Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality

The story behind energy, entropy, efficiency, exergy and efficacy

We just released our long awaited simplified summary of energy, entropy, efficiency, exergy and efficacy based on our brand new presentation on sustainability and early feedback from industry leaders has been great. It’s all consolidated into a single web page – written of course in basic easy to understand language and linked back to numerous pages within the www.healthyheating.com website.

If you missed the HRAI of Canada’s annual general meeting in Kananaskis, Alberta, saw the sustainability slides posted earlier but wanted the descriptive language – well now you have it.

Also be sure to check out our updated Indoor Air Quality presentation, Inspecting Hydronic Systems and Skill Sets slides from the Canadian Hydronic Council meeting held in the spring.

Radiant Heating Design Tools

We’ve uploaded new content to the site that should be of interest to our students.

The first page features two new design tools that we’ll be using to validate student projects. The Excel tool will allow us to check and demonstrate from a numerical approach the various temperatures within a radiant cooling or heating panel due to changes in conductivities, spacing, depth and fluid temperatures. The second uses finite element analysis to do a more detail model with the added color coded illustrations. The FEA tool has been validated against the ISO 11855-3 Standards for the design, construction, and operation of radiant heating and cooling systems.

The second called Factor E5, is our summary on the principles of energy, efficiency, entropy, exergy and efficacy. A single page summary of a very big topic - consolidated down into a few simple to understand paragraphs supported by some very cool pictures. Check them out.

 

Thermal Signatures from the Sky

A few weeks ago I had the opportunity to interview Gregory R. Stockton, President and Founder of Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services, Inc.™ based out of Randleman, NC.

Greg has been a practicing infrared thermographer since 1989 and is a Certified Infrared Thermographer with twenty-six years experience in the construction industry, specializing in maintenance and energy-related technologies.

I’ll leave readers to dig through his businesses and personal accomplishments at your own speed because I want to focus on one of Greg’s specialties which is aerial thermography. We’re not just talking about roof scans though that’s part of it …we’re talking about everything from recovering stolen energy taken from utilities, to animal surveys, to heat leaks in steam and water lines. Essentially anything that emits an infrared wave length can be picked up from Stockton’s eye in the sky. Greg’s also got some impressive people working with him and you ought to check out their credentials and while you’re there check out some of the highest tech toys these guys play with…many fine instruments coming out of the world leaders in infrared camera such as FLIR.

Greg is a leader in the industry and takes great pride in his people and services and has a special passion for illuminating in his own way the energy use in America’s inventory of buildings so they may be repaired to the benefit of future generations.

Image credit: Thermal Signature of Dallas Texas, Stockton Infrared Thermographic Services, Inc.™ and Google Earth

Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve

There’s cause for celebration today on the Gulf Coast. The celebration is for a research and education center on the Grand Bay National Estuarine Research Reserve (NERR), which was just awarded LEED Gold certification and is the first state government-owned LEED project in Mississippi.

Back in August 2005, the site of the building, called the Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center, was covered in 10-foot-high floodwaters from Hurricane Katrina. But that didn’t stop the design of the facility, which supports the NERR’s charter to promote stewardship of coastal resources – among them several rare plant and animal species as well as numerous commercial and recreational fish species – via an integrated program of research, long-term monitoring, training and education.

The $7 million, 20,000-square-foot Center, which opened in December 2009, is a green demonstration facility that teaches through its architecture what sustainable design is about and shows how land can be developed responsibly in sensitive areas.

You can read more about the Grand Bay Coastal Resources Center – designed by Lord, Aeck & Sargent in collaboration with Studio South Architects at this link: http://pitchengine.com/pitch/80457

Annie Kohut | Kohut Communications Consulting
(tel) 770-913-9747 | (cell) 404-786-6062 (fax) 770-913-3197 | annielk(at)bellsouth.net www.kohutcommunications.com
Follow me at http://twitter.com/kohutcomm

RBc: “…green demonstration facility that teaches through its architecture what sustainable design is about…” this is a Yoda moment…not try - DO

see Yoda wisdom http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fE8PieLJttY&feature=related - fast forward to time 4:10 - 4:35

World of Warmth

This week we’re featuring the works of Arno Vlooswijk , an industry colleague whom I have had the privilege of corresponding with over the years. Arno is from the Netherlands and specializes in thermography…but we’re not talking your basic everyday stuff…Arno has taken the application of thermographic images into an arena few have ventured before - spanning the range from video to large scale bulletin boards featuring our everyday world and the wild kingdom. Through his view of the world from a thermographic camera, Arno has also given much thought about mankind and has this to say about the thermoregulation system of people… “Buildings and installations should support this system, not take it over completely.” We couldn’t agree more.

He has a number of websites related to his passions (see below) and also a publisher of iPhone apps…you should make some time to see what he’s doing…it's very enlightening.

• www.worldofwarmth.com
• www.treesforgrannies.com
• www.nutscode.eu

Also be sure to check our site pages on using thermography with radiant based HVAC systems.

• http://www.healthyheating.com/Radiant_Thermography/Radiant_Thermography2.htm
• http://www.healthyheating.com/Radiant_Thermography.htm

Next week we'll be covering another fine project from Lord, Aeck & Sargent and featuring Greg Stockton from Stockton Infrared who has literally taken infrared imaging to new heights.

Nudges For Energy Conservation

Project Energy Code facilitates a discussion among energy professionals and while many individuals have goals to save energy, they often fall short of social scientists about the “green gap” between consumers’ stated intentions and their purchasing behavior. In this paper, Professor Dean Karlan from Yale University explains why individuals fail to follow through with their plans, and suggests that policymakers and relevant businesses can employ “nudges” to help communities generate measurable energy savings. This paper is intended to help policymakers and businesses understand what makes for a good nudge and why nudges work, along with the experimental evidence to date and some ideas for further innovation specifically using commitment devices.

RBc: I’ve always like the data that Ecoalign distributes through their ecopinion and project energy code reports – it’s well researched and delivered in a way that the average person can understand…so this is my nudge to encourage you to read their latest paper – “Nudges For Energy Conservation”.

When it comes to home building and energy conservation, this is our benchmark for performance for any type and any size of building…this is a big nudge with big results…but even little nudges when put together with lots of other little nudges can create big results – it all counts:

Benchmark in design: The Un-Minimum System   

Do LEED-Certified Green Buildings Protect Human Health?

Hartford, Conn., May 25, 2010—Do “green” buildings protect human health from environmental hazards?

The answer is “not necessarily,” according to a new report released today by Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI), titled “LEED Certification: Where Energy Efficiency Collides With Human Health.”

EHHI is a non-profit organization composed of doctors, public health professionals and policy experts who specialize in research that examines environmental threats to human health.

LEED Standards Are Being Adopted into Many Laws

Green Building Council standards are being incorporated into federal, state and local laws through legislation, executive orders, resolutions, policies, loan-granting criteria and tax credits. As demonstrated in this report, LEED standards are clearly insufficient to protect human health, yet they are being adopted by many levels of government as law. Thus the Green Building Council, a trade association for the building industry, is effectively structuring the regulations. The number of jurisdictions adopting these standards as law is growing, which will make them difficult if not impossible to change, unless federal law and regulation supersede the “green” standards with health-protective regulations.

Read: LEED Certification Where Energy Efficiency Collides with Human Health, An EHHI Report

RBc: Last week one of our readers suggested we list Environment and Human Health, Inc. (EHHI) on our blog on environmental health. The report is another reason for people to understand the total definition of IEQ and specifically the relationships between bodies and buildings.

Also as we said last week: Study our slides on The Human Factors in HVAC and understand why we feel strongly that elements of architecture such as building enclosures, interior design and HVAC need to be removed out from under the world of construction and be repositioned within the healthcare industry.

Plus make note of our recent post where we provide advice related to the trust consumers place in the words of healthcare workers vs those of the trades, general contractors and developers. 

Health trumps energy everytime (Bud Offermann)...Again for the millionth time - your building can be therapeutic or threatening – it’s your choice.

Medical Doctors and Hydronic Radiant Heating Systems.

In 2002 William J, Rea, M.D. published his, “Optimum Environments for Optimum Health & Creativity”, a book we recently featured and now sits on my shelf along with numerous building science and engineering manuals collected over the years. I’ve given the good doctor space because he gave space in his book on something dear to me – that being the role that HVAC systems play in indoor environmental quality and specifically his recommendations for hydronic radiant heating as the best choice for conditioning people and places.

Dr. Rea is a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon with a strong passion for the environmental aspects of health and disease and Founder of the Environmental Health Center (EHC-D) and he’s not the lone physician when it comes to opining on heating systems. There are numerous professionals in the heath or building sciences that “get” the link between bodies and buildings and their work can be seen in such projects as CHMC’s Healthy House Toronto project or Seattle-Kings County Breathe Easy Homes - both are considered Gold Standards in healthy homes and both use hydronic radiant based HVAC systems.

I find it interesting how healthcare as possibly one of the greatest public relation machines on earth is overlooked by specific sectors within the HVAC industry when medical doctors such as W.J. Rea, S.D. Lockey lll, or A.C. Engler acknowledge radiant heating in their respective practices.

Another physician specializing in respiratory issues is Dr. P. Field who has served as a consultant to Asthma NSW and recognizes that, "radiant heating such as in-ceiling, in-floor or panel wall heaters are preferred as they are less likely to trigger asthma symptoms." This is echoed in a physician reviewed recommendation from The Children's Hospital at the Anschutz Medical Campus in their ‘Creating an Asthma-Safe Home’ they suggest when, “purchasing a home, consider buying one with baseboard or radiant heating.”

One of the best summaries I’ve found on low temperature hydronic radiant heating and indoor environments comes from, “The Health, Safety and Comfort Advantages of Low Temperature Heating Systems - A Literature Review” published from the Healthy Buildings Conference in August 2000. In a nutshell the report supports the sentiment found amongst allergists and other medical doctors.

Although I would strongly caution anyone making the leap that hydronic radiant heating improves people’s health it is safe to say that indoor environments using radiant based HVAC systems are recognized by some physicians as significant contributors to a healthier home. This has a strong appeal to two powerful decision makers - that being older adults and mothers.

My council to the various hydronic industry groups is this:

1. Recognize that marketing and public relations efforts directed on using the features and benefits of efficiency and comfort are ultimately trumped by health concerns...and as continually demonstrated by Readers Digest annual survey, consumers ultimately have far more confidence in the words of the healthcare worker than words from the trades person or home builder.
2. Find a way to work with the healthcare industry to communicate to consumers that radiant based HVAC systems do contribute to healthier homes.

Study our slides on The Human Factors in HVAC and understand why we feel strongly that elements of architecture such as building enclosures, interior design and HVAC need to be removed out from under the world of construction and be repositioned within the healthcare industry.

Learn more about the complete definition of Radiant Based HVAC

Sources:

1. http://www.ehcd.com/books/home_building_designing.html
2. http://www.asthmansw.org.au/assets/146/File/AsthmaMatters_Winter01_LRes.pdf
3. http://www.rockymountainchildrens.org/wellness/info/parents/39154.aspx
4. http://www.readersdigest.ca/specialfeatures/trustsurvey/cms/xcms/top-jobs--the-professions-we-trust-most_3733_a.html

Optimum Environments for Optimum Health and Creativity

It’s not every day you get to read a book on building construction by a medical doctor so when, “Optimum Environments for Optimum Health and Creativity” by William J. Rea, M.D. came across our radar screen we had to dig into it.

Dr. W.J. Rea, is a thoracic and cardiovascular surgeon with a strong passion for the environmental aspects of health and disease and Founder of the Environmental Health Center (EHC-D) with clinics in Dallas and Chicago. His book first published in 2002 is well researched and illustrated with practical information for anyone designing or managing a home or office.

I give it two thumbs up for content and recommend it to all.

The only negative comment I have is actually for all publishers – hard copy books are expensive to import...make your materials available in a .pdf format - this saves on postage and duty charges which unnecessarily triples the cost of a book when importing it into Canada. In this case the book was $20 but it cost me an additional $40 for bringing it in!

Message to authors - it’s not the price of the book – I and many others would pay more for educational materials if we didn't have to pay for outrageous postage and duty charges.

Here’s a shortlist of resources to environmental health where board certified medical doctors influence the content:

The American Academy of Environmental Medicine (AAEM)
Visual Contrast Sensitivity Test Center
National Institutes of Health • U.S. Department of Health and Human Services
National Center for Environmental Health 
James Craner, MD, MPH, Occupational & Environmental Medicine Internal Medicine
International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health
Note: Beginning in 2011, the International Journal of Occupational and Environmental Health is expanding its scope to include consumer health, a rubric we define to include the aspects of human disease and injury that are determined or influenced by exposure to consumer goods and their components, including pharmaceuticals, food additives, and other purchased products.)
Canadian Society for Environmental Medicine
National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (NIEHS)  
World Health Organization
Where Are You on the Continuum of Environmental Health, Lisa Nagy, MD
The Human Ecology Foundation of Canada 

See also:

Current State of the Science: Health Effects and Indoor Environmental Quality - includes links to numerous other resources.

What are you doing to redefine our future?

What are you doing to redefine our future?

The US Green Building Council says “Generation Green is not an age group. It’s not about politics or personality, demographics or geography. It’s all of us. You are Generation Green” and they are giving everyone a chance to tell the world what you are doing to redefine our future.

So here it is - straight from The U.S. Green Building Council's president, CEO and founding chairman, Rick Fedrizzi…

Send us your videos! What are you doing to redefine our future? We’re not looking for expensive, well-produced videos. Your ideas can be simple or profound, general or specific. Just tell us, in 30 seconds or less, how you are building a future of economic, environmental and social prosperity.

You are Generation Green, and your ideas will inspire the world to act today. And they may be featured at Greenbuild 2010 in Chicago! … No action is too small, no goal too idealistic, and no person too young or too old or too powerless to make a difference. We want to hear from everyone – you, your kids, your grandparents. Your colleagues and your classrooms; your mayors, governors and Congress members; your PTA board and your USGBC Students group.

Submitting your video is easy. Just click "How to Upload a Video" at the top of USGBC press release.

RBc: So what have we done? …in the past several years we’ve: replaced our entire lawn with rundle rocks and stone and low maintenance plants of native species to eliminate the need for fertilizers, chemicals and unnecessary water use; we did a major upgrade in our basement and roofing systems with spray foam and cellulose insulation including caulking, sealants and gaskets around openings and outlets; we use night time ventilation and management of blinds to control summer time over heating… I also consolidated my offices a few years ago and now work from home - translation – I rarely drive my 2000 model truck which has only 120,000 km on the odometer - that’s only 74564 miles for our American readers…and I suspect I’ll get another 10 years out of it before it rusts away. What else? Well we installed an HRV and operate it on timers and demand,  we’ve reduced parasitic plug loads by getting rid of clocks we don’t use…placed entertainment and office equipment on power bars that get switched off after use…we’ve even started to store the morning coffee in a thermos rather than let sit idle on the warmer. Small stuff we should have done years ago but it all counts and despite the things we’ve done – we still have lot’s more to do!

So what are you doing? Do tell…the world wants to know.