Air Date: 11-17-2017|Episode 485
This week on IAQ Radio we are going to discuss what we learned at the Healthy Buildings Summit 2017 at Seven Springs Resort with three industry pros that were in attendance. For those that could not attend we will go over some of the key presentations from the event and discuss how it affects IAQ, disaster restoration, home performance and other industry professionals…
Full Description:
This week on IAQ Radio we are going to discuss what we learned at the Healthy Buildings Summit 2017 at Seven Springs Resort with three industry pros that were in attendance. For those that could not attend we will go over some of the key presentations from the event and discuss how it affects IAQ, disaster restoration, home performance and other industry professionals. Nate Adams is the founder of Energy Smart Home Performance outside Cleveland Ohio. Energy Smart started out as an insulation contractor for existing homes, but has evolved into doing Comprehensive Home Performance retrofits. Carl Grimes, HHS CIEC, has consulted with people who have questions or issues with the indoor environment since 1987 as President of Healthy Habitats LLC in Denver, CO. Carl is a frequent presenter nationally and internationally, past President of IAQA, and past Vice President of Practice of ISIAQ. He is the current Managing Director of the Hayward Healthy Home Institute in Carmel, CA, and the Hayward Score Director of Healthy Homes. Eric Shapiro has extensive experience in Building Maintenance and Environmental Remediation. He also has a Master Degree in Forensic Psychology from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York City. Mr. Shapiro has extensive training and education in IAQ Investigations, Remediation, Diagnostics, Building Science and Moisture Control. He is also an instructor for an IAQA approved training provider and has helped hundreds of people prepare for various American Council for Accredited Certification ACAC certifications. He is a nationally recognized lecturer and trainer in Microbial Remediation, Inspections, Diagnostics, and Air Duct Cleaning. He is also experienced in training IAQA approved Indoor Environmentalist training programs and the National Center for Helthy Housing Home Health Specialist training.
Z-Man’s Blog:
“Curiouser and curiouser!”
On today’s episode of IAQradio RadioJoe and I were joined by three participants in IAQ Training Institute’s recent Healthy Building Summit. Carl Grimes, Nate Adams and Eric Shapiro recapped their highlights and takeaways.
Nuggets mined from todays’ episode:
Carl Grimes
- The importance of curiosity to building investigation and science. Unless the assessor is curious, they’ll miss obvious observations. Noticing something different and going from there.
- A self-described deep diver, he credits Eric and Nate for their comments on today’s show as helping his new awareness and realization previously about the effect dryer vents have on IAQ and the built environment. [The potential for back-drafting CO when the dryer vent and water heater are operating simultaneously.]
- Z-Man’s presentation on airmovers. Blowers in HVAC systems are commonly out of sight and out of mind. The entire air pathway including the blower itself, needs to be cleaned.
- Comments from his world travels attending IAQ, building science and health events; first the not so good, the “silo effect” either not seeing or dismissing other views and the good, efforts by Pawel Wargocki, PhD to better communicate and breakthrough.
- Epidemiology conference for the first time in 30 years had a track on the built environment.
- It’s not just energy efficiency people are becoming part of the conversation.
- Ralph Moon, PhD shares his science with everyone.
- New awareness happens whenever people gather together to share information.
Eric Shapiro
- Dryer vents. While he started cleaning dryer vents 20 years ago, due to Tom Yacobellis’ presentation he now has better understand of their impact of IAQ and building dynamics.
- People he recommended attend the Healthy Building Summit become “repeat attenders”.
- Awareness of electrical fields in guitar amplifiers.
- Hernandez’s research tying-in Instascope® and Mycometer® to differentiate between fungi and bacteria.
- As a practitioner he is excited about the segue with researcher such as Dr. Hernandez.
Nate Adams
- Remarkable mixture of disciplines (building science, restoration, IAQ, practitioners and researchers) and broad range of attendees makes it a must attend event.
- Greater awareness of and appreciation for the potential effects of “dirty electricity” and magnetic fields on building occupants. (Sal La Duca, May Dooley, Martine Davis presentation) from the Building Biology. Especially liked Sal’s live electric measurements.
- Combustion Appliance Zone safety testing finds that simultaneous operation of clothes dryer and hot water heater causes back drafting of CO.
- Dryer vents impact on building science, IAQ and restoration. Dryer vents are the #1 cause of house fires. He recommends to clients an improved dryer vent that seals better and cleans easier.
- Everything is a proxy. The importance and value of Linda Wigington’s pioneering long term research on reducing outdoor contaminates indoors using low cost (Dylos) monitors. Source reduction methods such as more efficient blower motors, improved furnace filters and using portable homemade air cleaners. While his research is definitive, Brent Singer (Lawrence Berkeley Lab) also found value in the use of low cost monitoring tools (Foobot and PurpleAir).
- Found Ralph Moon, PhD’s presentation of duration of moisture and tile taping informative.
RadioJoe
- 20 speakers over 2.5 days.
- Practice to research. Z-Man and Tom Yacobellis use the same approach of identifying an problem and then using research to solve it. Tom Y research on dryer vents has resulted in a new industry standard and a new testing device.
- Plastic dryer vent ducting running through attics condense moisture. Dryer vents create a negative pressure during operation. Dryer vent flaps stick shut.
- Dryer vent fire in a famous Washington, DC hotel burned for 36 hours and then reignited during vent cleaning. 700 pounds of debris was removed from the system.
- Many positive comments on the value of the hospitality room and opportunity to eat lunch with speakers.
RadioJoe’s Special Shout Out to:
- Pete Consigli’s, industry historian chronicled the history of scientific research in the cleaning and restoration field.
- John Downey, trying to get the cleaning and restoration world to put together a top notch technical journal and what it will take to continue his work.
- Linda Wigington, reducing outdoor pollutants indoors.
- Felicia Cianciarulo, PhD, health effects of sewage
- Mike McGuiness, How to talk to occupants about hazards.
- Michael Bowdoin, Esq, Aftermath of Hurricane Harvey, using his mom’s home as an example.
- Cole Stanton, Government affairs update
- Joe Medosch- IAQ to Healthy Homes, are you ready? What’s the difference? Joe will provide an update and overview on the state of healthy home assessments. What are the new opportunities for IAQ professionals and what other professionals are getting into the game
- Herb Layman, Legionella inspection, sampling and new NY regulations
- Tom Grillo, Particles +
- Todd Usher, net zero home builder brings it all together.
- Danny “special Forces” Hunt
Z-man
- Practice to research.
- I had the opportunity to conceive, develop and conduct a research project on airmovers (used in drying buildings after water damage) as sources of particulate contamination and present the results to industry peers and share my findings them with colleagues from aligned fields.
- I also had the opportunity to conceive, develop and conduct a research project to determine the effect of misting on airborne particulate.
Z-Man signing off
Trivia:
On July 18, 1955 a meeting of world leaders was held in Switzerland, what was the meeting called?
Answer: The Geneva Summit of 1955
