BPI TEST QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
Home performance - Answers- is the systematic approach to improving the comfort,
health, safety, energy efficiency, and durability of a home.
The Big 3: - Answers- Heat, Air and Moisture
Difference in temperature and humidity between areas inside the house, and between
the inside and the outside of the house, are exerting some sort of subtle influence on
the conditions in the home.
Importance of Occupants at a component of buildings - Answers- Home performance
primarily deals with existing, occupied homes. Occupants are the beginning and the end
of the system: they may do things in a house that affect the other components, and they
are certainly on the receiving end when things like comfort and indoor air quality are
affected
Interacting relationship - Answers- an action taken on one component causes reactions
or changes in other components, or worsens certain pre-exiting conditions (and
increases their likelihood of producing negative effects
Ice dams - Answers- occurs when warm air melts snow on the roof directly above, but
does not melt snow on the overhangs. Water from the melted snow flows down into the
gutters, where it freezes. This prevents any further melting snow from draining properly.
Ice dams can damage the roof and everything beneath it.
Mechanical ventilation (bathroom fan) - Answers- could cause air pressure differences
between the inside and outside of the home. If air leakage is present, this could cause
the house to leak air at a faster rate, which, in turn, would create the need for the
thermostat to be adjusted more often
Cathedral ceiling - Answers- Has the same pitch as a roof
vaulted ceiling - Answers- does not have the same pitch as a the roof; can consist of
one or two straight slopes, or it can be arched. in the case of straight slopes, one wall of
the room is taller than the opposite wall, and the ceiling slopes downward toward the
shorter wall.
Drawbacks to noon-standard types of ceilings - Answers- hard to clean, pain, and
change light bulbs
cost more to heat and cool
expensive to install
Rafter - Answers- a sloped framing member that supports the roof
Joist - Answers- horizontal framing member that supports a ceiling or floor
,Stud - Answers- a vertical framing member that supports an interior or exterior wall
Bay - Answers- the space between and the size of the wood influence the cavity or bay
(indicates the amount of insulation)
Thermodynamics Definition - Answers- an are of science that looks at the relationship
between heat and other kinds of energy
1st Law of Thermodynamics - Answers- energy moves from place to place; energy
changes form one form to another; energy cannot be created or destroyed
Energy moves around and changes form.
2nd Law of Thermodynamics - Answers- energy flows naturally from high
concentrations to low concentrations
HEAT moves from warmer to cooler; AIR moves from higher pressure to lower pressure;
MOISTURE moves from wetter to drier
Potential vs. Kinetic Energy - Answers- Potential energy is stored energy. Think of
firewood, or a battery.
Kinetic energy is the energy of motion. Burn the firewood, and its potential energy is
converted to kinetic energy in the form of heat.
dry-bulb Temperature (ambient air temp) - Answers- measure the amount of heat in t he
air
wet-bulb temperature - Answers- takes moisture into account; usually lover than dry
bulb bc of moisture content
Home Performance also includes: - Answers- Occupant health and safety
Indoor air quality and occupant comfort
Durability of materials
Building Science - Answers- taken from physics chemistry and thermodynamics
Whole-building home performance contractors - Answers- those professionals whose
job is to improve home performance - need to understand building science.
House-as-a-system: - Answers- holistic view: the whole-house approach and it's
another way to define building science
Four general categories of building science: - Answers- Building
Mechanicals
Environment
, Occupants
Building Envelope: - Answers- Foundation
Walls
Roof
Windows
Doors
Mechanicals: - Answers- Heating and cooling and ventilation
Electrical Systems Lighting and appliances
Plumbing Systems
Environment: - Answers- in this context, refers to managing the indoor environment as
the exterior environment is changing (keeping the interior temperature and relative
humidity within acceptable levels, and ensuring indoor air quality with an adequate
amount of fresh air and little to no pollutant concentrations
Sensible heat - Answers- the amount of energy added to or removed from an object
that causes a change in the object's temperature.
Latent heat - Answers- the amount of energy absorbed or released by a substance as
the substance changes its state
Delta T - Answers- Change in temperature; the greater the temperature difference
(delta T) between the two spaces, the faster the heat will move
BTU - Answers- 1 BTU is equal to the amount of heat required to raise the temperature
of one pound of water one degree Fahrenheit (sensible heat)
Heat transfer - Answers- the movement of heat
Three ways heat is transferred - Answers- conduction, convection, and radiation
Two primary types of spaces inside the building envelope - Answers- conditioned and
unconditioned
Conditioned spaces - Answers- consists of areas that you heat and cool. So, your living
spaces, but also any other areas that you may not necessary 'live' in, but where you
want to control climate.
Unconditioned space - Answers- consist of areas you do not heat or cool. In many
homes, this includes the attic, basement, and/or crawlspace.
Thermal boundary - Answers- The boundary between those conditioned and
unconditioned spaces
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