Better Building Coach Brings Innovative Products to You
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When Eric fenno (pictured above) is not out driving the better building coach he’s one of the friendly voices that answer questions at the tumwater small planet supply warehouse
Last month was the three year anniversary of Small Planet Supply’s Better Building Coach. Designed as a mobile showroom to allow customers not able to come to our warehouse locations to see Small Planet Supply products. The COVID pandemic definitely shut things down for a while, but the coach is back on the road on a more frequent schedule. I sat down with Eric Fenno, the current Transportation Engineer and Sales Associate in our Tumwater warehouse to talk about his experiences with the Better Building Coach.
So, what cities have you been to so far in the Better Building Coach?
Portland, Seattle, and Bellingham.
What have you liked about bringing the coach to communities?
I really enjoy all of it. I drive a tour bus for work, which is awesome. But also, when I pull up to the place or people to show up to look at the bus, everybody’s all excited the architects run out, I feel like the ice cream man. It’s always a fun thing, everybody loves to see the bus. It feels like the coach is a destination. I think when I come, I get every architectural firm in town. Opus Vitae invited us down just for a thing they were doing, they just wanted to show people how Zehnder stuff worked and then they invited five different firms to come, and people came and asked good questions. We even got a real estate person, so yeah, people like the bus.
The transformation from a hotel shuttle bus to a mobile showroom took about three months
What has been most challenging thing (or things) about driving and hosting the Better Building Coach?
Parking. It’s parking. Bellingham wasn’t too difficult, but Portland is always a bit of a challenge, the roads are narrow. In Seattle finding a place to park the bus can be even more challenging. Finding a place to park is usually hardest. Especially in our (energy-efficient building) industry, nobody wants to have a parking lot because you’re not supposed to drive everywhere, so that can be tough.
What has been most interesting thing for customers who visit the coach?
The Zehnder products, but then probably the Spacepak. Once we go over the Zehnder and people see how everything works and they figure out how everything goes together kind of quick, it kind of clicks. Then people go, “What is that thing?” and there’s the SpacePak in the back of the bus. And then, we totally shift into hydronics and that side of thing, which everybody’s really excited about. I guess it’s a tossup between the Zehnder Q600 and the SpacePak.
So, of the people have been visiting the coach, how many people are familiar with hydronics?
A lot of people know about hydronics. People know radiant floors. It is kind of surprising to me even people who do high-performance or Passive stuff don’t really think about larger hydronics. Everybody kind of knows that the SANCO2 will do some heat and that’s good enough for most Passive house projects, but builders also have bills to pay and do some more conventional builds. So, for those builders it’s good for them to see a little bit more useable air-to-water option existing. So, everybody kind of knows about it, but nobody knows what SpacePak is.
So, it’s a new thing for them?
Yeah, it is a pretty new thing for them. Seattle has a lot of people; it was big in Seattle for a while. People used the air handler, but not many people used it for feeding a radiant floor or anything. So just showing people the heat pump seems to open a door. I’ve had a few people call me and say, “I want to order a SpacePak for a job because I saw it on your bus.”
Are the people who come on the bus already familiar with the systems and just want to learn more? Is it new to them? What would you say the composition is?
So interestingly, most people know about us for HRVs. Everybody to a certain extent knows what Zehnder is, or they’ve heard the name, and they are coming to see the units. But then they kind of look around and they see the SANCO2 and the SpacePak and some of the cork on the ceiling, so they start asking questions about the other stuff. I don’t think that everyone knows about the full range of products we carry, but everyone knows the Zehnder and to a lesser extent SANCO2. It’s a mix of people who know one thing, but maybe not so much about the rest of it. And people usually have a specific reason why they’re coming – there’s something they want to look at. Going to the bus is an opportunity to see more of what we carry. I will usually try to rotate products on and off the bus to have new things for customers to look at. There’s a Messana panel on the bus right now and when we get a Fresh-r, I’m going to swap that out for a Fresh-r and then maybe add some of the tapes and membranes we carry.
What have you learned about Small Planet Supply customers from driving the Better Building Coach?
Small Planet Supply Visitors in Bellingham, Seattle, Portland and Vancouver BC.
I’ve learned that there’s a big difference between builders and architects. Builders come in, they want to know, “How do I use it? Is it going to hold up to warranty? What is my liability here? Is this a product I should be using?” Builders have detailed questions about reliability, application, and installation. Architects mostly come in and they see new products and they’re excited about, and they are interested in how they use the products in their designs. So, they have a much more high-level view of things versus that very practical lens of the builders. The builders are the ones that ask me the hardest questions.
Do architects ask very much about the efficiency of the systems?
Yeah, there’s a lot of efficiency questions. In high-performance building world there’s a lot of cross-over between the building and architecture side, so a lot of the time architects will bring their engineers with them, and the engineers have very technical questions too, but they’re really focused on SEER rating or COP, performance data. Versus how I put this in, which of course, I’ve never put one in. It’s nice to have conversations with them especially like Kevin Rosa ( with Opus Vitae), who have a ton of experience and get their perspective so I can answer those questions.
Mostly the Better Building Coach has been focused on educating builders and architect/designers. Is there anything of interest to homeowners on board the bus? If so, what?
Currently, The Better Building coach features Zehnder, SPACEPak, Messana, SANCO2 and THERMACORK.
Yes, there are. I’ve gotten a lot of homeowners on the bus. Our homeowners are pretty tech savvy, and they like to look at stuff and every trip it seems there are two or three people who are having a system put in. They want to visit the coach to see the systems that will be going in. It’s always nice to have them lay eyes on stuff. A lot of times I’ve already talked to them, and the systems is just a big question mark. With the Zehnder system especially, it’s like “What is this thing? What are all these pieces?” So, it’s nice for homeowners to come and get to realize, “Oh, so when I change my filters, I do this, and I open this case, and this is broadly what everything does. “Visiting the bus also gives them to see other products like the SANCO2 and the SpacePak. I think I’ve had somebody buy a SANCO2 because they didn’t have that side of their mechanicals figured out yet. So, they get to learn about some new products and get a concrete foundation about what is going into their house or get some ideas for their new house.
What are the requirements to bring the Better Building Coach to a location?
Parking. Parking is a big one and a little bit of advance notice, maybe three to four weeks’ notice. Right now, I’m scheduled out until May. My schedule’s not set in stone – I do try to do one a month, maybe two a month, but not more than that. Need to know if you have a parking spot just so I can let everybody know where the bus is going to be. Ideally, if it’s winter, it should be along the I-5 corridor, somewhere between Bellingham to Ashland. If you’re on the eastern side of the mountains, trips would be limited to summer months to ensure I can get the Better Building Coach over the pass.
How much time does it take you to set up the bus once when you get to your location?
If I open the window, 10 minutes. If not, 30 seconds. It’s easy to open the bus for visitors, but it’s hard to do workshops on the bus. People show up at different times, so the urge would be to start again but then finally it happens so many times it ends up being easier just having a general discussion about the equipment.
Have there been any surprises or unexpected events that have occurred during your time with the bus?
Regarding the bus: The windows rattled open once and then I went back a month later and everything was damp, so I had to let it dry out, but other than that not much. It’s pretty solid.
Regarding the visitors: I’ve been surprised about how many people have been coming in and how hyped everybody is. I’m used to trade fairs where it’s cool, but people are just milling around, maybe trying to get out of a day at work. Contrast that to the bus where people are excited to come aboard and have good conversations about products.
If a homeowner wanted you to come to their house, what would they do?
Because the bus is not the most economical thing on earth, I’d want to maybe have them find some others who are interested, and we could plan a trip. Or, if I’m in the area, I can run and make a stop. I did that recently in Bellingham.
Whenever possible, we are working to combine several stops into a one-day trip to reduce carbon emissions and benefit multiple people.
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