English

Home renovation is a positive action "Which can bring out the best of an older home's original character, and provide the occupant with modem comfort and efficiency. Renovation work can, however, uncover unpleasant surprises in the existing construction which require special precautions to avoid health hazards. One such unpleasant surprise is the presence of lead-based paint. Lead-based paint was used in virtually all older houses. The renovation of painted surfaces by most conventional means can create a distinct health hazard to both the renovator and the occupants of the home.

Natural ventilation coefficient curves were generated using the NatVent 2.0 software, for naturally ventilated livestock building models with a total of 60 design variations including 5 building lengths, 2 sidewall opening heights, 3 ridge opening types, and the presence or absence of end wall openings. An average natural ventilation coefficient curve versus wind angle is also presented. As well, a general design natural ventilation coefficient has been developed and could be used without introducing major errors.

NADCA Standard 1992-01 is the first standard governing air conveyance system cleaning to be finalized by the National Air Duct Cleaners Association and its Standards Committee. This Standard generally addresses the mechanical cleaning of air conveyance system components composed of non-porous materials. Standard 1992-01 is intended to provide a voluntary performance standard which cleaners and building owners may wish to consider in determining the requirements for specific cleaning projects, and which can ensure certain minimum cleaning results on particular cleaning project

The comparison of four methods for the calculation of deep-basement heat loss is presented along with measured data for three basement types. The Mitalas method was found to give results in best agreement with measured data followed by the finite element method (FEM) program, the European Standard and the ASHRAE Fundamentals method. The studied methods, with the exception of the European Standard of which the physical background was unknown, were chosen because each of them is also representative of a particular physical model of decreasing complexity in the above order.

The role of building services engineers in providing healthy and comfortable conditions in buildings as well as protecting the environment, is a very important one. Billy Manning considers the issues.

There are many reasons why the air quality in a building may fall well short of what it was intended to be, explains Trevor Callen.