Unit 51

Question 1

What is energy auditing?

Answer 1

A comprehensive review of a building’s current energy use and efficiency.

Question 2

Who conducts energy audits?

Answer 2

Carpenters who have been certified as energy auditors.

Question 3

What are the areas in which energy auditing requires training?

Answer 3

All types of mechanical and electrical systems and equipment, and the use of various instruments

Question 4

What are the energy-efficiency benefits of performing an energy audit?

Answer 4

Reduced utility costs, improved occupant saftey and comfort, green building recognition

Question 5

Name 10 tools used in energy auditing (fig 51-3)

Answer 5

auditing software, power qualityi monitors, airquality meter, combustible gas meter, ultrasonic leak detector, thermal imager, clamp meter, laser distance meter, infrared thermometer, digital multimeter

Question 6

Name four examples of fenestrations.

Answer 6

windows, doors, outdoor lights, doorbells, bathroom or exhaust fan vents, and chimney flues.

Question 7

What is a fenestration?

Answer 7

an intentional opening in a building envelope

Question 8

What are signs of water infiltration? (Name up to 4)

Answer 8

stained walls or foundations, bubbling or peeling drywall or plaster, visible mould or mildew, a musty smell

Question 9

What is a building envelope?

Answer 9

A continuous thermal and airboundary separating the conditioned space from any unconditioned space or from teh outside.

Question 10

What is a thermal imager?

Answer 10

A device that detects heat patterns in the infrared wavelength spectrum without making direct contact with the targeted area.

Question 11

What is a thermal imager used for?

Answer 11

To detect the temperature differences that can indicate air leaks or moisture intrusion.

Question 12

What is a pressure gauge used to calculate?

Answer 12

the amount of air leakage into a building, after a leak has been detected by a blower door test

Question 13

A blower door creates a pressure difference of what in relation to the outside?

Answer 13

50 Pa

Question 14

What are the 3 components of a blower door test?

Answer 14

A variable-speed calibrated fan, a door panel system, and instruments to measure fain airflow and building pressure.

Question 15

What is pressure differential?

Answer 15

the difference between the pressures on either side of a barrier

Question 16

What conditions must be met before conducting the blower door test?

Answer 16

Windows and exterior doors must be closed; combustion devices must be turned off;
Fireplaces must be clean of ashes;
house thermostats must be off;
all air movers must be off;
window air conditioner vents to the outside must be closed;
interior room doors must be open and secured in the open position;
duct registers must be open;
return air filters must be removed if they are dirty.

Question 17

What is building science?

Answer 17

The study of interaction between a building (including its HVAC, mechanical, and electrical systems), its inhabitants, and the surrounding environment.

Question 18

What is heat transfer?

Answer 18

The flow of heat from warm to cold areas.

Question 19

How can heat flow be prevented?

Answer 19

By using certain construction materials for the exterior walls of buildings (wood, brick, concrete and masonry) and thermal insulation.

Question 20

What does “thermal” mean in “thermal insulation”?

Answer 20

Materials that have high heat flow resistance.

Question 21

What is conduction?

Answer 21

The movement of heat through solid or liquid.

Question 22

Which transfers heat more quickly, conductors or insulators?

Answer 22

Conductors

Question 23

What is convection?

Answer 23

The movement of heat through the circulatory motion of air or liquid.

Question 24

Is air heated in a furnace and carried to different areas of a house an example of conduction, convection, or insulation?

Answer 24

convection

Question 25

What do the initials (k), (C), (U), and (R) stand for?

Answer 25

(k): conductivity
(C): Conductance
(U): Transmittance
(R): Resistance

Question 26

What unit is heat measured in?

Answer 26

Btu - British thermal unit

Question 27

Do the best materials for insulation have a low or high k- or C- factor?

Answer 27

low

Question 28

What is the k-factor?

Answer 28

k-factor = conductivity
Measures the amount of heat that travels through homogenous material.
Expressed as a decimal measurement of how many Btu per hour (Btu/hr) pass through 1 sq ft of material that is 1” thick and has a temp difference of 1*F.

Question 29

What are 3 examples of homogenous materials?

Answer 29

Concrete, wood, and polyurethane foam insulation

Question 30

What is the R-value?

Answer 30

R-value: Resistance Value
the ability of a material to resist heat flow
Metric equivalent of this is RSI, the R-value expressed in metric units.

Question 31

What has a higher k-factor, a concrete wall foundation or wood stud?

Answer 31

concrete wall foundation

Question 32

What is the kind condensation called that can occur inside a wall?

Answer 32

Concealed condensation (as opposed to surface condensation)

Question 33

Which three effects may result in a pressure difference between the inside and outside of a building?

Answer 33

wind effect, stack effect, and/or combustion-and-ventilation effect (see p. 561 for explanations).

Question 34

Where are soffit vents located?

Answer 34

Beneath a roof cornice

Question 35

Where are coninuous ridge vents located?

Answer 35

along the ridge of a roof.