Page 45 - Green Builder Magazine Sept-Oct 2021

Gasping for Air
“I’m at the stage where I just want more fresh air. My old apartment was 600 square feet with no control.
Now I’m renting a house, but still have no control over my indoor air.
“We live in San Francisco, so sometimes I want to open the window. But then the humidity goes up, or wildfire
smoke comes in, so it’s hard to find a balance. Since I’m renting the house, I can’t exactly put an ERV in.
I haven’t really broached that subject with the landlord.”
DEAN YOUNG, AWAIR, SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA
RYAN MERES
Digital tools.
Longing for Smart
technology
Smarter Tech available to
millennials has
“I’m trying to work out more, to live
made them
a healthier lifestyle. I’d love to have
more aware of
a Nest thermostat in my home, like
airborne
I did at my last place. I didn’t have
threats.
to think about it. It allowed me to
CREDIT: BILL OXFORD/
save energy and mental space.” ISTOCK
NICOLE LEBLANC, WHIRLPOOL,
ST. JOSEPH, MICHIGAN

Homesteading with a Conscience

“My wife and I are avid cooks. We have a garden, and we get all of our meat from ButcherBox,
so it’s all grass fed, grass finished, organic chicken. My No. 1 upgrade would be an induction
cooktop…that’s the last gas appliance I need to replace in order to get off gas completely.
“The worst thing about our home is probably the poor foundation waterproofing. It creates
periodic wetness in the basement, which is bad for air quality.”
RYAN MERES, PROGRAM DIRECTOR, RESNET

Primed for Transformation
“I live in a dorm in New York City. One thing I wish I had was more space-saving things is my
apartment, things that have multiple purposes.
“I’m interested in housing and living and creating communities that have architecture that’s
in tune with nature, windows that follow the wind pattern, housing that isn’t so monotone.”
JEROME FOSTER II
JEROME FOSTER II, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, ONE MILLION OF US, NYC

Three Dog Nights

“I have one dog and my partner has two
Foul play. Dirty
dogs. The problem is that the return grill
return vents,
(for the air handler) is on the ground, so it
sometimes due to
fills up and clogs with pet hair all the time.
bad design (floor
“Aside from that, a kitchen exhaust is vents with pets)
definitely on my most wanted list. I don’t or lazy landlords
JON YOUNG
like how air just creeps in to my place can make indoor
and there’s no way to control. In a lot of air even worse.
places in Texas, operable windows are CREDIT: KOBZEV3179/ISTOCK
not an option.”
JON YOUNG, DVR ENGINEERING
CONSULTANTS, HOUSTON, TEXAS

September/October 2021 GREEN BUILDER 43