EP159 Blueprints to Bytes: How Russ King is Redefining HVAC with Technology With Russ King (February 2024)

Building HVAC Science

In this podcast Bill and Eric interview their friend, Russ King, AKA Mr. Load Calcs from California. Russ has extensive background in HVAC, starting from his first job in 1988 doing load calculations and energy modeling for California's Title 24 energy code. He shares his journey from working with his mentor Marshall Hunt, through running a mechanical engineering department for a big energy consulting firm, to eventually starting a company with his son, Connor, and developing software: http://www.KwikModel.com in 2018. King emphasizes the importance of feedback from HERS raters and others on tested houses to improve design quality and advocates for contractors to be home performance contractors, focusing on both equipment capacity and house load.

Russ proceeds to introduce his new initiative, www.DIYLoadCalcs.com, aimed at empowering homeowners to be involved in the HVAC process by providing them with tools to understand and improve their home's energy efficiency as well as HVAC system performance by getting it designed correctly from the get go.. This service leverages modern technology to allow homeowners to scan their houses and submit information for load calculations to professionals trained in using KwikModel. The resultant load calc can be given to contractors along with a KwikModel file to refine the load calc. He highlights the importance of load calculations in identifying the correct size for HVAC equipment and improving home performance.

Throughout the discussion, King underscores the transformation in the HVAC industry brought about by technological advancements, making processes like load calculations more accessible and accurate. He expresses hope that initiatives like DIY Load Calcs will encourage more homeowners and contractors to embrace these tools, leading to better-informed decisions and improvements in home energy efficiency and HVAC system performance and occupant health and comfort.

Here is Russ’ blog: https://russellking.me/

Here are the posts he referred to in our conversation: https://russellking.me/2014/01/02/how-a-house-is-like-a-tank-of-water/

https://russellking.me/2013/05/25/why-we-need-a-simpler-hvac-design-methodology/

His Linked in: https://www.linkedin.com/in/russell-king-m-e-70342913/

This episode was recorded in February 2024.