On the latest episode of BUILDCast, host Robby Schwarz talks with Steve Baden, the founding Executive Director of the Residential Energy Services Network or RESNET. Robby shares, “I was in the first energy Rater training and became the 32nd certified rater in Colorado in 1995. Soon after I met Steve at the first RESNET conference held at the Florida Solar Energy Center when I was on the board of directors of Energy Rated Homes of Colorado.” Robby continues, “Even before Jimmy Carter’s infamous, wear a sweater speech from the Oval Office, Steve’s path to energy efficiency came though politics. He found himself in Alaska at the state energy office leading an initiative called “Warming Homes for Alaskans” which received the 1993 national award for the most outstanding state housing program, and which set the stage for a national home energy rating program that RESNET grew out of.” Robby and Steve discuss his three decades of work in the residential energy efficiency field and his upcoming retirement in December 2025. He says, “I have known Steve from the beginning of the founding of RESNET and my time as a board member of Energy Rated Homes of Colorado and was so happy to have the opportunity to recap his career on the buildCAST before his last day. Thanks for all you have done for the industry Steve.” The BUILDCast podcast is part of BuildTank, founded by RESNET HERS® Rater Robby Schwarz. Robby has been a champion of home performance for over 25 years, focusing on building performance, applied building science, and system thinking. He is committed to helping industry partners, builders, code jurisdictions, and others understand residential energy, applied building science, systems thinking, home performance, and our role in the built environment. Listen here.
