Air Date: 1-13-2012| Episode: 231
Mr. Bearg is the founder of Life Energy Associates of Concord MA. He specializes in providing indoor air quality diagnostic and mitigation services with a focus on maximizing the healthfulness of indoor environments at the lowest energy cost...
Full Description:
Mr. Bearg is the founder of Life Energy Associates of Concord MA. He specializes in providing indoor air quality diagnostic and mitigation services with a focus on maximizing the healthfulness of indoor environments at the lowest energy cost. To meet this goal Mr. Berg uses a combination of building science and industrial hygiene principles and techniques to customize a solution for clients. The primary tools he uses to perform this specialized service are CO2 and dew point monitoring, tracer gas testing, particulate monitoring, pressure mapping/airflow pattern determination and knowledge of how building enclosures and HVAC combine to affect the indoor environment. He develops solutions for building owners that improve healthfulness of indoor environments in the most energy efficient manner for the situation at hand.
Z-Man’s Blog:
Where IAQ Meets Building Science with David Bearg, PE
David Bearg, PE, through his Life Energy Associates, provides indoor air quality diagnostic and mitigation services, especially with regard to maximizing the healthfulness of indoor environments at the lowest energy costs. David is a pioneer in the use of some very high-tech equipment for building investigation. David practices what he preaches, check out his home at www.sagefarm.net.
Nuggets mined from today’s show:
· Opined that 80% by building occupants about IAQ is an insufficient percentage, we should work to do better.
· Ventilation dilutes and removes air contaminates.
· Building interiors are designed to maintain uniform temperature. As such they don’t isolate and contain particulate. Expressed concern over mutating viruses attached to particulate circulating within buildings.
· We must understand the building’s air distribution system.
· Investigators should listen to people who have concerns, review the symptomatology, consider the air distribution system and then create a hypothesis.
· Carpets touted to filter air. If carpets filter air, why aren’t carpets found in clean rooms?
· Investigative methodology is to by using sulfur hexafluoride a substance absent from normal environments and a portable GC Mass Spec electron capture detector, trace the pathway between complaints and potential sources.
· Recommended investigative tool- the Dragon Puffer is a valuable tool for IAQ investigation.
· HVAC cleaning- by monitoring particulate emissions at HVAC diffusers objective decisions regarding the need for and efficacy of HVAC system cleaning can be made.
· People are pollutants- If you want a clean environment, you need to do something about the people. People are the number 1 source of particulates in clean rooms from their shedding skin, hair, lint, etc. An individual just standing or sitting motionless corresponds to a generation of 100,000 particles in the 0.03 micron or larger size. Walking at 2 mph increases the generation rate to 5,000,000 particles.
· Built-in environmental monitoring systems- Airxpert and Aircuity use vacuum pumps to pull air through tubing to a stationary sensing device. 700 foot is the maximum operating distance. Systems equipped with double manifolds and solenoids that can monitor up to 48 locations.
· Vision for the future- is more intelligent buildings providing better information about CO2 and moisture to building operators.
· Lapsed credentials? Many of us have worked hard to earn industry credentials. It is time consuming and costly to jump through the necessary hoops to maintain the credentials, what is the point at which that time, effort and money might be better spent elsewhere?
Today’s music: “When I Get To the Green Building” by Electric Six
Z-Man Signing Off
