Pressure pans are often misused, and the information they provide can mislead the inexperienced. Bruce Manclark of Delta-T Incorporated (Eugene, Oregon) and Jeffrey Siegel, formerly of Ecotope Incorporated (Seattle, Washington), investigate how mistakes are made, and share their research into one strategy for more accurate pan readings.
This study was initiated to determine the extent of cold temperature air leakage from operable windows available in todays marketplace and the impact that this has on the energy consumption of a house. During the heating season, changes in the window's leakage characteristics, as a result of thermal and pressure effects, were to be included. At two laboratories, air-leakage tests down to-30°C were performed on 35 windows, enough to reach some general conclusions about performance.
Describes the development of the Swedish duct tightness guidelines, the "AMA system". The latest version, due in 1998, aims to increase tightness requirements once again by introducing a tightness class D as the standard requirement for larger spiroduct systems. The concern about an increasing part of the Swedish population becoming allergic and asthmatic led to the Swedish Parliament introducing compulsory inspections of ventilation systems in 1990.
A new mechanical ventilation system which continuously controlled the indoor-outdoor pressure difference was installed in six houses, where the long-term radon levels ranged from 670 to 3 080 Bq/m3. When the new system had operated for several months, the indoor radon levels decreased to levels from 120 to 600 Bq/m3 , the effective dose reductions being from 40 % to 88 %.
Uncontrolled air infiltration in buildings is compromising energy efficiency and wrecking attempts to reduce CO2 emissions. The time is right to act. This month, Building Services Journal announces a joint initiative involving the CIBSE, BRE and the BSRIA, aimed at improving building airtightness. In an exclusive report, ClBSE president Geoffrey Brundrett launches the airtightness campaign.
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