Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality

Old and rare books related to IEQ and Human Factor Design

Old and rare books related to IEQ from Laurens (The Physiological Effects of Radiant Energy, 1933), Vernon (The Principles of Heating and Ventilation, 1934) and Bedford (Modern Principles of Ventilation and Heating, 1937)

Our three latest additions to our library have arrived! I’ve been harvesting a bumper crop of information from these treasures whose information is just as valid today as it was when they were written.I love this old stuff because it established the “why” and it stands the test of time.

Every day I come across someone who is ambivalent or ignorant to the importance of “human factor design” with most focusing on the “mechanics of doing” rather than the science of “understanding why”…it an unfortunate byproduct of our system which is based on judging the construction industry by “how” it put things together to meet the minimum requirements of the building code.

As I have said before, the contractors are the first and last people to touch the project…it behooves us to teach them the “why” before we teach them the “how”.

Assessment of the Impact of a Natural Gas Fireplace on Heating Energy Consumption and Room Temperatures

Over two winters from 2008 to 2010, a series of experiments were conducted in the twin house facility at the Canadian Centre for Housing Technology (CCHT) to examine the impact of gas fireplace operation on an R-2000 house. The interaction of the fireplace with the central heating system was explored, including impact on furnace natural gas and electrical consumption, and room and surface temperature effects. Overall, evening fireplace operation resulted in an increase in total energy consumption of 36.4 MJ/day (12.5%) with continuous furnace fan operation and 29.9 MJ/day (11.6%) without continuous fan operation. When efficiencies of the furnace and fireplace were taken into account, the net energy supplied to the house by the fireplace and the furnace increased by an average 2.8% from the benchmark case, and was up to 12% greater on the warmest days of testing.

Available are the report summary or full research paper. 

citation: Armstrong M.M., Swinton, M.C., Szadkowski, F., Assessment of the Impact of a Natural Gas Fireplace on Heating Energy Consumption and Room Temperatures at The Canadian Centre For Housing Technology (NRC-IRC), Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation, Contract: B-6039, March 31, 2010

RBc: Ah yes the energy paradoxes continue. See our energy synopsis and the confusions over efficiency at the retail/consumer level.