The Nexus Podcast

Latest Episodes:

🎧 #090: The democratization of building controls Mar 03, 2022

Show notes

“By making controls simple and transparent every day and for every building, you massively increase energy efficiency without even talking about analytics or AI."
—Alex Rohweder

My Highlights

Before the acquisition of J2 Innovations (3:20)
Why Siemens wanted to acquire J2 Innovations (9:23)
What separates J2 Innovations (12:44)
Where does fin stop and J2's customers' products begin? (16:09)
Democratization of building controls (19:11)
Alex's definition of "platform" (33:25)
What Alex is excited about this year (41:07)
Thoughts on mergers and acquisitions and how it can lead to more simplification (47:55)

You can find Alex on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #089: M&A Roundup with Joe Aamidor Feb 24, 2022

Show notes

“The fragmentation is a very real issue. I don't see it necessarily resolving anytime soon, just because of a lot of these other trends in the market."
—Joe Aamidor

My Highlights

Why are we talking about this? (3:02)
Deal #1: IBM buying Envizi (9:39)
Deal #2: View buying RXWell and IoTium (24:19)
Deals #3: Occupant experience apps (37:13)
Overall Trends (54:14)

You can find Joe on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #088: From connected commissioning to connected construction Feb 17, 2022

Show notes

“I've been giving presentations on why commissioning agents should be using data analytics and commissioning since 2013. It's completely unsatisfying to me to do it the other way. And still the vast majority don't... But the construction industry is different. By the end of the project, they're saying they'll never do another project without analytics. That transformation will happen much faster."
—Jim Meacham

My Highlights

Altura’s founding story (2:35)
Why is commissioning even a thing (7:27)
Pioneering analytics-based commissioning (15:15)
Keys to making analytics-based commissioning work in the construction process (32:48)
How analytics can benefit the entire construction process (41:10)

You can find Jim and Elliot on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #087: Andy Frank on the Independent Data Layer Feb 10, 2022

Show notes

“You've got control systems in the building and interesting applications up in the cloud. And then there's something in the middle and it's really gnarly and messy and ugly and a pain in the butt to work with. That's what we do."
—Andy Frank

My Highlights

Novant's founding story (2:47)
The challenges Andy sees in the smart building market today (14:36)
Where Andy sees the smart building market going (37:44)

You can find Andy on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #086: Building Science + Data Science = Zero Carbon Future Feb 03, 2022

Show notes

“You're never going to fix the decarbonization challenges we have today with just data and adjusting active systems. You also have to fix the envelope. And vice versa: envelope only approaches don't solve it either.
We need data science AND building science."
—Craig Stevenson

My Highlights

Building science + Data science = Zero Carbon future (11:37)
Building science deeper dive (16:14)
Data science deeper dive (25:04)
How to deliver this in real buildings (36:21)

You can find Beth and Craig on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #085: A carbon reduction plan for every building on the planet with Christopher Naismith Jan 27, 2022

Show notes

“What we need is a carbon reduction plan for every existing building on the planet. And we can do that immediately."
—Christopher Naismith

My Highlights

What did you do as an energy engineer / consultant? (3:27)
After target setting and benchmarking, we need to scale up the building decarbonization process. Where are most organizations at today? (5:19)
What are all the ways in which the process is not scalable today? (7:26)
What is Audette? (8:40)
How to fund net zero when it doesn't have a quick payback (16:34)
Does the ESCO or energy as a service model solve this? Why or why not? (23:31)

You can find on Christopher LinkedIn.
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🎧 #084: Finding the signal in the IAQ noise with Kaiterra and DLR Group Jan 20, 2022

Show notes

“Humans are great sensors, but we're not very good at dashboarding anything. Having this IAQ data can become a change management tool and it could really impact the culture of the occupants in the space."
—Shona O'Dea

My Highlights

Founding story of Kaiterra (6:52)
Shona on the history of IAQ practice (9:16)
Making sense of the wild wild west of IAQ - state of the industry (23:08)
Making the business case - current best practice? (33:20)
Should it be a stand-alone stack or integrated with building systems? (45:01)
What is an integrated IAQ strategy? (56:14)
Optimizing for IAQ and sustainability (1:01:23)

You can find Liam and Shona on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #083: QuadReal's quest for a Building OS with KODE Labs Jan 13, 2022

Show notes

“Stop talking, start doing. The tools are in place. The vendors exist. The folks that understand how to bring this stuff to life exist. So start doing it."
—Thano Lambrinos

My Highlights

QuadReal's smart building strategy (8:42)
What is a Building Operating System? (17:30)
Thano's "utopian state" (29:24)
Why they say that the "operators love it"? (45:29)
Command and control capabilities (59:29)

You can find Thano and Edi on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #082: Demand flexibility in the Long Tail of small buildings with Extensible Energy Jan 06, 2022

Show notes

“I like to say 'Use what your mama gave you.' Your building is already a battery. Every building is a battery."
—Deepa Lounsbury

My Highlights

History of Extensible Energy (7:07)
History of demand management → load flexibility (9:14)
Why the focus on the typically ignored, 100k square foot and under buildings? (24:24)
Case studies / real-life examples (50:51)

You can find John and Deepa on LinkedIn.
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🎧 #081: Carlos Flores on how NABERS transformed the real estate industry Dec 16, 2021

Show notes

"Real estate companies are not going to go bankrupt because they're inefficient. It's actually just a blip on the bottom line compared to much bigger drivers. Those business drivers are the keys to tackling climate change..."
—Carlos Flores