The UltimateAir® News

Customer Thank You, UltimateAir RecoupAerator November 2013.

The UltimateAir team was very excited about attending the 8^th annual PHIUS conference and expo. From the 16^th through 19^th of October, the frontrunners of the United States Passive House industry convened on Pittsburgh to share their knowledge, ideas, and desires for growth. Overall, the wealth of knowledge that is transferred at these yearly conferences is imperative to continued development of Passive House construction in the North American market.

Jason Morosko started working at Ultimate Air in 1996, literally the day after he graduated high school. He continued throughout college and is now an engineer and the Vice-President of UltimateAir. Jason's career and lifestyle go hand in hand, for he lives with his wife and guitar-toting son in an energy efficient Passive House (which he built himself!). While financing the project was a “nightmare,” Jason wants everyone to know the relatively easy time he had constructing the home. He elaborates on the wonderful experience, "I was looking for the option that made the most sense to me in regards to carbon footprint and energy efficiency. I found out about Passive House around 2004, and built my home in 2010. It took about 18 months. It has the Green Building Council, Energy Star, and Passive House Institute US stamp of approval - but what really matters to me is my utility bill and the comfort of my home. Seriously, I heat and cool a 3200 sq. foot home for next to nothing; the inside temperature is always the same too. I sleep directly under my vent, and for someone who doesn't register pollen, even I notice a tremendous difference from my last home.”

Jason's family life and interests are characterized by the sameattributes that dominate his profession. "My fathers side of the family are all engineers. My father is a wannabe engineer, my brother is sort of an engineer, I AM an engineer!" laughs Jason. His biggest hobby is building things. "I've been building things since I was three: Legos, cabinets, houses, you name it, hehe. On my day off last week I started building a tree-house by myself. Right next to my passive house, I've built a passive chicken coop. If someone were to drive by my house they would think, 'Man this guy has a passion for shed roofs!'"

Originally involved with Sunpower Inc, there Sherry Walker became acquainted with company founders Catherine Chagnot and Craig Kinzelman. She has been part of the UltimateAir family from the beginning, in a secretarial position that has taken on many facets over the years. Sherry likes "that the company has been on the cutting edge of alternative energy and efficiency, while promoting a healthy environment."

Matt Baker, Product Development and Design, studied aviation electronics at Colorado Aero Tech in the mid 90s and, more recently, completed a degree in Interior Architecture and Design at Ohio University. He started working with UltimateAir testing and protoyping a potential product in 2009. He is an experienced designer, and has practiced with architects in South Florida and was a lab technician at Sunpower, Inc. here in Athens, Ohio. He loves being in an innovative workplace.  Matt explains, "The process of good design is very interesting to me. Being a design thinking person I like to test new ideas for viability. The ups and downs of the design process is as much physical as it is intellectual. If nothing else is accomplished in the design process, I usually gain some important insight about why things are made the way they are. The wonderful thing about the RecoupAerator is the way in which it effects our architectural decisions. It makes us think about fresh air and ventilation, and I believe it has the potential to change the whole building industry. This product allows people to build more energy efficient and longer lasting buildings, while improving their indoor air quality."

Matt has been a cyclist and bicycle mechanic for over 20 years and worked designing and developing an auto-shifting bicycle transmission concept which has been patented.

After working here a few weeks and getting a crash course in ERVs and the Passive House, I have started to discuss these topics with family and friends. Most of them are blissfully carefree about indoor air quality. It is not that no one has heard of IAQ issues. They might know all about Radon. Many homeowners can name sources of formaldehyde and other VOCs too. So the obvious question arises: what then, stops someone in the know from properly ventilating their home? The most popular response: "Money. I can't shell out the cash at the moment." Don't despair, Green Builders, because while there is honesty in their responses, it's not entirely true. Many homeowners would rather buy a new TV or finish their basement; they find it difficult to prioritize the invisible. But if you could constantly see nasty air being forced down your throat, wouldn't you do something about it? These toxins are small and subtle enough that we do not perceive them on our own. When we say "passive home" styles we don't mean "passively poisoned."



OK, so sometimes you do smell stenches. Let's say that you do come home and your pet has left you a present. Or perhaps you'll return from vacation this summer to a musty odor. You can open your door, but as was explained to me my first week here, your nose stops smelling it after 5 minutes, no matter what. That's right, it’s not an open window or spray freshener. It's your body acclimating to the smell.


As a coffee fiend, I was immediately reminded of Starbucks. Their cafes exude a unique aroma. This smell is essential to the company's brand. Four years ago, they scrapped their egg-sandwich from the menu because its smell was overwhelming the traditional coffee bean scent. Needless to say, their customers raised a stink. This scent works so well because customers enter over and over again -- they grow to expect a certain smell. Because we are indoors 90% of the time we lose whatever scent there is. Whether we are coming, going, or just hanging around it is always there. It takes something like "Egg-sandwiches" to make us sit up and notice.



So what can we do about this? How do we convince ourselves and others to fix that we cannot sense? Not sure. However interesting, continuous discussion of IAQ is somewhat frugal amongst those already in the field. As an outsider, my best piece of advice is to find more like myself, and educate them however briefly on the importance of good Indoor Air Quality.



Please share this, and let me do some of the educating for you!
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