News

With the ongoing wildfire smoke blanketing much of the United States and Canada, many people are looking for relief and protection from the dangerous outdoor air. Build Equinox has long been at the forefront of indoor air quality management, and now we’ve raised the bar even further with the release of the CERV2's Particulate Defense to protect you and your family from both indoor and outdoor particulates.

We've been experiencing the benefits of the CERV2 Particulate Defense firsthand, and are excited to share some real-world examples from the homes of our team members, demonstrating how this technology is helping us maintain healthy indoor air quality in various situations.

Build Equinox is privileged to be part of Serena Sturm Architects newest project, a fine arts classroom building added to the Prairie Crossing Charter School’s campus (Grayslake, IL). Marty Serena and Bill Sturm have pushed environmentally sensitive architecture for more than four decades. They demonstrate time and again how to integrate environmental sensitivity, health, comfort, and energy efficiency with delightful indoor and outdoor spaces.

We're excited to share two insightful new videos from The Electric Home Show, where host Aaron Stash takes a fascinating deep dive into a fully electrified 113-year-old home in Champaign, Illinois. This remarkable home belongs to Alex Long, co-founder of Build Equinox, who meticulously transformed it into an example of energy efficiency, comfort, and, superior indoor air quality.

The school year is wrapping up, so Alex and Ty visited last week to tidy up mechanical systems interface wiring and check out controls for the CERV2, Carrier minisplit heat pump, and Aprilaire Dehumidifier. All systems are go, with the CERV2 seamlessly controlling operation of the Carrier and Aprilaire units for managing temperature and humidity in addition to the CERV2’s automated IAQ management. The house is looking great, check out our current progress in this month's update!

We’ve named our technologies “CERV” (pronounced “serve”), Conditioning Energy Recovery Ventilator, because our units deliver conditioned air to indoor spaces instead of pulling rooms away from comfort like typical ERV and HRV units.  In this article, we discuss the similarities and differences between how ERVs, HRVs, and the CERV operate, as well as compare performance and comfort between the systems.

Architecture Professor Emeritus Vidar Lerum practices what he preaches. Vidar’s “Fifth Maple” multi-family project has moved through Manistee Michigan’s building approvals and is ready for construction. These affordable residences are net zero, energy efficient homes with CERV2 smart ventilation controlling IAQ and comfort activities.

Despite the bitter cold weather, Matt Blomquist and his students are hard at work! Now that the ductwork has been installed and drywall hung, the HVAC mechanicals are being installed - including heat pumps for heating and cooling, a heat pump water heater for hot water, and the CERV2 for superior indoor air quality management!

Yes, you can have both form and function! Join Mark Miller’s Green Home Institute webinar to learn about his innovative home in southwest Michigan. The home is both LEED Platinum and Passive House certified with a CERV2 keeping it healthy. And it’s beautiful, too!

Our hearts go out to everyone impacted in the west and the east as climate events destroyed their communities with fire and rain. All of us are susceptible as Nature adjusts the world to new operating conditions. As today’s news cycles move past these moments, we need to remember and continue to help family, friends and strangers whose lives have been devastated.

In this article, we discuss humidifiers and how some humidifiers can create a “snowstorm” of particulates in your home. In 2021, Virginia Tech published an article discussing humidifiers and their association with high particulate levels, and our testing confirms these findings and aligns with our recommendations to use steam humidifiers or distilled water.

It was a cold December day when we visited The Taylorville High School net zero Pretty Good House project, but as true with homebuilders everywhere, a bit of tough weather doesn’t get in the way. Matt Blomquist’s students have made great progress over the past two months. Drywall is going up, and mechanical systems are being installed.

Our friends at Greenshell in Northbrook (a suburb of Chicago) have completed another fantastic example of a low-energy “passive” home with the newest building technologies (including the CERV2)!

Check out the highlights and photos!

An old idea; that neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s are linked to earlier infections such as the flu, continues to gather supporting evidence. Like football player concussions exacting a dreadful toll years later, catching the flu or Covid may make us pay a price today and tomorrow.

Wouldn't it be great if airborne contagions, such as influenza, rsv, Covid and more, could be detected before they have a chance to spread through our schools, workplaces, houses of worship, restaurants, and every indoor environment?

Yes, it would be fantastic, and Build Equinox is excited to announce a National Science Foundation grant awarded to our University of Illinois colleagues for development of advanced airborne contagion detection technologies coupled with communication alert systems to help stop airborne disease spread.

Our friend, John Avenson, a tireless warrior working for a sustainable future, is the subject of a video production by Heart of a Building, hosted by Paul Kriescher. The video will appear on Rocky Mountain PBS at a date to be announced, but Paul has made the production available on YouTube for general viewing.

E3 - Energy and Efficiency with Emily is all about building science, architecture, and female entrepreneurship. On this episode of E3, Matt Blomquist (Taylorville High School) and Ty Newell (Build Equinox) talk about the ongoing Taylorville High School / Pretty Good House collaboration.

The Build Equinox team makes an electricity powered drive up to Toronto, Canada, to check out a new medical facility showcasing the CERV-1000 High Occupancy Indoor Air Quality Management System. Check out our blog for the trip and learn more!

Every athlete works to find every advantage to reach peak performance. Improving the efficiency of their motions, carefully managing their diets, and continuous training are important. Healthy air training is essential, too.

Tune into Walter Musumeci’s “The WIP” Podcast with Guest Ty Newell discussing ventilation and its impact on human health and productivity! The Georgetown-Ridge Farm junior high school’s CERV-1000 smart ventilation project is discussed along with Matt Blomquist's net zero Pretty Good House construction project.

Positive pressure flow balancing can lead to significant energy savings, noise reduction, and robust ventilation system operation. In this article, we discuss how to replace dampers with inline fans for a better system!

Is AI truly intelligent, or is it simply a complex way of determining correlation relationships among large sets of data?

Why is AI important, and not so important for maintaining healthy indoor environments?

A third of North American homes have someone with respiratory difficulties...

As we unfortunately move into another wildfire season, we would like to remind readers of steps to be taken to minimize smoke and other particulate concentrations in your home.

Join us for an insightful webinar on the Taylorville High School's net zero "Pretty Good House" project, based on Mottram Architecture's "Freeport Net Zero" design.

Gain valuable knowledge on designing healthy indoor environments, cost-effective duct work, and optimizing HVAC systems for efficiency, featuring insights from Matt Blomquist and Ty Newell of Build Equinox.

The school year has flown by, and Matt Blomquist's seniors are graduating while juniors are set to continue working on the Taylorville net zero Pretty Good House (PGH) project. The house, now insulated with wood fiber insulation and featuring a newly installed high-quality steel roof, is progressing well despite rainy weather.

This hands-on project not only teaches students construction skills but also fosters critical thinking and project planning, introducing innovative building techniques to the community.

Recently, Victor and Ty visited the CSF, collaborating with Cal and his daughter Elise on innovative smart ventilation units, enhancing both their headquarters and a new bank, reflecting the impactful work of the CSF in revitalizing downtown Deerfield, Wisconsin.