Within commercial buildings, HVAC systems are responsible for 67 percent of the total emissions emitted. This presents a major challenge for facility managers, who balance the day-to-day operational demands of their buildings with the need to reduce carbon footprints and energy costs.
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Traditional thinking within the building enclosure industry may suggest the aesthetic and comfort features of interior spaces run counter to their safety and security capabilities. While they are not necessarily mutually exclusive, it can be challenging for architects and designers to consider certain tradeoffs for glazing and curtain walls....
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Many project teams are opting to specify delegated design mulled window systems that combine multiple windows into a single unit in a larger glazed opening. While these mulled systems have become increasingly popular, their mulling components can create potential performance issues, including air infiltration, water penetration, structural failure, and...
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Choosing finishes for commercial buildings’ aluminum-framed vertical fenestration assemblies—windows, curtain wall, storefront, and entrances—often begins by selecting a color. Specialty coatings also can enhance the visual and tactile effects of the finished appearance.
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An intumescent is a material which reacts and expands aggressively when exposed to heat or fire. Depending on the requirements of the application, the expansion rate can be up to 30 times the original size of the product. The pressure generated by the intumescent when expanding can be tailored...
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Designers, specifiers, and code officials are unfamiliar with the best ways to locate information regarding National Fire Protection Association (NFPA) 285 test data and tested assemblies. This article provides guidance on how and where to find compliant tested assemblies and the extension of test data through engineering analyses.
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Powder coatings have been around for a long time. Most people know them as tough, beautiful, protective coatings, used on metal substrates and available in many colors. However, what many people do not realize is there are different types of powder coatings with different performance capabilities.
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A suspended (drop-in) luminous grid ceiling is a multi-functional architectural element that forms a major decorative surface. It keeps unsightly overhead mechanical services concealed but accessible, while hosting lighting and other fixtures and providing thermal/acoustic control.
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In 2022, the authors collaborated with researchers at the University of Massachusetts, Ajla Aksamija, PhD, and Suncica Milosevic, to quantify the potential for condensation on a variety of window systems. Eleven different aluminum architectural window systems spanning a wide range of heat transfer coefficients (U-factors) and CR ratings were...
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In the absence of a large-scale fire catastrophe, a sense of complacency may be influencing the specification of firestopping materials. In recent years, North America has seen a trend of pre-insulated back pans coming from overseas which contain foreign mineral wool that has not been tested to ASTM E2307....
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