How Many CFM Does My Home Need? Ventilation Advice from HVAC Researcher Jeff Siegel

Spoiler alert: Corbett's wearing a retainer. Yes. You don't have to comment about it. Video forthcoming, as a matter of fact. Jeff Siegel is a superstar of HVAC research, and you can learn more from him in his original interview with me and at his research site. We're in the University of Toronto's rooftop climate chamber, shooting the bull about how many air cleanings per hour (aka air changes per hour, which is confusing to blower door folk) we should aim for in our living spaces. Learn more about specific ventilation strategies at:

https://Broan-Nutone.com

https://AirCycler.com

https://Renewaire.com

https://HVI.org

Home Disasters & Resilience: SciPub Q&A on 'Home Diagnosis' Season 3

Join Grace and Corbett Lunsford, creators of 'Home Diagnosis' on PBS, at a SciPub live audience discussion led by Nancy Scales-Coddington about disasters and resilience in homes at Cornell University. Season 3 of the series is called 'Accidents Happen', and explores disasters both natural and human-made (like adding ozone generators, skipping air sealing, putting plastic vapor barriers in the wrong places), and dives into the science behind them in physics, chemistry, and microbiology. Learn more from WSKG's SciPub series at: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLkEiFS5w2pdm-95WA4ak2xXsFMxF2NWIm

Thanks again to Wise Home Energy's Jeff Flaherty who came out and demonstrated tools and answered questions for the crowd too: https://www.wisehomeenergy.com/

Learn more at: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Support the making of 'Home Diagnosis' and our YouTube channel for as little as $5/month at: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Automatic Ventilation Control with Broan-Nutone's Overture: Customizable, Modular Fresh Air System

Places are different, homes are different, families are different. There IS NO SINGLE SOLUTION for ventilation, and that's the way it's likely to stay- so the more modular, customizable components we have access to, the better.

In addition to having some of the most advanced ERVs in the world (stay tuned for more on that), Broan has now made customized, modular ventilation systems much more practical with this lineup of Overture controls: room sensor, wall control, and smart plug- all linked to the algorithms in an app.

The Overture system can control exhaust fans, supply fans, make up air dampers, and ERVs/HRVs- we hope they will continue to push forward into controlling air handlers, dehumidifiers, humidifiers, and more. Learn more about this system and start brainstorming what you might do with it at: https://Overture.Broan-Nutone.com

Learn more about our TinyLab: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq51-6Gwm3m7HXjRhgt9X7RK

Watch the build of our Forever Home: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLsc2-5fAgMq4YgAoFaG-F6xvGT1MKwt-u

See the first-ever TV series about the Science of Homes: https://HomeDiagnosis.tv

Filterless Air Cleaners Make No Sense: Airfree Lotus Air Purifier

Honestly, it's starting to piss us off that some of these marketing teams are combining their shocking lack of understanding of what they're selling, with an assumption that their customers won't be able to understand it either. Let's fix that right now, starting with this Airfree Lotus 'filterless air purifier'. Oh, and they make one specifically for baby rooms too, if this wasn't dumb enough already.

If you need cleaner air, use good filters, or dilute with outdoor air using something as simple and affordable as an AirCycler: https://www.aircycler.com/

Join our team and be part of our work! https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Why Not to 'Super Cool' Your Home: Another Dumb HVAC Idea Debunked

I was sent this article for a second opinion (https://lifehacker.com/how-to-supercool-your-home-and-why-you-should-1849164074) and I'm happy to report that this is exactly the kind of thing that needs to be on this channel. Here are many, many reasons why you should not take advice on your home as a system from a pop culture DIY magazine. The two studies on ‘supercooling’ cited within are: https://www.aceee.org/files/proceedings/2014/data/papers/1-768.pdf https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1799534

Bath Fan and Duct Inspection Tips for Restoration After a House Fire

Our friend Shawn had a fire disaster last year, and though it’s a terrible loss he’s helping us and our audience learn from the experience. Here’s a quick preview of what will be coming in Season 3 of Home Diagnosis. Here we point out two things to watch out for- one good, one bad. Easy to inspect a construction site if you know how things are supposed to work! And Shawn’s awesome fitness hammers can be seen at: https://bamfhammer.com/

Mythbusting a Miracle Cooling Machine: Basically a Sped Up Sweat Box- Arctic Air Pure Chill Review

This 'Arctic Air' Pure Chill machine is trying to sell itself as an air conditioner, but it's actually a cleverly disguised evaporative humidifier, like you'd use in an old house in wintertime. Ridiculous. Here's a bit of testing and science fundamentals to help you avoid re-branding and other marketing tricks in your home. For the testing, I used the temperature/humidity datalogger HOBO MX1101.

Whole Home Depressurization: Worst Case 'Thanksgiving Day' Scenario for Pressure Imbalances

From 'Home Diagnosis' Season 2 ep7: It's important to test how much suction your home can create with the machines and duct systems built into it- is it sucking hard enough to create unhealthy contaminant or moisture problems for your family? Here's a quick look at the 'Thanksgiving Day scenario' we worry about in homes new and old. See this entire episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-207-slow-burn

Join our Patreon team and be part of our exploration of the Science of Homes: https://www.patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Our DIY Forever Home Build: Testing Blower Door, Infrared, HVAC, Pressure Imbalances

From ‘Home Diagnosis’ Season 2 ep13: See what comprehensive home performance testing looks like, as we prove the forever home we built does what we designed it to do. Test instruments used, all available thru https://TruTechTools.com:

• Retrotec 5000 blower door and DM-32 pressure gauge

• Retrotec Flow Box

• Hikmicro M30 infrared thermal camera

• TEC DG-8 pressure gauge

• TEC TruFlow Grid

• HOBO MX1101 temp/humidity datalogger

• Testo 400 large vane anemometer

Watch the whole episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-213-proof-testing-the-house

Chef-Level Home Kitchen? Chef-Level Exhaust Hood. Don't Be Lame.

From 'Home Diagnosis' Season 2 Ep7: For all of us upping our home kitchen game, it's important to be reminded that the most important piece of equipment in the kitchen, and in fact in the entire air quality system of the home, is the kitchen exhaust hood. Don't let your kitchen designer or your glossy home makeover magazine tell you different. See the entire episode at: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-207-slow-burn See our own home's Ultimate Kitchen Exhaust System: https://buildingperformanceworkshop.com/blog/2021/5/15/how-to-design-install-and-test-a-perfect-kitchen-exhaust-and-make-up-air-system

Join our Patreon team and become part of our exploration of the Science of Homes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

The Restaurant Analogy: How to Level Up Home Improvement & Construction

From 'HOME DIAGNOSIS' Season 2 Ep13: Aside from simple lack of education (which we and a crowd of our colleagues are trying to fix on YouTube, PBS, and elsewhere), the problems with the building industry are these, as we see it: 1. Low expectations from customers 2. Limited consequences for pros doing it wrong We'll talk about #2 another time, but this video describes very simply how we fix the expectation piece of the problem: by copying restaurant culture. See the whole episode this came from: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-213-proof-testing-the-house

Explore the Science of Homes with us- join our team! https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV

Attached Garage: Disaster Waiting to Happen?

FROM 'HOME DIAGNOSIS' Season 2 Ep6: People generally don't think about the performance of their garage, even when it's directly connected to living space with a door or a duct (or nothing at all like this https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yI2--RdSq-k).

But we keep all kinds of toxic stuff in garages, and they're always at the bottom of the living space, so houses, townhomes, and multifamily buildings may suck air partly, or entirely, from the garage in cold weather. Here's a quick explanation of the what/why/where of garage air leakage that could pose a threat to the health of your family. See this entire episode: https://homediagnosis.tv/episode-206-windbreakers-air-sealing-and-insulation

Join our team and be a part of our exploration of the Science of Homes: https://Patreon.com/HomeDiagnosisTV