HVAC Reality Check: Are Duct Systems Dumb or Essential?

Just wanted to spell out why central duct systems are a central part of ANY home design. Yes, ductless mini split heat pumps are awesome. Yes, radiant flooring is comfy. Yes, lots of people use decentralized HVAC strategies around the world and are happy with them (or at least they don't know what they're missing). Duct systems can be used to filter and deliver healthy air to every room in the house- humidified/dehumidified, diluted with outdoor air, and pressure relieved for kitchen exhaust. Learn more about designing ventilation and HVAC in general at: https://BuildingPerformanceWorkshop.com Watch the first TV series about the Science of Homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Manual J or Not? How to Tell If Your HVAC Design is Bogus

If you ask for the HVAC design calculations for your project, you might get handed literally anything from scratches on a napkin to a 50 page jargon-filled binder. Here’s an example of a calculation that might look legit, but is actually very misleading. Learn more about HVAC Design: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/training Get 1-on-1 help in consultation with Corbett: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/video-consulting

Manual J Default Air Leakage Inputs vs. Blower Door Test ACH50

I'm pretty sure the awesome folks who created Manual J (like Hank Rutkowski- hear my interview with him here), and the softwares we use to run the calculations (Elite RHVAC, used here, and Wrightsoft) do not have a lot of personal experience with the test dynamics of home enclosures, and may never have actually used a blower door before. Here's a demonstration of why it's so important to respect the blower door if you're doing HVAC design for residential construction or home improvement.

Learn to perform and analyze Blower Door and Duct Tightness Tests in my 1 Day Training at: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/det-verifier

There are two blower door brands, both available at: https://www.trutechtools.com/system-blower-doors-and-duct-testers.html

See a tour of a full Manual J report below:

How to Hide HVAC Grilles and Replace Your A/C Faster

My friends, DO NOT DO THIS. Friends don't let friends put HVAC grilles, especially the central return grille, anywhere a couch might end up backing up against it. Ceilings, great. High wall, fine. Floor, not so great but probably better than this. Learn more about HVAC performance by subscribing to our channel and joining our Patreon membership: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Brilliant Basic Tools for Building Science: Psychrometric Wheel Calculator

To predict and prevent humidity problems, use a tool like this Psychrometric Wheel Calculator. Understand more about the relationship between tehmperature and relative humidity, absolute humidity, and dewpoint.

Join our Patreon members for as little as $5 a month: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

You should be able to find one of these for sale (between $2 and $50): https://www.google.com/search?q=psychrometric+wheel+calculator

Legal Battle over a Mold House: Anil's Lawsuit against Production Home Builder & Lessons Learned

Hear advice and lessons learned from somebody who is willing to throw down with the (second) biggest homebuilder in the USA (as of 2022's numbers, they're slipping haha). Ryland Homes was sold and became Cal-Atlantic Homes, which in 2018 was sold to Lennar. Anil Mittal is a force to be reckoned with- here's how to be like him when you grow up.

See the tour of their mold-infested home, and get the analysis on the house itself here: https://youtu.be/x_jAxHZ-zLE

Get a DIY mold test kit if you think you need one: https://GotMold.com

How to Start a Mold Investigation Inexpensively: GOT MOLD? DIY Mold Test Kit

Our friend, longtime mold inspector Jason Earle has developed an affordable DIY kit for renters, teachers, and anyone else who'd like a quick and easy way to spot check for airborne mold. Here's his background with mold exposure from childhood, and what led him to R&D for this valuable monitoring solution. Check out the kits or order one: https://GotMold.com

How NOT to Pick HVAC Registers and Grilles: Aria Vents Test Data Reviewed

One of my HVAC design clients sent me a question about these vent covers he found online, and it cracked open the whole basket of eggs. Here's a brain dump on how to look up the performance data on products like this. Here's a brand of decorative grilles that perform well- I know because I test them: https://stellarairdecorativeventcovers.com/

Learn WAY more about HVAC on our playlist: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq5yJOp-kliEoYVML8dS1G2f

Join our Patreon group for exclusive access to us and our work behind the scenes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Mold House Tour and Scientific Causes: Disaster Production Home Build in Houston Texas

Meet our friends Anil and Nilima Mittal- they're suing the biggest production home builder in the USA. With help from Jason Earle, 20-year mold inspection veteran, we tell the story of how this mold disaster of a brand new home began, and how their health has suffered because of it.

Get your own simple mold test: https://GotMold.com

Become supporters of our work, just like Anil, and join our Patreon group for as little as $5/month! https://Patreon.com/homediagnosistv

HERE’S A SEPARATE VIDEO WITH ANIL’S TIPS AND TRICKS ON THE LAWSUIT ALONE:

ERV Setup Testing/Commissioning, Using Pressure Curves to Measure Airflow

Using a Renewaire SL70 energy recovery ventilator and a TEC DG-8 pressure gauge, Corbett demonstrates how to set the low and high speeds on an airtight home's balanced ventilation system.

See this ERV line at: https://www.renewaire.com/our-ervs/single-multi-family/sl-series

Get the DG-8 to test your own stuff: https://www.trutechtools.com/tec-minneapolis-dg-8-digital-pressure-gauge-kit.html

Ventilation design course: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/ventilation

5 Factors for Ventilation: How to Plan a Healthy Home

The 5 Factors for Ventilation are:

1. Circulation

2. Capture/Filtration

3. Humidity Control

4. Dilution Air

5. Pressure Relief

This way of approaching ventilation design is condensed from hundreds of hours consulting on home projects across North America- let me know if this way of thinking about ventilation is missing anything, we're pretty sure it's a comprehensive guide! Check out the ventilation course: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/ventilation

The ventilation brands I refer most include:

https://Broan.com
https://AirCycler.com
https://Renewaire.com

First DIY Tiny House on Wheels? Tour this Self-Built THOW Motor Home

Welcome to Pioneer Village in Minden Nebraska, where they have one of everything. This place is a picker's wet dream. We'll stick to Wendell Turner's 1950 DIY truck conversion to a motor home, before motor homes were a manufactured product. See the awesome things he got right for performance, along with a lot of the kooky things you tend to see in unique tiny homes the world over.

Learn more about our TinyLab, the world's highest performance tiny house on wheels: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq51-6Gwm3m7HXjRhgt9X7RK

Learn to tune the performance of any tiny home in our online course: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/tinyspaces