Starting-up



Welcome! Building Simply is a blog that will build a resource for information, products, materials, and case studies for building simply through economical, functional, ecological and energy-efficient means.

A particular focus will be the nascent movement in the US of the Passive House building standard, which was developed in Germany in the 1990s. European examples are numerous, but only a handful of completed projects exist in the US. That is changing rapidly and Building Simply seeks to document, share and expand access to this sector of sustainable design.

The Building Simply store also offers a well-edited selection of books for architects, builders or anyone interested in the same focus on efficiency and simplicity .

Thanks for visiting and check back often as site continues to develop!

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ERV or HRV

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Balanced ventilation systems use either an energy-recovery ventilator (ERV) or heat-recovery ventilator (HRV), typical in Passivhaus construction. While both enable the simultaneous stream of fresh air in, stale air out, and recovery of some heat from the warmer stream in passing each other, the ERV also transfers moisture to the drier air stream with minimal mixing between the two streams. An ERV can transfer 40-60% of the humidity in the outgoing stale air stream to the incoming fresh air stream helping to maintain a more consistent relative humidity level indoors. In higher humidity climate zones, indoor humidity can be effectively controlled using a dehumidifier, as a stand-alone unit. In the long-running debate between which of the two types of units makes a better choice for passive house construction, ERV or HRV, energy efficiency is still a primary criteria to assess different units on the market. Following are some of the more highly cited makes available online: ...
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Blower door tests

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What's a blower door anyway? When building a superinsulated and very air-tight building, blower door testing is conducted to measure air-tightness.  A calibrated fan in conjunction with a pressure testing device depressurizes the the building revealing the level of air infiltration. A standard system known as Minneapolis Blower Door from the Energy Conservatory uses an adjustable door frame with nylon sheeting within which the fan and pressure gauge are mounted.  Manufacturers of similar systems include Infiltec and Retrotec . Further combined with a smoke pencil or fog machine, the blower door test provides visual evidence of air leakage paths.
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Wall switches go wireless

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Well, this was an eye-opener I recently found. Can you imagine wireless wall switches? And why would you want these in your project?  Minimizing air-leaks in the building envelope is a priority to maintain air-tightness.   Every time a control or outlet is installed on an exterior wall, the envelope is compromised introducing the potential for leakage around the wall plate. Enter the battery-free wireless light switch, which is just one application made possible by a wireless, energy harvesting technology known as EnOcean. EnOcean technology emerged in 2001 from EnOcean GmbH , a spin-off enterprise of Siemens AG from Germany whose technologies are used in building automation, industrial automation and the automotive industry.  In 2007, MK Electric was the first UK manufacturer to use EnOcean for wireless switches.  Here in the US, a number of companies have adopted EnOcean to offer wireless switching products on the market that are widely available. Wireles...
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