Just mentioning the word mold or as it is known across the pond as “mould” is enough to send some people directly into panic mode. With the toxic mold scare from years ago many insurance companies (especially after losing millions) no longer cover mold damage or remediation as they consider it a “maintenance” issue. There’s […]
BS4D: NFRC Labels (Windows, Doors, Skylights)
The NFRC or National Fenestration Rating Council basically tests & labels glass products used on buildings like doors, windows, and skylights. The label will include who the manufacturer is, a brief description of the product, and the official ratings for one or more of performance characteristics for that product. The NFRC’s also has an online […]
BS4D: The case of the Sweating Toilet
Ok, we know the toilet really isn’t sweating over the burial at sea of one aforementioned Barbie doll, performed with full military honors by none other than one little Timmy… so why is it sweating? The short answer is it’s not; it simply is the water in the air (humidity) condensing on a cold surface […]
BS4D: Pascals & Pressure
The pascal aka “Pa” is simply a unit used to measure pressure on a manometer. In this context, pressure (p) is the measurement of force acting on a unit area with respect to (WRT) another. One example is when we are testing an HVAC’s system ductwork; we pressurize the entire system to 25 pascals with […]
BS4D: The HERS Index & Score
HERS or the Home Energy Rating System is the industries benchmarking tool for modeling a home’s energy use. The system is comprised of two parts; an index and a score. The index is linear with two static points; a “0” equates to a net-zero home (one that produces as much electricity as it uses) while […]
BS4D: Radiant Barriers
A Radiant Barrier (RB) is a product designed to only block radiant heat transfer from happening and is rated based on its reflectivity & emissivity values per ASTM C 1313. In order to qualify as a Radiant Barrier it must have a reflectivity rating of .9 or more (the higher the better). A radiant barrier […]
BS4D: Heat & Transfer Methods
Heat is energy and refers only to the transfer of this energy between or through items and not the stored energy of the item (aka its temperature). While this difference might appear to be subtle, it is very important to understand the distinction between the two, & how this transfer takes place. One other important […]
BS4D: Stack Effect
Stack or Chimney Effect describes the natural phenomena of how air moves into and out of a building, a chimney, a flue pipe, or other type of container. This is caused mainly by pressure & temperature differences – the bigger the difference, the bigger the effect is. For most people the concept seems simple – […]
BS4D: ACH (Air Changes per Hour)
ACH or ACH50 stands Air Changes per Hour. It is a standardized measurement using a calibrated blower door designed to see how leaky a home or building is. While the test & many of the terms are a popular means of expressing leakage, they can also be very misleading. The blower door was invented in […]
BS4D: Building Codes
Just like any other scientific field, building science is constantly evolving as new information, testing, and materials are released. Unfortunately in some cases the acronym’s, amount &/or type of information provided is not only hard to understand, but can also be meaningless based on your house or area you live in. With that, welcome to […]
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