Week 4 Vocab

Static pressure

The resistance air encounters while traveling throughout a building's HVAC system.

Dew Point

The temperature to which the air needs to cool down to in order to become completely saturated or reach 100 percent relative humidity.

Volumetric Flow Rate

The amount of fluid (air) which passes per unit time.

Passive House

A building that comprises a set of design principles used to attain a quantifiable and rigorous level of energy efficiency within a specific quantifiable comfort level.

Manometer

A device to measure pressure.

Psychrometric Chart

A graphical representation of the physical and thermal properties of atmospheric air for a particular barometric pressure.

Vapor Retarder

A material intended to resist the diffusion of water vapor into a building assembly.

Air Changes per Hour

A measure of the air volume added to or removed from a space in one hour.

Joint Sealant

A rubberlike, adhesive material, usually applied in liquid or tape form, used to seal a joint, gap, or crack against the passage of air and water.

Perm Rating

A unit of vapor permeance, a measure of a material's permeability to the diffusion of water vapor.

Zero Energy Building

Buildings that combine energy efficiency and renewable energy generation to consume only as much energy as can be produced onsite through renewable resources over a specified time period.

Enthalpy

The amount of energy or heat content embodied in a system.

Condensation

The change of the physical state of matter from the gas phase into the liquid phase, and is the reverse of vaporization.

Friction Loss

The decrease in air pressure due to the friction of the air moving through a duct.

Blower Door Test

Used on buildings to quantify the amount of air leakage through its enclosure.