A basic law of physics states that moisture moves from hot to cold. This means that humidity in the home will most certainly find it's way into the wall cavity, and if not removed, will provide a place for mold to grow, and ultimately degrade the wood framing material.
We originally thought that standard roof vents, as well as wind turbines would be adequate. But time has proven that unless the wind was blowing, there were not enough convection currents to remove all of the moisture that may have collected in the dome cavity. So the evolution of positive ventilation was added in the form of a power roof vent.
The positive cavity ventilation in a dome provides a vapor trail that starts with small exterior openings at the base of the dome shell, moves through fiberglass insulation, (which is 90% air), and exits the dome cavity through a small power roof vent in the dome top. This power vent is furnished with each ESI dome kit.
The need is not so great in warmer climes for this type of ventilation, but for those dome homes with high humidity, cold winters, or excessive air conditioning, this system has proven to be highly satisfactory.
Another area of condensation in a dome occurs at the interior dome top. If
nothing is done
to move the convected heat from the dometop, condensation can occur on upper
level
windows and sometimes even on the interior panels of the dome. We design into
all of our
domes a dome-top heat recovery system to prevent heat stratification within the
dome. It
works to move the convected warmed air from the dometop, bringing it down to
the lower
areas where you live, saving those BTU's that would normally be lost if left to
themselves.
This also insures that the rooms on the upper floors will be comfortable and
the same
temperature as the rooms on the lower floors.
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