How to Maintain Your ERV: Pressure Check, Clean Filters, Evacuate the Bugs

Depending on where you live, where your fresh air intake is located, and how you run your ventilation system, your filters may get pretty gross in a matter of months. Here’s a few pointers on picking, and maintaining an ERV or HRV. Renewaire ERVs: https://www.renewaire.com/our-ervs/single-multi-family/

Broan ERVs: https://www.broan-nutone.com/en-us/fresh-air-systems/residential

Fantech SER150 installed here: https://shop.fantech.net/en-US/ser--150--fresh--air--appliance/p512709

Consult or coach with me via Zoom or in person: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/video-consulting

Join our Patreon membership and help guide our exploration of the Science of Homes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

How to Test HVAC Room Pressurization (Zonal Pressure Testing for HVAC Commissioning)

Using a TEC DG-8 manometer and a Testo 400 hot wire anemometer, Corbett evaluates the HVAC balancing in the home his family built in Atlanta. Keep your room pressures below 3 Pascals if you can, 5 Pascals will start to give you problems- rooms don't receive enough conditioned air, and/or whistling or doors closing from 'ghosts'.

Join our Patreon group and be part of our R&D team: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Watch the first ever TV series about the science of homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

How Air Pressure Can Screw Up Your Home: the House of Pressure

Take a tour of the dynamics of home pressure with Jake Nuckolls at the Building Performance Center in Bellingham, WA. This training tool has made the invisible visible for thousands of home performance professionals, and we thought everybody else should get to see it in action too!

Thanks to Jake and the BPC- check them out at: https://buildingperformancecenter.org/

Become a member and help support our work exploring the science of homes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Watch the first ever TV series about the science of homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Filter Your Home’s Air: MERV 11 vs. 13 vs. 16 vs. HEPA vs. Carbon (Particles, Chemicals, & Microbes)

It can be hard to believe in things you can’t see, and everything in chemistry and microbiology is too small to see. Here’s a human-scale demonstration of the orders of magnitude of size in the world of the tiny. From episode 210 of ‘Home Diagnosis’.

To see the whole episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-210-headaches-of-homechem

Static Pressure Testing for Home HVAC: What, Why, and How in 2 Minutes

If the ductwork of an HVAC system is not designed, installed, and maintained properly, your home may start to have problems in comfort, humidity control, dust, noise, and equipment failure. Here's the basics you should understand before asking your HVAC installer or service tech to run static pressure testing. From 'Home Diagnosis' episode 209- watch the whole episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-209-opening-the-ice-box-cooling-and-drying

Join our Patreon membership and get behind the scenes with us making the next season of the show! https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Tools used are Retrotec DM-32 gauge and Minneapolis 300 blower door, available at: https://TruTechTools.com

Duct Leakage Test: Pass or Fail?

When you build a duct system, if you want it to work correctly you run a tightness test. See how Corbett did on his home’s first of 5 duct systems for different purposes. Using a Retrotec Duc Tester 300 with DM-32 manometer, available at: https://trutechtools.com

Watch the whole episode, and the whole season: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Elegant HVAC Duct Design: the Rooms are Ducts, Too

Ductwork is more than just supplies and returns- the entire home enclosure is actually part of the ductwork. Here’s a quick demonstration of how to use room arrangements to direct airflow. From Season 2 episode 9 of 'Home Diagnosis' on PBS.

Watch all the episodes for free right now: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Become a member and help make this show! https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Best Place to Put a Bath Exhaust Fan

From 'Home Diagnosis' Season 2 Episode 9- most bathrooms are not designed for performance, let's admit it. If your mirror gets fogged up, if it takes 30 minutes to exhaust all the steam, if your ceiling drips or your walls have streaks on them, you can do better. Most of this, insanely, has to do with WHERE the bath exhaust fan is located. Here's your quick crash course to help you school all the builders, remodelers, and mechanical engineers in the world.

See the whole episode at: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-209-opening-the-ice-box-cooling-and-drying

How the Best HVAC Equipment Gets Made: Fast Tour of Mitsubishi Cooling & Heating Headquarters

I've always wanted to go, and am finally learning some new tips and tricks that Mitsubishi puts into their high performance equipment to be a little more ballsy than other manufacturers. See a slice of the innovations in ducted heat pumps, ductless minisplits, testing at extreme environmental conditions, an 11-acre warehouse, a tech support division staffed by HVAC contractors with working demo units and controls, and more. Thanks also to Ryan Burrell who led the technical discussion (and who helped me select the exact Mitsubishi heat pumps that went into our new home).

Thanks to Matt Hoots (https://youtube.com/c/SawhorseDesignBuild) for putting together this trip to Mitsubishi's HQ in Atlanta GA.

Learn more about any of this stuff at: https://www.mitsubishicomfort.com/

Best of 2022 Nat'l Home Performance Conference

We were deep into this year's National Home Performance Conference in Nashville, and in addition to giving classes on ventilation, advanced testing, and a screening of 'Home Diagnosis', we checked out what's cool and new on the trade show floor. Here are our favorites:

Broan Ventilation Components: https://Broan.com

Rockwool Insulation: https://rockwool.com

AirCycler Ventilation Controls and Sensors: https://aircycler.com

Retrotec Instruments: https://retrotec.com

TruTech Tools: https://trutechtools.com

TEC Instruments: https://energyconservatory.com

Check out 'Home Diagnosis' and the other incredible companies who are investing in educating the public on building science: https://homediagnosis.tv/season-3

Hotel Bathroom Wrecked (by Design)

How Not to Design Ventilation with a Bath Exhaust Fan

At the end of our South Central Tour for Home Diagnosis Season 3, we stayed in a nice new hotel that I just couldn't help but show you. We've stayed in dozens exactly like this, but it's just too many times to refrain from making fun of these bozos anymore.

See how you design and install bath fans like a grown up here: https://youtu.be/YAi9rJ31wqU

See 'Home Diagnosis' episodes at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

6 Case Studies for Crafting Modular Ventilation Systems: Radon, Filtration, ERV, Make Up Air, & Dehumidifiers

Not only do we usually misunderstand the causes of problems in our homes, we often miss the mark in our attempts to fix them. #Ventilation is not a piece of cake, but it’s certainly not brain surgery.

Learn the hows and whys behind six specific, unique situations where air quality was an issue for families. Thanks to @aprilaireco for teaming up with us on this!

Watch the first-ever TV series about the science of homes at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Consult or Train with Corbett at: http://BuildingPerformanceWorkshop.com

Check out Aprilaire modular ventilation components at: http://Aprilaire.com