Mike’s in the Chicago Tribune — again!

If you know Michael Knezovich — or you read his blog posts — you know he has been connected with the passive house movement  for a long time now. He met German-born architect Katrin Klingenberg back in 2001. After Katrin and her partner Mike Kernagis, a builder from America, founded the non-profit PHIUS (Passive House Institute US) organization in 2007, Michael Knezovich served as a board member, and eventually became a full-time employee for six years, from 2010-2016.

Passive house is something of a misnomer. The principles can be applied to virtually all building types, including apartment buildings and commercial hi-rises.

PHIUS was in the news yesterday — the Chicago Tribune, specifically — and if you ask me, the title of the article says it all: Chicago winter without a furnace or gas bill: Passive houses make it possible. Our Michael Knezovich worked with reporter Randi Stevenson a fair bit, and in my admittedly biased opinion, that is why she was able to explain the concept so well. An excerpt from the Chicago Tribune article:

The idea is simple: airtight construction that leads to energy conservation and, in the ideal scenario, no carbon footprint. This is accomplished with extra insulation, highly efficient windows and an “energy recovery ventilator,” which continuously pushes stale air out and brings fresh air in. The end result is a comfortable home with good air quality and far lower utility bills than a traditional build.

Stevenson interviewed passive house owners in Chicagoland, all of them singing the praises of how comfortable their homes are. One owner said he thinks the air quality could help people who struggle with asthma and other allergies. In my admittedly biased opinion, though, the best quote of all comes from our own Michael Knezovich: “People always associate energy conservation with sacrifice, I think going back to Jimmy Carter wearing an extra sweater,” Knezovich said. “But people that live in them love them.”

Our own Michael Knezovich has been freelancing for Passive House Institute US for the past couple years, and starting next week, on June 3, 2019 he’ll be signing back up full time there as its Director of Communications. In my admittedly biased opinion, They’re lucky to have him.