The energy and mass flows required to sustain dwelling services can be established and quantified only within the framework of a stock and flow model of the total housing stock. This paper develops such a model to estimate the energy flows of a typical sub-population of New Zealand housing stock. The energy and mass flows of key building materials are estimated and the energy flows of alternative cladding systems are compared. The stock and flow model is driven by empirical schedules of mortality.
The cross-sectional questionnaire-based study was conducted in spring 1998 among indoor workers of 6 buildings in town Tartu, Estonia. The goal of this pilot study was to evaluate magnitude of possible problems related to indoor air quality in Estonian nonindustrial workrooms as well as in those workers' dwellings. Therefore, the questionnaire included questions about perceived indoor environment for both workplaces and homes.
This paper summarizes the most recent results from an ongoing, multi-year research program to monitor the long-term performance of residential air barrier systems. Airtightness tests were conducted on I 7 houses, located in Winnipeg, Canada, ranging in age from 8 to I I years, for which there was extensive historical data. Eight of the houses used polyethylene air barrier systems and nine used an early version of the airtight drywall approach (ADA). The latest tests were conducted in 1997.
Whole-house tests were developed to compare the airflow resistance of several different materials used to seal the walls of a house at the outer surface. These airflow resistances were measured infield installations and include the effects of interactions with adjacent materials and assemblies. The materials tested were housewrap over fiberboard and foam sheathings, extruded polystyrene foam sheathing with the edges taped, extruded polystyrene sheathing with the edges untaped, and caulking and foaming the inside of the wall cavity.
An energy-efficient design and construction checklist and information sheets 011 energy-efficient design and construction are two products being developed. These products will help affordable housing providers take the first steps toward a whole-house approach to the design and implementation of energy-efficient construction practices. The checklist presents simple and clear guidance on energy improvements that can be readily addressed now by most affordable housing providers.
Thirty-nine houses with high levels of biologically active contaminants in Wallace burg, Canada, and twenty houses with low levels of biologically active contaminants, were subjected to field inspections and testing, monitoring of indoor environmental conditions, and simulation to predict the condensation formation potential in winter. Occupant health was evaluated through questionnaires and blood sampling from an index child (closest to age ten) for analyses of T-lymphocyte and B-lymphocyte structure.
An investigation of the performance of a recently built estate of over 50 low-energy rental dwellings indicated that there was a slight but significant increase in electricity use of the “super low energy” designs over the control “low energy” designs. The “super low energy” designs included, in addition to the enhanced fabric specification of the “low-energy” types, active systems such as mechanical ventilation, solar DHW panels and enhanced space heating systems.
Login