Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality

Comprehensive study from Denmark reports on thermal overheating complaints in high performance homes.

Preview from the REHVA Journal December 2012 issue; Highlights from the Indoor climate in low energy buildings – main topic in Healthy Buildings Conference

Excerpt from one conference report: “Occupants were generally satisfied with their new houses, but were most dissatisfied with the thermal conditions. A majority (68%) specified that they experienced too warm during summer. This was the most prevalent complaint, and in agreement with physical measurements. During winter the occupants were also most dissatisfied with thermal conditions as 27% of respondents experienced too cold, and 25% found that the temperature varied too much. Additionally, there were a series of problems with the technical installations and their use was difficult. The energy use was higher than expected.”

If you haven’t had a chance to read the study, it concluded with a series of recommendations to increase occupant satisfaction in low energy houses:

• Avoid uncomfortably high temperatures during summer with external solar shading, consider the size of the windows facing towards the sun and make effective use of natural ventilation possible.

• Develop more robust and easy-to use technical installations enabling occupants to control the indoor climate and energy consumption as intended in their new relatively technically advanced house, e.g. by a single user-friendly user interface that can communicate with all relevant technical installations.

• Ensure that occupants can use their house as intended by technical installations being fully operational from day one.

• Communicate about the energy consumption so that occupants get realistic expectations according to their family situation and behavior.

Ok…so for our long time readers do you recognize any of these comments?

We'll be discussing more on these topics in our three day integrated design program.

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Download the REHVA December 2012  preview here:
Indoor climate in low energy buildings – main topic in Healthy Buildings Conference (PDF 2.6 MB)

Be sure to sign up for the REHVA eNewsletter - you can also download past issues here.

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society - Applications for HVAC Equipment and Systems

The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society is an interdisciplinary nonprofit organization of professional people who are involved in the human factors field.

Ergonomics (or human factors) is the scientific discipline concerned with the understanding of interactions among humans and other elements of a system, and the profession that applies theory, principles, data, and other methods to design in order to optimize human well-being and overall system performance.

The Society furthers serious consideration of knowledge about the assignment of appropriate functions for humans and machines, whether people serve as operators, maintainers, or users in the system. And, it advocates systematic use of such knowledge to achieve compatibility in the design of interactive systems of people, machines, and environments to ensure their effectiveness, safety, and ease of performance. The Society was founded in 1957. It has 23 technical groups and numerous local and student chapters.

RBc: We have featured The Human Factors and Ergonomics Society in the past but want to re-introduce our readers to their work in light of continued development of complicated residential HVAC systems including user interfaces.

Below you find relevant articles on the complications and pro’s and cons of thermostats. If you’re in the business of designing consumer based HVAC products including thermostats these are must read articles.

1. http://portal.acm.org/citation.cfm?id=1772552
2. http://acs.lbl.gov/~aragon/pubs/ACEEE_2010.pdf
3. http://www.ualberta.ca/~cbeedac/publications/documents/progtherm1_000.pdf
4. http://comfortcontrols.lbl.gov/pdf/tstats-lit-review.pdf
5. http://www.inive.org/members_area/medias/pdf/Inive%5Cclima2007%5CA04%5CA04N1487.pdf
6. http://www.vtt.fi/inf/pdf/publications/2007/P662.pdf
7. http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc50859/nrcc50859
8. http://www.healthyheating.com/Human_Factors/Tower_of_Babble.htm

 

Canadian Building and Health Sciences Network - Proceedings

Excerpt: "Understanding the effects of the built environment on our health is a complex business. Thorough research addressing questions such as “What is the best way to construct a house to reduce the stressful effects of noise exposure?” or “Which ventilation strategies both conserve energy and reduce exposure to potential allergens?” requires expertise from many scientific disciplines, including acoustics, architecture, biology, chemistry, engineering, epidemiology, geography, mathematics, medicine, physics, psychology, public health, and urban planning – and probably others as well. Although there exist international associations bringing together some of these disciplines, there has been no co-ordinated effort to bring together Canadian scientists to study these questions, across all building types, in the Canadian geographical and cultural context. Similarly, there are few examples of co-ordinated Canadian design guidelines, recommended practices, regulations, standards, or codes that address the full breadth of built environment effects on Canadian’s health and wellbeing.

Faced with requests for guidance on how to design, construct, operate, and maintain healthful indoor environments, the NRC Institute for Research in Construction (NRC-IRC) began in 2005 to develop the Canadian Building and Health Sciences Network (CBHSN). The network is intended to facilitate the development of collaborative teams that will conduct innovative, interdisciplinary research intended to improve the health of Canadians by improving the design, construction, operation, and maintenance of the built environment."

RBc: We highly recommend our readers download and read the proceedings.
http://www.nrc-cnrc.gc.ca/obj/irc/doc/pubs/nrcc51222/nrcc51222.pdf

Other suggested readings:

Indoor Environmental Ergonomics
http://www.healthyheating.com/Human_Factors/Human_Factors.htm

Healthy Buildings Conference
http://www.healthyheating.com/IEQ_Radiant.htm

Alvar Aalto as a Healthy Building Architect
http://www.healthyheating.com/what_makes_a_good_%20architect.htm

Industrial Design meets HVAC – The Perfect Example

Industrial Design meets HVAC – The Perfect Example

As our readers know we are a big fan (pun intended) of applying industrial design to HVAC - something which is sorely missing in the industry. Well consumer product manufacture Dyson have married in what we’re calling the perfect example of industrial design applied to HVAC equipment - in a new application of Bernoulli’s principle.

Excerpt: "Using an airfoil-shaped ramp (like a cross-section through an airplane wing), airflow is amplified 15 times. This creates a smooth, powerful airflow, with no need for fast-spinning blades."

Check out this new fan…caveat – we’ve not seen the performance data and are not offering an endorsement as yes...but we do l-o-v-e the look and the principles behind it.  

Fundamentals of Thermal Comfort and Indoor Air Quality

 

We’ve just uploaded our signature presentation which we do as part of our volunteer activities for the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers (ASHRAE). This material focuses on the fundamentals of thermal comfort and indoor air quality.

Be sure to sign up for our feed link to stay abreast of new content.

Keeping it Simple Sam(antha) - Solving Complexity Issues in Radiant Based HVAC Systems

The complexity and confusion in radiant based heating and cooling systems can be solved with these industrial design and ergonomic principles.

Building knowledge for a sustainable tomorrow - Construct Canada

Uponor Seminar Series Building knowledge for a sustainable tomorrow.

Date: December 4, 2008 Time: 9 a.m. – 12 p.m. Location: Metro Toronto Convention Centre, Room 802 T, in conjunction with Construct Canada.

RSVP, visit www.uponorrsvp.ca and sign up.

The deadline to RSVP is November 28, 2008.

Are you interested in hearing from Canada’s foremost leaders in sustainability, hydronics and fire safety? Uponor is bringing these experts together under one roof in the inaugural Uponor Seminar Series. This must-attend industry event will feature discussions on:

• Some of the emerging trends in sustainable construction presented by John Godden:

John Godden brings more than 20 years of experience to the table as a designer/hands-on builder, working on projects that include the "Clearsphere" CHBC EnviroHome. A graduate of the Bachelor of Environmental Studies program at the University of Waterloo, he is heavily involved in the R2000, ENERGY STAR, EnerGuide and CMHC Healthy Home programs. John dedicates his time and experience to improving the quality of energy efficiency, air quality and building practices throughout the home building industry. John is currently working with twenty Greater Toronto Area builders who are constructing LEED model homes.

• The impacts of radiant-based HVAC systems on sustainability presented by Robert Bean.

Robert Bean is a registered engineering technologist in the field of building construction engineering. He is an avid student of industrial design (the way things look) and indoor environmental ergonomics (the way things feel). In 2007, Robert was selected as a distinguished lecturer for the American Society of Heating, Refrigeration and Air Conditioning Engineers speaking on the Human Factor in HVAC, Radiant-based HVAC Systems and Snow Melting Systems. He is the editor for The Journal of Indoor Environmental Quality, and www.healthyheating.com, a not-for-profit website on anthropology, architecture and indoor environmental ergonomics.

• How an effective residential fire safety system can provide homeowners with a safe and sustainable home presented by John Caruso.

John Caruso is the Chief Fire Prevention Officer for the City of Vaughan. John has been involved in fire service for 23 years, spending 21 of those years in fire suppression. He is also the Community Emergency Management Coordinator for the City of Vaughan.

Uponor Westcoast AIA ConEd slides now available

John Siegenthaler and I had the opportunity to work with Uponor, an AIA registered provider in delivering a continuing education program in Seattle, Portland, Oakland and Los Angeles. You can view the slides on indoor environmental quality and radiant cooling and heating at this link:

Thanks to Team Uponor for hosting a great event!
RB

Radiant Panel Association REX 2008 Slides Available

Thanks to the Larry and the entire staff from the Radiant Panel Association and to the attendees of the 2008 Radiant Exhibition held in Chicago, Il. It was another wonderfully warming event!

Slides for the conference are noted below.

Sustainable Construction Practices

Making Radiant Systems Simple and Affordable

Be sure to visit the Radiant Panel Association, where you can find all kinds of resources on panel heating and cooling.

Radiant Heating Meets Industrial Design

Uponor was honored by Professional Builder® magazine when the publication awarded the newly enhanced proPANEL® mixing panels with their 100 Best New Products for 2008 award. This top industry award recognizes the most significant new building products introduced each year based on technological advancement, significant product improvement and increasing competition of a product line. The goal for redesigning the proPANEL units was to offer customers a mixing panel that helped save them time and money while providing an innovative, high-quality, reliable product. Receiving this recognition from Professional Builder reinforces the idea that the new proPANEL line offers contractors an effective solution for their radiant system application needs.

RBc: Congrats to Uponor for this award...as we have been saying for the past decades...the heating components for radiant systems (and all hydronic systems for that matter) should be treated like any other appliance. Pre engineered and assembled to UL/CSA standards in an appliance factory with quality control and standardization. Use these and you'll reduce carbon emissions, installation times, wiring and start up challenges. Learn more about this here.

People who have read about the applications of industrial design and product ergonomics in heating systems also read this article.

10th Global Engineering Conference - HVAC Systems Targeted Towards an Aging Population

Thanks and congratulations to the entire conference staff from Carrier Corporation and HPAC Engineering for holding an outstanding Event at Caesars’ Palace in Las Vegas Nevada. With over 700 attendees from 19 countries it was truly an international event featuring presentations on sustainability as it relates to the design and construction of buildings.

Attendees of the Global Engineering Conference acquired Continuing Education Units (CEUs) by participating in the various workshops and other events at the conference. Continuing Education Units were offered according the standards of the International Association for Continuing Education & Training (IACET).

Slides from Robert Bean’s HVAC Systems for An Aging Population can now be viewed online at this link:
Click Here.

Learn more about the 10th Global Engineering Conference.

Learn more about designing for an aging population, click here.

EcoPinion Survey, “Branding Green But Seeing Red,” Highlights Lack of Consumer Awareness and Acceptance of Green Brands

Washington, DC, March 10, 2008

EcoAlign, a strategic marketing agency focused on energy and the environment and an affiliate of DEFG LLC, today released the results of the third EcoPinion survey on green brands and brand messaging. The third EcoPinion Survey highlights the fact that very few brands have any resonance in the market for green products and services. Consumers largely have a neutral, wait-and-see stance on company commitments and leadership on renewable energy, energy efficiency and the environment. “There is a great opportunity to become a green brand leader with the right commitment and marketing approach,” stated Andrea Fabbri, COO and Chief Marketing Officer. “But the current emphasis on public relations and advertising is not going to do it alone.”

Findings from the EcoPinion Survey Report include:

1. Fifty four percent (54%) of consumers could not name, on an unaided basis, a company who supplied renewable or “green” energy.

2. Seventy one percent (71%) of respondents were not familiar, on an aided basis, of 10 “pure play” companies in the renewable and green energy space.

3. When asked about how committed respondents thought their electric utilities are to promoting or providing renewable energy or energy efficiency, ratings were about evenly split: 31% thought not at all committed, 36% were neutral and 33% rated the commitment level 7 or higher on a 10-point scale.

4. Respondents were then shown a mix of 12 companies representing various industries and asked which they thought were most committed to using or providing renewable energy. GE dominated with 81% while Toyota was second at 65%.

5. Seventy seven percent (77%) of consumers think that an energy efficient or green operational model is the single most important quality of a corporation trying to be an environmental leader.

6. Respondents were asked to rate their familiarity with various terms. Seventy-one percent (71%) rated their level of familiarity 8-10 with the term “energy efficiency” versus only 53% for “going green.”

A copy of the full EcoPinion report is available at no charge by visiting EcoAlign’s website at www.ecoalign.com.

For more information on DEFG, please visit our website: www.defgllc.com.

RBc: I had an enlightening discussion with EcoAlign’s COO and Chief Marketing Officer, Mr. Andrea Fabbri and Ms. Dana Cogar, Research Director of the EcoPinion surveys. Seems their research and our research is running parallel paths with similar conclusions. I highly recommend you download the reports and stay tuned to subsequent publications from this very observant organization. Additional Reading: Tower of Babble - Three Rules for Design, and Industry Observations

INTERIORS08 Presentation

Thank you to Rhonda, Lisa and the ASID staff, members and conference attendees for a wonderful event. I trust the slides will serve to help make indoor environmental quality part of your everyday human factor design.

Click Here to View Seminar Slides

About ASID:
The American Society of Interior Designers is the leading organization for interior design professionals.  From corporate boardrooms to home offices, hotel suites to health care facilities, ASID designers create the places where we live, work, play, heal and worship.
Visit The American Society of Interior Designers

Learn more about indoor environmental quality at this link.

Carnegie Mellon Ph.D. Student Designs Smart Thermostat

PITTSBURGH — JoonHo Choi, a doctoral student in architecture and a researcher in the Carnegie Mellon University School of Architecture's Intelligent Workplace (IW), is rethinking the traditional thermostat. Choi is designing a "smart" thermostat that adjusts a room's temperature according to what he calls a human body's "biosignals." "The biosensing control is a human-centered approach, which captures an occupant's needs for thermal comfort, and generates optimal temperatures to meet physiological desires of the user," Choi said. According to Choi, the human body has its own HVAC (heating, ventilating and air conditioning) system that keeps the body consistently at 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The body's HVAC system uses skin temperature and heart rate to regulate body temperature. Choi's device monitors these biosignals and transmits the data wirelessly to the thermostat in a home or office.  Read more about biosignals thermostats.

RBc: Lots of interesting work being done in this area...remember Cris Pister's nanodust...followed by the digestible nanosensor...JoonHo Choi's "smart" thermostat is another device which illustrates the need to recognize the Human Factor in HVAC..once again - .we don't condition buildings we condition people. Thanks to Dan Holohan and his newsletter for bringing this story to our attention…Dan’s site www.heatinghelp.com is one of our top recommends.

Physiologist, the medical man and construction...

“The researches of the physiologist and of the medical man into the laws which govern the prevalence of disease have enabled them by the gradual accumulation of information to lay down the principles upon which the construction of houses should rest. It is the duty of the architect, the builder, the engineer and the surveyor to apply these principles and their correct application is essential to the efficient construction of a dwelling as is the quality or strength of the materials which are used to build the dwelling.” Observation on The Construction of Healthy Dwellings by Sir Douglas Galton c.1880

RBc: Over 100 years ago Sir Galton expressed what we are trying to communicate today...which is HVAC must be repositioned in the minds of consumers as part of the healthcare industry instead of the construction industry.