Building Diagnostics

NOW AT YOUR FINGERTIPS: Every performance test for completing a home energy audit. If you're a professional in today's fast-evolving industry of high performance construction and retrofits, then you've probably found yourself wondering a few things: Who can show me how to run that test? How do I get the most out of the equipment I own? Why do the tests work, and how do I explain them? What quality control methods should I use? Which tools will make my job faster and easier? With this guide, experienced and new diagnosticians alike will get step-by-step details on advanced testing, complete with best practices, important concepts and pitfalls, ways to present data to the client, Step-By-Step photographs, and time-saving tips, plus quiz questions for each diagnostic!

This book presents a collection of recent research on building diagnosis techniques related to construction pathology, hygrothermal behavior and durability, and diagnostic techniques. It highlights recent advances and new developments in the field of building physics, building anomalies in materials and components, new techniques for improved energy efficiency analysis, and diagnosis techniques such as infrared thermography. This book will be of interest to a wide readership of professionals, scientists, students, practitioners, and lecturers.

With the widespread availability of high-speed, high-capacity microprocessors and microcomputers with high-speed communication ability, and sophisticated energy analytics software, the technology to support deployment of automated diagnostics is now available, and the opportunity to apply automated fault detection and diagnostics to every system and piece of equipment in a facility, as well as for whole buildings, is imminent. The purpose of this book is to share information with a broad audience on the state of automated fault detection and diagnostics for buildings applications, the benefits of those applications, emerging diagnostic technology, examples of field deployments, the relationship to codes and standards, automated diagnostic tools presently available, guidance on how to use automated diagnostics, and related issues.

Building defects still continue to plague the construction industry. The lessons learned over the last forty years have not been fully applied. Many new or refurbished buildings still leak or crack. Lack of awareness by designers and installers as to the main mechanisms that trigger such failures remains a problem for the industry. Investigating and rectifying building failures form a major part of building surveyors’ bread and butter work. This book provides guidance on this work for typical residential, commercial and industrial buildings – with advice on how to diagnose a wide range of defects with an emphasis on evidence based practice throughout. It considers both modern and older construction methods, together with new and traditional materials. The particular problems of alteration and renovation work are also discussed. The first four chapters provide information and guidance on the methodology for investigating failures – how to prepare for and conduct an investigation into a building defect and subsequently diagnose its cause in a logical manner. This fourth edition has been updated and expanded to cover the latest diagnostic procedures and research. It also includes Appendices and a new Bibliography, and provides an extensive list of books on building pathology and related topics in the UK and North America. It is essential reading for all students and practitioners interested in building surveying and building conservation.

This book is a comprehensive examination of the phenomenon of poor indoor air quality (IAQ) characterized as sick or problem buildings. Significant emphasis is given to defining the nature of the problem, the various potential causal and risk factors, problem building diagnostic protocols and contaminant measurements, and the mitigation of IAQ problems, including case histories. The book features a discussion on the potential causal factors studied extensively in Europe and recognized in North America as well.