"indoor air qualty"

indoor air qualty / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

Air and vapour barriers

What is a blower door test? What's the cost? How do you find a company to do one?

...air in from any existing hole in your air barrier no matter how small it is. The operator then determines your ACH (air changes per hour) based on the house dimensions and the volume of air in the home. Standard new home construction in North America seems to return an average air leakage rate of about 3 air changes p...

Solar thermal collectors

All about solar air heaters - DIY or purchased

...air heaters work: Solar air heater diagram © Ecohome The above diagram indicates the basic concept of a solar air heater, and while there are many designs, the basic principle is the same - a small fan feeds interior air into a south-facing wall-mounted panel. Air is heated as it passes behind a black surface and is ...

Delivery: radiant, forced-air and decentralized

Air-heated radiant floor slab foam forming systems

...air furnaces, ventilation air is typically mixed with the already-heated indoor air to achieve the temperatures listed above. Because that option isn’t available with radiant heating systems, a touch up heater must be used with ventilation air. Most HVAC systems will offer it and it is not an expensive upgrade. Can ai...

Heating and cooling

Heat pumps: Ground source geothermal GSHP or air source ASHP, what's the difference?

...air source heat pumps, in terms of overall cost as well as efficiency in performance to ascertain which is the best. Mechanical heating systems being tested: House A Heated with a 10.5 kW (3 ton) high-efficiency variable capacity air-to-air source heat pump manufactured by Mitsubishi™ with a direct expansion coil air h...

Healthy indoor air quality

How to identify and remove asbestos from homes

...air and inhaled. It is for this reason that asbestos-containing building materials are particularly dangerous during demolition and renovations, when the fibers and particles can become airborne. Building materials containing asbestos do not pose a significant risk to residents until they are disturbed and become airbo...

Healthy indoor air quality

DIY recipe for natural healthy paint

...indoor spaces, all in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and these pages here: Food safe, mineral oil wood finishes found on shelves of big box stores How to protect indoor air quality during renovations Where to buy and choose safe zero VOC paints Choosing zero-formaldehyde and VOC-free new furniture Step-b...

Air and vapour barriers

Top tips for caulking - which caulking gun is best & tips on how to do a clean caulking job

...air leaks around doors and windows When should you replace old windows and when to repair them? Are heat pumps worth the investment? Heat pump buyers guide Find more about green home construction and discover the benefits of a free Ecohome Network Membership here.

Heat pumps, geothermal and AC

Air source heat pumps vs. geothermal heating: which is better for your home?

...Air Source Heat Pumps (ASHPs) Air source heat pumps extract heat from the outside air and transfer it to the building. They can also work in reverse, cooling the building by extracting heat from the indoor air and transferring it outside. Cold climate ASHPs are designed to cope with lower temperatures without backup he...

Air and vapour barriers

Choosing the right house wrap / weather barrier, which is best?

...air barrier as well, but the most common installation techniques (staples, nails and hastily installed tape) mean it is a rare case when they actually do a good job at air sealing. Manufacturers will rightly claim their products are a suitable choice for an air barrier, and they most certainly are. The failure of weath...

Interior design and furnishing

Flame retardants in furnishings - an unnecessary and serious health risk

...indoor air quality See the first LEED V4 Platinum house in Canada All about home rating systems and which is best See here to learn about the benefits of a free Ecohome Network Membership

Radon in Homes - Mitigation

How to install vapor and radon barriers below slab floors

How to install a radon barrier - slab floors If in the kind of area where it's a good idea to install a vapor barrier against radon ingress, (check out the Radon maps by state and province page to find out here) we can't stress enough how important it is to test for radon, or better still to continually monitor for hig...