The Mellette County pioneer. [volume] (Wood, Mellette County, S.D.) 19??-1971, 1918-12-06
Reasons for Failure Of Heating Systems
So By D. HOFFMAN
From Paper Presented at the Meeting ofthe American Society Of Heating
and Ven6latng Engineers, in Buffalo. New York;

,,,1 The til. time . has come for s. a campaign of education for for mos stSf a sy
found through which % educate the public to demand and see that they get
Heretofore heating engineers have pacihcany endeavored to fit their
heating and ventlatng system into nncOnceived and poorly constructed
cap imposed upon the systems by architects Dr. constructors who knew little
of severe winter is approaching W e may * ourselves: What and how may
the heating heath sa n ven atladns ems engineers 1e rs.a d ,@+ asslss IN laying thu foundation
I have especially in mind some of those conditions principally residen n.
in alarge number of eases Some of these conditions re to the mistakes
those of the heating IA Cor hardware MANI who instans the system, and
some to those of the householder who practcng false economy, is lot willing
In most of the ordinary banoonframed houses the sheathfng is very
inferior in grade and loosely buted a. the edges, when there should be solid
boards and lap joints. Some Of the houses have % building paper or its
but very few courses are laid with are to serve as a insulation. Two
se"1ss v of pa sned in ace nd contact nns course are 1T wo snopi@ in ne nd s ant oyer p fe stu sH q
Of, o n ee eqrn,, with d the she eat n;. and nd s IN course tn eS on the fins Inside Geo@ of the HI s tue
surface Again, suppose the wall is well protected against inleakage, but the
there lis freer convection of air upward between. the inner and outer layers of
the wall and the heat that should be kept within the @m is dssipated IT, to
open wall in that the heat is lost and there is o corresponding physical bene-
Another feature of house design that is frequently fatal to the plans of
the heating engineer is the overhanging Don with only n thickness of
seveneighhinch flooring on the Dol and light ceiling over the porch. This
always gives a cold floor that is not only uncomfortable to the occupants but
course, to sleeping porches with n heat; II a overhangng room is desired
One feature of house construction that reflects against the builder rather
than the architect is the loose construction around the windows. The owner
wishes free moving sash and the workmen give him everything he could
desire in this regard But how about the person who is expected d to inhant
caught snow in my hand at a distance Of two feet from a tightly locked win
dows top hung, give satisfactory insulation during the cold days and at the
san time provide ventlating possibilities On moderate days. An average nine
room Foo M house ussu "a be o Supplied fpnH s with To f 5000 storm sn5 t MaI cnoH s, w = w1 a. and far ed tss
first cost in two years time. Such storm windows are NJ hindrance to open
window ventilation when desired.
Next, let us look at the chimney. Several points in common practice
among architects tend toward ineffdency. The outside chimney, in spite of
its possibilities toward exterior onamentahon, is not a good draft producer
because of the chilling effect of the outside air.
Another point, chargeable principally to the owner, is the low basement
ceiling that reduces the pitch of the steam mains or warm-air leaders to a
minimum. If the average householder realized the Importance of extra pitch
to the pipes In the basement, he would let loose of enough additional capital
to guarantee a ceiling height Of eight feet instead of six feet, as is so often
found.
Is it not possible to develop a campaign Of education in such a way that
the average man who may be contemplating building himself a little home
may become Tor informed m these vital points that are 10 necessary to
coordinating the heating and ventlatng features with the building con-
srucion, and in that way develop IN independent thinker who will nt be
wholly at the mercy of the INSCRIPTIONS promoter or the uniformed individual
who frequently poses rs an architect o engineer?
May the time soc m when W e will build Our houses % serve as homes
and n t as private environments.