Blog

  1. In the Field: Retrotec Teams Up With NW Design to Tackle Airtightness Test on Multi-Use Building

     

    In a full-circle moment, Retrotec recently joined forces with Jon Walters from Northwest Design (NW Design) to conduct a critical blower door test on his newly constructed multi-use building. Since 1995, NW Design has been a loyal partner and supplier to Retrotec, delivering top-notch fabric products such as Cloth Door Panels, Carrying Cases for our aluminum door frames, and carrying cases for our blower door fans and digital gauges. It was high time we returned the favor.

    A Building Journey Rife with Challenges

    Initiated in 2020, Jon and his father embarked on a mission to erect a 21,000 sq ft. multi-use building adjacent to NW Design's existing facility.

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  2. DM32X

    Download the latest software version directly from your DM32X Gauge. 

     

    Software Release Date Features
    DM32X v1.1 2024-02-12
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  3. Determining Envelope Hole Size: ELA vs. EfLA vs. EqLA

     

    One great feature of the DM32 and DM32X digital gauges is the ability to show the total hole size if all of the holes, cracks, and gaps in the building envelope were added up into one large hole. But there are several options for this. The most common that are often discussed in the building science and HVAC industries are effective leakage area (ELA) and equivalent leakage area (EqLA). So, what is the difference between the two? Which one is correct?

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  4. New Blower Door Tax Incentives/Fiscal Benefits in the Netherlands

     

    A blower door test is a way to measure the air permeability of buildings. The test is used to measure air infiltration, air leakage, and general air tightness in a building’s envelope. One of the main long-term benefits of blower door testing is to ultimately reduce the cost of energy bills by identifying, and then fixing, areas of energy loss. 

    For companies located in the Netherlands, new fiscal benefits now exist to further incentivize taking action.  

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  5. How to Build a Training Lab for Airtightness Testing

    By: Sam Myers, Retrotec

     

     

    If you are a trainer or educator in the building science field, having a visual aid to demonstrate scenarios that occur in real buildings is the next best thing to teaching on a job site. Air leakage in buildings can be a complicated topic to cover. To present the material in an effective manner, it’s helpful to have a volume of space, or a mockup, where you can manipulate building pressures, temperature, leakage, and hole sizes that connect multiple zones. This provides the ability to show students the physical principles that drive pressure change inside the envelope. A mockup also allows trainers to demonstrate how buildings can be tested and investigated with blower doors, duct testers, high-resolution manometers, thermal imagers, and smoke generators.

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  6. Detecting thermal bridges requires more than infrared images

     

    This article was originally published from Vakblad Heat Pumps. To view the original article (in Dutch), click here

    A home must be sufficiently insulated to use a heat pump. An infrared camera is often used to find out whether this is the case. But that's not enough, says Frans Dam, energy consultant and thermography teacher. According to him, additional techniques are needed to know exactly where any thermal bridges or energy leaks are located.

     

     

    Frans Dam summarizes his work as 'discovering

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  7. Can the Tiny S / Power Tiny smoke fluid be dyed a color?

    Unfortunately no, any kind of dye in the fluid will clog the vaporizer. It will also stain the room being smoked as the dye wont vaporize. 

    If you are having issues seeing the smoke, more light in the room will help you trace it. Also remember that higher pressure differentials will increase the smoke movement. Lower pressures will slow the smoke movement down. 

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  8. What if Houses Came with Manuals?

     

    A guide to the “House As A System” approach to understanding comfort, IAQ, durability, and energy consumption issues caused by building air leakage and HVAC driven pressure imbalances in single-family homes.

    By:
    Sam Myers, Retrotec
    Genry Garcia, Comfort Dynamics Inc.

    How does a house operate? It seems like a silly question. Houses are stationary objects, right? What else is there to know? This may seem like the case at first glance; however, the physical activities of a home are always in motion and are constantly changing. Air is always infiltrating and exfiltrating at rates that change with the weather and when mechanical systems are powered on and off. This impacts our level of comfort, the quality of

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  9. Pacific Northwest Flooding & How to Help

    Recent weather conditions have brought record amounts of rainfall and devastating flooding across Western Washington during the past weeks. Many homes in the area have been impacted by the flood waters and now find themselves with saturated flooring, carpets, and basements.  

    Retrotec is located in Everson, Washington, where hundreds of local residents have been greatly affected, with many homes near the point of being condemned. To make matters worse, supply chains have been affected due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, and residents are unable to receive adequate supplies to help remedy home problems. Retrotec recently wrote an article

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  10. Properly dry out your home after a flood

    Having a flood in your home is an awful situation and requires a lot of time to properly clean up. It is worth the time, however, to research and make the best choices for you and your family so that your house remains healthy and safe for years to come.

     
    The Pacific Northwest has gotten more rain in the last two weeks than they normally see for the entire month of November.
    The recent atmospheric river of rain conditions have poured over the Pacific Northwest over the past several days and brought record amounts of rainfall and devastating flooding across Western Washington. 

    Many homes in the area have been impacted by the flood waters and now find themselves with water soaked flooring, carpets, and basements.

    As flooding recedes, many people will return

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