Found 179 results for the keyword(s) ‘Environmental’

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  EXACTLY WHAT IS POLLUTING MY HOUSE?

  Pollutants come from four main sources: 1- Your body's metabolic activities (breathing and the like): carbon dioxide, ammonia, organics, and odours. 2- Your activities within the house: -- Tobacco smoke: carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, organics, odours. -- Aerosol sprays: fluorocarbons, v...
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  In-Line Exhaust Fans

    Here's an introduction to a special kind of exhaust fan -- an "In-Line" fan. This means that rather than having the motor right at the ceiling, they can be placed anywhere along the line of the ductwork. This makes their installation much more flexible, and quieter.  Equipment details can be f...
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  Pro: Water As a Tool - Sometimes a Damn Tool

  Adding water to concrete or masonry will definitely make it flow better and make it easier to work with, which is why just about everybody does it. At the same time you have all heard that this will weaken the final product and increase shrinkage, but just about everybody does it anyway. If the d...
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  Scientists in Quebec take stands on both sides of the EMF debate.

  Follow this link for a background and an overview of the debate on EMF and human health. The debate is strong in Québec.  A large group of scientist and engineers worried about what they consider the unfounded public outcry against wireless progress published a letter in the newspaper LeDevoir o...
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  Toilet innovations that work

  Every few years I need to update this "innovations" entry as things just keep getting better.  Not all "gadgets" to save water work, and not all toilets actually flush clean.  For details on the comparative performance of low flow toilets that do work, check out the MaP rating system, which is be...
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  Pro: Wire Up-Sizing for Energy Efficiency and Cost Savings

  A fresh look at household wiring may change the wire sizes we use in some residential lines. The electrical code establishes wire sizes based on fire safety considerations. When an electrical load is run through a wire, the resistance in that wire creates heat. The maximum amperage for a given w...
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  Overview: Vermiculite, Zonolite, Asbestos and your health

  Note 2014 : As you read below you will find a detailed history of Vermiculite insulation and problems it had starting in 1920.  Just recently I have become aware of houses built around or before 1920, yes 100 year old houses, where it was discovered that there was about 2 inches of Vermiculite u...
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  Electric radiant floor heating without electromagnetic radiation!

    In the spring of 2004, a young and dynamic company in Quebec got a new radiant heating cable out of the laboratory and onto the market that has almost no electromagnetic radiation. "FlexTherm" from Longueuil, Quebec came out with what they call their Green Cable. With a sensitive professional...
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  Old fashioned linoleum has found new colours

    Linoleum used to be the kitchen floor covering of choice, but with the arrival of less expensive vinyl flooring which had colourful patterns, it got lost in the market. Yet linoleum has always been one of the most natural flooring materials following wood. It has been and is still made up ba...
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  WHAT IS RELATIVE HUMIDITY and HOW DOES IT RELATE TO COMFORT?

    Montreal winters are uncomfortably cold;           while in Saskatoon it is even colder but more comfortable Montreal summers are uncomfortably hot ;           while in Arizona it is even hotter but more comfortable Why?  It is all about Relative Humidity. If we come to understand humidit...