapted to its climate and site, operates pollution-free, is comprised of integrated systems, and...is BEAUTIFUL. Phil and Chris talk about Living Building Challenge, a certification program that aims to transform the market place, with all it's joys and challenges. Collaborating for the first time, their firms are working on an LBC project, The Ecology School in Saco, Maine. They discuss the 7 petals (and 20 imperatives) put forth by the LBC in detail and chat about how this process has fundamentally changed how they practice as architects.

Be sure to head over to Greenbuildingadvisor.com for additional content and related articles. The cocktail of the episode is a Notorious F.L.I.P. Be sure to check out our lame facebook page for a detailed recipe. As always our theme music is Zelda's Theme by Perez Prado, and our featured song this episode is "Buoys" by Panda Bear.