The activity of radon daughters in high-rise buildings.
Abstract Forty measurements are reported in similar rooms in two high-rise buildings. The geometrical means for the concentration of radon daughters including and excluding the basement results, respectively, were 0.90 and 1.00 mWL, which is less than the quoted mean 2.0 mWL for 65 measurements in typical houses in the same city. The frequency distribution of these measurements shows a log-normal distribution. The concentrations did not depend on the distance from ground level but may depend on the ventilation rate of the room examined. The correlation between the concentration of radon daughters in WL in rooms above the first floor in the two high-rise buildings with the inverse of their ventilation rate were 0.73 and 0.67, respectively.
Indoor Air Quality Factors in Designing a Healthy Building
▪ Abstract Current guidelines for green buildings are cursory and inadequate for specifying materials and designing ventilation systems to ensure a healthful indoor environment, i.e. a “healthy building,” by design. Public perception, cultural preferences, litigation trends, current codes and regulations, and rapid introduction of new building materials and commercial products, as well as the prevailing design-build practices, pose challenges to systems integration in the design, construction and operation phases of modern buildings. We are on the verge of a paradigm shift in ventilation design thinking. In the past, thermal properties of air within a zone determined heating, ventilating, and air-conditioning specifications. In the future, occupant-specific and highly responsive systems will become the norm. Natural ventilation, displacement ventilation, and microzoning with subfloor plenums, along with the use of point-of-source heat control and point-of-use sensors, will evolve to create a “smart,” resp...
Alternative Energy: Political, Economic, and Social Feasibility
Chapter 1 Foreword Chapter 2 Why Alternative Energy and Fuels? Chapter 3 Studying Public Policy and Alternative Energy/Fuels Chapter 4 Overview of Alternative Energy and Fuels and Their Uses Chapter 5 Alternative Energy/Fuels as a Public Policy Innovation Chapter 6 Solar Energy Chapter 7 Wind Energy Chapter 8 Geothermal Energy Chapter 9 New Century Fuels and Their Uses Chapter 10 Historical Precedents: Alternative Energy/Fuels and Legitimacy Issues 11 Public Policy, Institutional Developments and Policy Interests 12 Practical Demonstration of the Economics of Alternative Energy Chapter 13 Conclusion: The Future of Alternative Energy