The wind speed and wind direction affected concentration of indoor radon in seven houses, which arelocated in three region of southern Finland. In the case of houses (B - F) which are built on upperslope of a permeable esker, according to the analysis of covariance the highest concentration of indoorradon, 20 - 33% over grand mean, was observed when wind (v?0.4 m.s-1) direction was perpendicularthe esker, leading to increasing pressure of soil gas and consequently to increased radon entry andconcentration.
Environmental control of basement by heating and dehumidifying the air is widely used in summer. In general, ventilation can make the air more humid. From the point of view of energy saving, it is suggested to exchange humidity and to insulate heat between stale air and fresh air during ventilating basement. To improve the efficient of the exchanging system, the characteristics of heat and mass transfer of membrane device are studied. It is presented that the membrane device exchange system not only can keep the heat but also can remove moisture of the fresh air.
One exposure pathway which has a significant influence on the outcome of a site specific risk assessment when volatile contaminants compounds are involved, is the leakage of contaminated subsurface gases into the indoor air environment. Evaluation of this pathway largely is completed with the use of mathematical models. The current level of understanding is that both convective and diffusive contaminant transport processes in the soil and across the subsurface building envelope will contribute to degraded indoor air quality.
This paper presents a numerical model to investigate the foundation heat transfer from conditioned basements when the ground is composed of multilayered strata with different thermal properties. The model is used to determine the thermal performance of several basement insulation configurations under both steady-state and transient conditions. It is found that the nonhomogeneity of the soil significantly affects the heat transfer from uninsulated basement walls rather than the basement floor or insulated basement walls.
Basement problems are a frequent source of claims made under new home warranty programs. This Update presents the results of an IRC/industry research project on the performance of insulation systems applied to the exterior of basement walls
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