NHPC21 Virtual Conference Roundup – Day 4

Yesterday was Day 4 of the National Home Performance Virtual Conference and I wanted to re-share some statistics provided by BPA’s Vice President of Education and Events, Nate Natale. With nearly 1,400 total registrants, this year’s conference has seen representation from almost every single state, and Ontario.

The top 10 states for attendance are:

• Pennsylvania
• New York
• Texas
• Illinois
• Wisconsin
• Minnesota
• Oregon
• New Jersey
• Michigan
• Arizona
• Missouri

Every year, in-person or not, it’s great to see a widespread industry that’s committed to professional growth.

Yesterday’s schedule had three more breakout sessions, another live concert, and a networking and happy hour event for attendees to continue making connections. I attended two sessions yesterday: Defining Equity – Building a Foundation of Procedural Justice and Sustainable Inclusivity and Marketing the Smart Home (Insights and Opportunities): Engaging Consumers in Their Quest for Smart Technology.

The first, Defining Equity, answered the question: What does it mean to build fairness into home performance? Clearly, this is an important conversation, and one that BPA is committed to. I’ve had previous discussions with one of the presenters of this session, Darnell Johnson, CEO & President of Urban Efficiency Group, on this topic as it relates to workforce development but it is always interesting to hear him speak on this topic with a goal of unified understanding.

Discussion in this session included what it means to be fair across the board for all people, regardless of race, gender, and socioeconomic background. More importantly, presenters shared how we can be better. As Darnell said, “We can create ecosystems that look different, and not achieve equity,” so it’s important to really look at business best practices and what each of us can do individually for the collective whole. I’ll leave you with one final thought of Darnell’s: “It is impossible to create an ecosystem that is equitable that is not also diverse and inclusive.”

The second session I attended, Marketing the Smart Home, focused on the sales and marketing side of home performance measures that incorporate connectivity. The biggest takeaway for me came from Beth Karlin of See Change Institute: “We’re moving out of the early adopter phase and into the new phase where the majority of people are interested in smart technology.” This is huge. Our industry has been waiting for this for what seems like forever.

Unfortunately, customers are often unaware of the resources available to them. So, how can contractors better communicate offerings? Beth told us that supporting customers includes:

• Generating awareness and understanding
• Communicating benefits
• Engaging and incentivizing uptake
• Supporting follow through
• Maximizing use of products

While the live sessions are ending today, they will be available on-demand so you can watch them anytime. You can view the most recent list of previously live sessions that are now on-demand here.