Transduction Technologies

This is why you test Part 6: Air sealing is not my job! The electricians who installed this electrical panel on this commercial facility didn't see the need to air seal the utility lines as they penetrated the slab & v***r barrier. Hence, drafty room & condensate on the floor. Always properly seal your penetrations through any of the four primary control layers - bulk water, air, heat, & v***r.

Happy Thermal Thursday!

This is why you test - Part 2 - fenestration testing. Recently, we performed some simple nozzle testing (AMAA 501.2) on some storefront windows & found some water leaks at expansion mullions. These mullions have a deep and shallow glass pocket with an internal weep (aka water deflector) at each end of each intermediate horizontal. The water deflector is to keep water from rolling off of the horizontal and down onto the top of the glass, which opens up the chance for water to go into the building rather than down and out (see photos). Long story short, on the shallow glass pocket side of the mullion, there’s not much room for water to get around and down. If the deflector is just barely too tight to the mullion it can act like a dam when flooded by extreme rain. That was the case here. Installation contractor made the adjustments, problem was solved. However, we had to push for this testing. Eventually, this leak would have occurred, months or years down the road at the owner's expense. ⁠
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Fenestration

There is a bill in the Nebraska Legislature (LB 1134, https://nebraskalegislature.gov/bills/view_bill.php?DocumentID=63308&docnum=LB1134&leg=109) which proposes to roll back the state's residential (IRC), electrical (NEC), and energy (IECC) codes from the 2018 version back to the 2009 version (2008 NEC). Furthermore, it prohibits local communities (Nebraska is a "home rule" state) from updating their local codes until Jan. 1, 2031. A similar bill was proposed in 2025. Recently, Kansas City did a similar action, rolling back just their energy code from the 2021 IECC back to the 2012 IECC (with some amendments). ⁠
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While a community can have a honest debate on which energy code is best for that community (lower construction cost vs lower operational cost, environmental impact, greater options to meet code, resiliency, etc.) it is NEVER a good idea to roll back the building codes, and especially NOT the electrical code. Each code revision (every 3 years) implements current best practices, fire, structural, and life safety improvements, new knowledge, current building science principles, newer products/technologies, etc. ⁠
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If this passes, high utility bills will be the least of our worries for new home buyers and tenants.