Survey of moisture levels in attics.

A survey of twenty residential buildings was conducted to observe the impact of ventilation strategies on moisture· accumulation in attics. The objectives of the survey were to record attic lumber moisture content levels over a period of one year and to assess the ventilation characteristics of the attics in order to account for the recorded moisture levels. The sample homes represented a range of ages, construction types and attic venting formats. Five of the houses were located in a coastal climate. Two test protocols, developed specifically for this project. were applied to the sample.

Design and development of air vent closure systems.

The following report documents the design and development of an automatic vent closure system for residential exhaust systems. The report discusses the rationale behind the perceived need for such a system and defines the objectives of the design and development work with respect to these needs. A detailed account of the development of the design and construction of successive prototypes will be given along with a thorough description of the testing procedures employed to evaluate the operational characteristics of each prototype as their design was further refined and developed.

Predicted and measured air change rates in houses with predictions of occupant IAQ comfort.

The purpose of this study was to test an Indoor Air Quality model on a variety of Canadian homes, and use this model to determine the optimal ventilation levels necessary to provide appropriate comfort levels. The Indoor Air Quality model tested (the AQ1 program), was a single zone hour-by-hour model of air leakage, mechanical ventilation and pollutant concentration. Measured weekly air change rates were compared to the model's predicted rates, and sensitivity analysis' performed on a number of inputs.

Natural ventilation strategies to mitigate passive smoking in homes.

This paper investigates possible natural ventilation strategies to reduce exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) in dwellings. Particular attention is paid to the migration of tobacco smoke from the living room (usually the smoking room) to the bedrooms which may be occupied by children. This addresses an area of current concern regarding the possible association between passive smoking and adverse health conditions; in particular the link between parental smoking and respiratory illness in children.

Flow paths in a Swedish single family house - a case study.

The ventilation of a Swedish single family house is investigated by means of tracer gas and pressurization techniques. The ventilation flow plays an important role in this house as it enters through a dynamic loft insulation and exits via the crawl space. This design is said to give preheated and clean supply air, warm floors and good energy efficiency. But to meet these promises, it is essential that the air really flows in the intended paths. A single tracer gas technique is used to determine the air flow rates.

Two-zones model for predicting passive stack ventilation in multi-storey dwellings.

Proper dimensioning of natural ventilation system for multi-storey buildings is a critical matter, because the air flow rate depends on many parameters as outdoor temperature, wind, distribution of air inlets and envelope air leakage, characteristics of outlets and cowls. The computer code GAILNE BIZONE predicts the ventilation rates in multi-storey dwellings equipped with passive stack ventilation system. Each level is treated as a two-zones configuration, but each zone is linked to the collective ventilation shaft of the building.

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