Transportation noise contains significant low frequency components. It is difficult to sound insulate buildings against transportation noise because wall cavities are only effective in increasing sound insulation above the mass-air-mass resonance frequency. Stud walls can also have a significant structural resonance in this low frequency range, although it is not yet clear if this is significan...

The tunneling ability of the Formosan subterranean termite Coptotermes formosanus Shiraki through a cellulose insulation material containing11.1% boric acid was tested in choice and nochoice bioassays. We examined tunneling behavior and mortality of termites exposed to treated and untreated insulation material in miniature simulated wall voids. In a choice test termites tunneled through untreat...

Hong Kong is a densely populated city suffering badly from the urban heat island effect. Green wall offers a means of ameliorating the situation but there are doubts over its suitability in Hong Kong’s unique environment. In this paper, we look at the potential for green walls in Hong Kong first by summarizing some of the Chinese green walling systems and associated vegetation in use, then by a...

Buildings account for a significant portion of a nation’s total energy consumption. To meet the global demand for greater energy efficiency, many countries are drastically strengthening insulation regulations for buildings. Thus, dramatically thicker wall insulation may be required, which can adversely affect the value of a building by reducing its effective floor area. Hence, high-performance ...

Hexabromocyclododecane (HBCD, C12H18Br6) is the most widely used of the cycloaliphatic BFRs. In 1999, the global demand for HBCD (~16 kilotons) was more than double that of the penta-bromodiphenyl ether (~8.5 kilotons) mixture [1]. HBCD is used as thermal insulation in the building industry, and is the principal flame retardant in extruded (XEPS) and expanded (EPS) polystyrene foams [2]. Second...

During on an extensive investigation of a multi-story timber building with light-frame construction, several stages of the building process and their impact on sound transmission were observed. The sound insulation properties of the building components were measured before and while the buildings were occupied. Furthermore, interviews with the occupants were conducted. This procedure made it po...

Many old buildings have unsatisfactory thermal performance compared to the standards of today. One way to increase the thermal performance is to add thermal insulation to the building envelope. However, many old buildings are listed and considered to be valuable for historical and esthetic reasons. This often limits the position and thickness of the additional insulation layer. Vacuum insulatio...

Ground heat is a renewable resource that is readily available for buildings in cool climates, but its relatively low temperature requires the use of a heat pump to extract it for heating. We developed a system that uses low temperature ground heat directly in a building wall to reduce transmission heat losses. The Active Low Exergy Geothermal Insulation Systems (ALEGIS) minimizes exergy demand ...