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Technical Note (National Research Council of Canada. Division of Building Research), 1962-05-01
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Robson, D. R.
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DIVISION OF BUILDING RESEARCH
NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF CANADA
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NOT FOR PUBLICATION
NOTE
No.
373
FOR INTERNAL USE
PREPARED BY D. R. Robson CHECKED BY DCT APPROVED By NBH
PREPARED FOR Reoord Purposes
May 1962
SUBJECT INDOOR CLIMATE STUDY, HALIFAX, N.S. (PRELIMINARY REPORT)
From 1 December, 1960 until 1 December, 1961, the Division of Building Research of the National Researoh Council conducted an indoor climate study of eleven houses in the
Halifax metropolitan area. The houses chosen were of various
types and ages: some were built with crawl spaces, some had
conventional basements, one was slab-on-grade, and one was a
split foyer house. The variety of houses in the study group
provided a representative cross-seotion of house types in this
area. In addition combustion efficiencies of furnaces in nine
uninstrumented houses were determined.
For this study, it was necessary to keep continuous records of indoor temperatures and humidity, weekly records of burner and fan ttontt time, fuel deliveries, analyses of oom-bustion products and calculations of comoom-bustion efficienoies.
An examination of the house was made also followed by the
preparation of floor plans and the subsequent calculation of heat losses.
The relative humidity and temperatures were recorded on a continuous basis by means of a clock-driven drum chart with a hair element for registering changes in relative humidity, and a bimetal element for sensing changes in
temperature. The instruments used (hygrothermographs) were
calibrated frequently because the hair element oannot be relied upon to react consistently over a wide range of
humidity. The recalibration was, therefore, carried out on
,
....
2
-The fan and burner "on" time readings were made
from small electric counters on a weekly basis. These
counters were electrically connected across the burner and fan motor leads so that when the burner or fan was in
opera-tion, the counters recorded the time of operation. The time
was totalized so that subtraction of one week's readings from the following week's readings gave the total time of
operation for each week.
The analysis of burner combustion was carried out
using a Dwyer Test Kit. This provided a measure of the
carbon dioxide, the smoke, and the temperature of the flue
gas. The combustion efficiency was calculated from these .
results. The measurements were made with the burner operation
"as found" -- no adjustments were made to the burners. The highest combustion efficiency calculated was 88 per cent, the lowest 55 per cent and the average 74 per cent.
Fuel consumption was calculated from the fuel
delivery dates and the quantities recorded by the home owners. In some instances, with the owner's permission, records were obtained from the oil supplier.
For purposes of comparison, the square feet of floor area heated per 100 gallons of fuel oil per year was calculated for each house from the fuel records and the
heated floor area of the house. The liVing habits of a
family have a decided effect on this value, and it serves
as a comparison of one house with another. The highest
value obtained was 246 square feet per 100 gallons of fuel per year, the lowest 120 square feet, and the average 166 square feet.
An average weekly indoor humidity ratio for the eleven houses was calculated from the humidity records of
each house. This is compared in graph form to the outdoor
humidity ratio obtained from weather reoords (Fig. 1). It
is interesting to note that the average indoor humidity
ratio follows the same general curve as the outdoor humidity ratio.
The average indoor temperature of each house was
calculated. The average for the eleven houses is shown in
graph form with the average outdoor temperature (Fig. 2). From this preliminary study it is possible to make some general observations:
I. The indoor relative humidities in houses in the
Halifax area in winter are generally- maintained at
.'
3
-2. In most instances furnace efficiencies can be
considered "good" with two exceptions that would be classed as excellent.
3.
In some instances the rated capacity of the furnacewas substantially in excess of the maximum heat demand of the house.
4. The results from several of the houses demonstrate
that increased ventilation by intentional opening of windows in order to limit relative humidity so as to avoid condensation problems can be accomplished without excessive fuel costs in well-constructed
houses.
The interest shown by the owners of the houses
involved in this study is very much appreciated. Without
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