Efficiency, Energy, and Safety codes. What is Working Around the Country to Foster Resilient Communities- (EMPOWERED Solutions Webinar Recording)

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From hurricanes in the Southeast to extreme heat in the West or the often-freezing landscape of the Northeast, climate change is making durable and sustainable shelter more important than ever. How our buildings are constructed and use energy dramatically affects how long we can safely survive in them after a natural disaster. 

A sustainable and resilient future will rely on strategic approaches of efficiency measures, construction techniques, and workforce development that align with a community's specific needs. Building and safety officials responsible for our safety in jurisdictions nationwide and contractors in our communities who retrofit and construct our buildings hold the keys to ensuring a just and efficient clean energy transition.

In this webinar, experts from the nation’s regional energy efficiency organizations will share the building projects and community engagements that have been the most effective at improving resilience in their areas. When finished, you will better understand how diverse stakeholder engagement can lead to code updates and roadmaps that build resiliency. The webinar will also include a sneak peek at provisions in the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC) highlighting electrification, EV readiness, and solar readiness provisions, and you will hear about a new credential for contractors to promote deep energy retrofits. You will leave with strategies to implement in your jurisdiction to ensure a resilient and sustainable community.

Presenters Include:

  • John Gossman, Building Associate, Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)
  • John Balfe, Senior Manager, State & Community Solutions, Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)
  • Maggie Kelley Riggins, Senior Program Manager, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA)
  • Jim Meyers, Buildings Program Director, Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)
  • Randy Plumlee, Energy Code Program Manager, South-Central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER)

Randy Plumlee

Energy Code Program Manager

South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER)

Randy Plumlee is the Energy Code Program Manager at the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER). In this role Randy…. Randy geeks out over anything Building Science related, just look at his YouTube history.  He enjoys grilling and chilling weekends and cooking Mexican food with his wife Karina. Has one son, Dylan, and a nephew, Brandon, (super proud of both)  who is also in this industry on the energy inspection side of things. Classifies College Football as the 5th season of the year (CLEMSON – All In!). He’s a native Texan but loves to travel and see new places. Give him a Paloma, a pool, and family and he’ll want for nothing more.

Jim Meyers

Buildings Program Director

Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP)

Jim Meyers is Buildings Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) and directs the building efficiency and electrification program. He leads programs to advance energy efficiency in buildings through building energy codes, benchmarking programs, decarbonizing building codes, and the importance of electrification in the built environment. Working with national, state, and local building coalitions to improve building performance to ultimately reach zero energy buildings. Jim serves on International Code Council committees and leads stakeholder collaboratives in southwest states to support the building industry to adopt these policies and construct buildings to these new standards.

Maggie Kelley Riggins

Senior Program Manager

Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA)

Maggie Kelley Riggins is SEEA’s Senior Program Manager where she manages the energy efficient buildings portfolio, which includes building codes, building performance standards, and building-oriented pilot project models for enhancing energy efficiency in the Southeast. Maggie is laying the landscape for equity in energy efficiency, believing that we need to understand the “why” behind building efficiency in order to see better outcomes for all building occupants and the building energy efficiency workforce. Maggie has extensive experience in stakeholder engagement and coalition facilitation, and she strives to put people at the center of all her work.

John Gossman

Building Associate

Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA)

John Gossman is Building Associate at the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA). In this role, John assists in implementing policies and compliance programs to improve the energy efficiency of buildings at a local, state and regional level. Prior to joining MEEA John worked in many different facets of construction including project managing full home renovations and being a member of the local carpenter union. John also worked in the environmental consulting industry collecting and analyzing air pollution data from various industries around the country. John is passionate about industrialized and mass timber construction, best building practices, and smart home technologies. 

John Balfe

Senior Manager, State & Community Solutions

Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP)

John Balfe serves as Senior Manager, State & Community Solutions at the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP). In this role John helps drive energy efficiency in new and retrofitted schools and public buildings throughout the region. John works with various industry stakeholders to advance public policy with high performance building standards in the region, including facilitation of information exchange and knowledge transfer between states and programs. John is interested in advancing NEEP’s mission to improve our built environment and ultimately all of our surroundings. 

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Webinar (Presentation #1) Introduction to IREC & Presentation on The Critical Role of Updated Building and Energy Codes
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  19 minutes
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  19 minutes Learn about IREC's EMPOWERED program to create resources that will help those on the front lines of DER adoption—like first responders, safety officials, and building managers and owners—keep up with these rapidly emerging and advancing technologies.  The first presentation of this webinar, hear from Randy Plumlee, Energy Code Program Manager at the South-central Partnership for Energy Efficiency as a Resource (SPEER) about the urgency for action and critical role of updated building and energy codes.
Webinar (Presentation #2)- Sneak Peek at the 2024 International Energy Conservation Code (IECC)
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  23 minutes
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  23 minutes In this second presentation listen in to Jim Meyers, Buildings Program Director at the Southwest Energy Efficiency Project (SWEEP) as he provides a sneak peek at some of the key updates that will have impact on sustainable and energy efficient buildings and importantly how will the new energy code benefit building officials and designers in terms of improved compliance and better energy efficiency.
Webinar (Presentation #3)- Efficiency, Energy and Safety Codes in the Southeast
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  15 minutes
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  15 minutes Our third presenter, Maggie Kelley Riggins, Senior Program Manager, Southeast Energy Efficiency Alliance (SEEA) discusses a federally funded education and training project in Louisiana that centers people in the conversation on resilient building energy codes.
Webinar (Presentation #4)- Roadmap to Resilience
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  60 minutes
Recorded 11/06/2023  |  60 minutes The fourth presentation comes from John Gossman, Building Associate, at the Midwest Energy Efficiency Alliance (MEEA). John shares about a resilience planning roadmap from the state of Missouri that communities can follow to withstand and reduce the impacts of Acute shock and chronic stress. You will learn about the 4 phases outlined in the road map to guide communities in this planning.
Webinar (Presentation #5)- Picking-Up Where Codes Leave Off: Existing Building Workforce & Panelist Q&A
Recorded 02/15/2024  |  24 minutes
Recorded 02/15/2024  |  24 minutes In our final presentation we are joined by John Balfe, Senior Manager, State & Community Solutions at the Northeast Energy Efficiency Partnerships (NEEP). John takes a slight pivot from the code discussions and focuses in on how building the knowledge and skills of our contractor workforce is an important and crucial part of building businesses that can offer and provide whole-home retrofit services, especially as we move more in more into decarbonization and electrification solutions. Stick around to the end for a closing summary of the webinar and links to more resources.
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