Synopsis
H2NØ is a book about HVAC-Heating,
Ventilating, and Air Conditioning with an emphasis
on moisture control-how mechanical systems might
help or hinder keeping buildings dry. It talks about
hardware, the components that make up our air conditioning
systems. And it talks about fundamentals-thermodynamics,
heat transfer, refrigeration, psychrometrics, load
calculations-the underlying sciences. The reader
will learn much about air conditioning anatomy and
the mysterious terminology used to describe it,
including a comprehensive glossary.
Air conditioning is at once fairly simple yet
widely misunderstood. H2NØ peels away layers of
myths and old wives' tales, revealing the 80% that
most everyone should understand, and high lighting
the 20% that your HVAC professional had better understand.
H2NØ is written for people who do
not work in the HVAC trades or professions, but
are interested in the health and comfort of buildings
and their occupants. That would include architects,
contractors, owners, facility managers, and students
pursuing careers in these professions. And we should
not forget the people who are running businesses
and institutions-teachers, preachers, doctors and
nurses, merchants, manufacturers, suppliers, executives,
and perhaps most important of all homeowners-who
are chronically confounded by their air conditioning
systems. This book is for you also.
If H2NØ has a target audience, it
would be practitioners of building science and indoor
air quality; the people who eradicate mold and prevent
construction materials from rotting.
Mechanical engineers might even enjoy it. After
all, the author is an old timer and he shares some
tips, shortcuts, and rules-of-thumb that they might
find useful.
The goal in writing this book was to explain
HVAC in simple enough terms, yet not insult the
intelligence of sophisticated readers. An understanding
of math and physics will be helpful in some chapters,
but the technically-challenged will still get the
big picture. You won't need any formal education
to enjoy a look inside the air conditioning culture
as it has never been described before.
Readers will come from ASHRAE, AIA, AGCA, ABC,
SMACNA, BOMA, Chamber of Commerce.
|
