I am always amazed at house construction where so often things are half built or more while people are running around beginning to think about "extras" that should never be though of as "extras" but as part of the essential system. So time for one of my lectures -- (you asked for it).Heating is o...
Few furnace filters, except expensive HEPA filters, do much about trapping or killing germs. Electronic air filters will reduce somewhat the air born germ count because the high electrical voltages do kill some of the bacteria passing through them and probably all that is caught on the plates. ...
The minimum control for a bathroom fan is a simple wall switch.Sometimes the bathroom lights and the fan will be tied together. Now when you have a noisy fan, this can be quite tiring, so to avoid the noise you use the bathroom in the dark.The biggest problem with the simple wall switch control ...
You cannot use a dimmer switch on a fan motor, but you can find fan speed controllers.Why? A regular dimmer switch simply reduces the voltage. That works with lights, but will burn out a motor (and maybe burn down the house).A fan speed controller is a much more complex electronic device that re...
Paul from Prince Edward Island needs an exhaust fan in his bathroom and wants to know where is the best place to put it.If you go up through the roof, you will be unable to totally avoid condensation in the top of the duct that can come back into the bathroom. I would prefer to avoid going throu...
Brenda from Port Hardy, B.C. says that her wood burning insert smells of soot when it is not in use.The problem is obviously one of air coming down the chimney. Either the exhaust fans in the house are drawing air when there is no fire to maintain an upward draft, or the wind is twisted around on...
Have you ever wondered how much air actually comes out of your hot air floor registers, or how many cubic feet per minute your bathroom fan actually exhausts? Well the Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation has developed a simple tool that will give you a good approximation.They call it the Gar...
Andre from Quebec forgot his bathroom fan. Now what to do?Well Andre, it is true that a charcoal recirculation fan will pick up and deal with most odours in the bathroom, if you keep the filter changed. But it will have absolutely no affect on moisture build-up, and hence on the possible develo...
Mike writes: "I'm renovating my bathroom and plan to install a fan. The shower is on one side of the room and the bath is on the opposite wall so I plan to put the fan in the middle of the room. What is the maximum amount of hose I can use to vent outside?"You shouldn't have any problem going ...
There are a number of appliances around the house that have user or trade adjustable temperatures and it is not always simple to get them right.Hot Water HeatersMost Hot Water heaters for domestic hot water are factory set to 66deg C. ( 150F ). This is actually hot enough to scald someone so legi...
