Duct leakage is a major source of energy loss in residential buildings. Most duct leakage occurs at the connections to registers, plenums, or branches in the duct system. At each of these connections, a method of sealing the duct system is required. Typical sealing methods include tapes or mastics applied around the joints in the system. Field examinations of duct systems have shown that taped seals tend to fail over extended periods of time. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory (LBNL) has been testing sealant durability for several years.
Duct leakage has been identified as a major source of energy loss in residential buildings. Most duct leakage occurs at the connections to registers, plenums or branches in the duct system. At each of these connections a method of sealing the duct system is required. Typical sealing methods include tapes or mastics applied around the joints in the system. Field examinations of duct systems have typically shown that these seals tend to fail over extended periods of time. The Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory has been testing sealant durability for several years. Typical duct tape (i.e.
It is estimated that more than 5000 householders in the UK have taken steps to reduce high radonlevels in their homes. In 1993 a number of homes with successful remedies installed were asked toparticipate in a study to determine the long term reliability of those systems. This involved the annualremeasurement of the radon concentration in each dwelling.
Starting from the premise that condensation in the building envelope is a prime cause of its deterioration, the mechanisms that cause condensation are discussed and control measures explained. The conflicts that arise between some of these measures, the probability of achieving them under realistic construction conditions, and the possible need for fail-safe provisions should complete success not be achieved, are described.
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