The quarterly newsletter of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council
President’s Message
October is Indoor Air Quality Awareness Month (who knew?), and I find it fitting that the Council has moved its signature event, the IAQ & Energy Conference from the Spring to the Fall. The Conference is the largest piece of work output we do each year, and we are proud of all we are able to achieve with it. I encourage you to take a moment and see how this event might help you to create a healthier, more sustainable, indoor environment.
Watch for our planning survey. As we transition ourselves to the long winter season, the Board of Directors will be taking some time to stop and reflect on what our priority work plan will look like for the next three years. Are there policy initiatives to tackle in-state? Public health issues that require fixes to indoor environments? Strategies to better educate professionals on best practice principles? We don’t know yet, but we hope you’ll help us find out.
Over the next two weeks we will be asking you, our event participants and newsletter readers, to weigh in on your thoughts regarding IAQ priorities for Maine. Watch your inboxes over the next week or so inviting you to participate in a brief on-line survey. Please do take 5 minutes to tell us what YOU think. Your input will help inform our discussion of possibility future efforts and initiatives.
Thank you again for your support of this great little organization, and I look forward to the possibility of seeing each of you at the upcoming Conference and future MIAQC events.
Dick Rollins, PE, President
Maine Indoor Air Quality Council
Feature: Beau Mears to Receive Norman Anderson Leadership Award
At its September meeting, the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council’s Board of Directors selected Beau Mears as the recipient of the 2019 Norman Anderson Leadership Award. The award is given annually to an individual who has shown leadership and initiative to promote healthy, productive, and environmentally-sustainable indoor environments for Maine. Beau will receive his award at the upcoming IAQ & Energy 2019 Conference on November 1st in Portland.
Learn more about Beau and his passion for indoor environments in this interview with Board member Desi-Rae Severson.Click here for a transcript of our conversation!
Feature: IAQ Implications of Maine’s Updated Building Code
The changes made by the Maine State Legislature this year will impact two key areas of air quality in home construction: ventilation and radon. Here’s a quick summary of these provisions and what builders and homeowners should know. Read more…
The Annual IAQ & Energy Conference is Right Around the Corner
The 2019 IAQ & Energy Conference is taking place on October 31-November 1 at the Holiday Inn by the Bay in Downtown Portland.
So….why should you attend IAQ & Energy 2019?
At IAQ & ENERGY 2019, you’ll learn strategies that put it all together. All the components to design, construct, operate, and maintain healthy, environmentally-sustainable indoor spaces.
2019 Conference Highlights:
- Keynote presentations by Corbett Lunsford of the PBS TV Show Home Diagnosis; Sam Rashkin from the U.S. Department of Energy; and Bob Krell from Healthy Indoors and Home Energy magazines
- A full track on high-performance commercial building design and construction
- High performance homes
- Ventilation of large and small buildings
- Facility Operations & Maintenance
- Building Investigations
- Maine’s new building code
- Mold & Dampness in Buildings
- Tools,Tricks and Terminology for IAQ
- Allergens and Dust Mites
- Retro Commissioning
- Air Cleaning Devices
- Energy
- Communications
You will learn from the best of the best. Check out our full presentation line-up.
We have advance course approvals so you can get all your professional education credits in one place. Check out our CEU listing.
As always, scholarships are available upon request. Call 207-626-8115.
We hope you’ll take a few moments and check out all that IAQ and Energy has to offer you. www.iaqandenergy.com.
Roadmap to the 2019 Conference
Presenters:
We have presenters from all over the country participating in the 2019 IAQ & Energy Conference. The program page at iaqandenergy.com has the full list of presentations scheduled at the event. Click on the program title to view the program description, learning goals, and presenter biography for the session.
Continuing Education Credits:
The following credits will be available for attendance at the conference. If you don’t see a specific certification you want or need, please contact the MIAQC office at 207-626-8115.
American Council for Accredited Certification (ACAC)
Architects (AIA)
Association of Energy Engineers (AEE)
American Society of Home Inspectors (ASHI)
Attorneys (MCLE)
Building Operator Certificants (BOC)
Building Performance Institute (BPI)
Certified Energy Auditors
Codes Enforcement Officers and Third Party Inspectors
Engineers, including P.E.’s
Home Inspectors (MECHIPS)
Industrial Hygienists
IICRC Credits
PassiveHausUS (PHIUS)
Registered Radon Professionals
Real Estate Professionals
USGBC
What Happens When
There are several ways you can find out what happens when at IAQ & Energy 2019.
1) You can view the full list of presentations HERE
2) You can check-out the schedule-at-a-glance
3) You can download the schedule grid with room assignments:
Schedule Grid for October 31
Schedule Grid for November 1
Attend Live In-person or Live Online
You can attend the IAQ & Energy 2019 Conference live in-person in Portland Maine OR live online from your home or office. All registrants, live and online, will have access to video recordings after the conference.
Register for the Live In-Person Event in Portland, Maine
Register for the On-Line Event from your home or office
Accommodations:
There are many places to stay in the Portland area, but we encourage you to stay right at the Holiday Inn by the Bay. Discount rates are available for IAQ & Energy Conference attendees. Call 207-775-2311 to make your reservation.
IAQ Stuff to Do
| Green & Health Maine Homes: Home + Energy Show Saturday, October 19 – East End Community School, Portland A one-day event to bring together leaders in Maine’s sustainable home and energy industries. From solar power to heat pumps, air quality to air sealing, and electric vehicles to edible landscapes, you’ll find endless inspiration for creating your high-performing, green & healthy Maine home – whether you are looking to build, buy or enhance an existing property. Learn More IAQ & Energy 2019 October 31-November 1 Holiday Inn by the Bay Portland, ME A two-day conference exploring design, construction, operations, maintenance, investigation, and remediation of buildings, for the health of people in them. Learn More 2020 Indoor Insanity 5k Sunday, January 12, 2020 USM, Gorham, ME Registration is open for the 2020 Indoor Insanity 5k. Who knew running in circles was so much fun?100% of race registration fees are used to pay for radon mitigations in low-income Maine homes.Walkers welcome. Learn More |
| 2020 Residential Construction Training Series – Registration is open! 4 dates January-February 2020 St. Joseph’s College, Standish, MEOur popular residential training series is back with new content for 2020: now includes updates on application of the new Maine Building Codes, more how-to strategies for proper ventilation, and how to calculate dew point. Attend all four sessions and seek our new professional certification. Learn More IAQA Annual Meeting & Expo February 19-21, 2020 West Palm Beach, FL Learn More High Performance Building Symposium Thursday, March 26, 2020 Portland, Maine Learn More |
Out and About with MIAQC
We don’t sit around! What have we been up to lately?
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On September 18th in Portland, more than 60 professionals attended the Spray Foam and the Building Code seminar featuring building envelope consultant Henri Fennell. Thank you, Henri!
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On September 20-22, we had a healthy homes booth at the Common Ground Fair. We spent the entire weekend answer fairgoers questions about strategies to design, build, operate and maintain their homes for both health and energy efficiency. Thank you to our volunteers: Julia Bassett Schwerin, Jon Levenseler, Tom Caron, Steve & Alison Caulfield, Jonathan Dyer, and Dick Rollins. A double thank you to Jonathan Dyer, who gave a great presentation on radon on our behalf.
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On October 1st, we held our kick-off meeting for our EPA Health Communities Grant to educate and communicate on our new guidance for addressing mold & moisture problems in rental properties. Our goal for the year is to conduct outreach to 5 key sectors: landlords, tenants, code officials, public health professionals, and legal advocates. We have a lot of great energy on the planning team, and it’s going to be a great year. Click here to see the guidance that provides the foundation for this project.
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On October 1st, Board members Dick Rollins and Roland Adams, along with executive director Christy Crocker, attended the Maine Association of Nonprofits “Opt-In” communications conference.
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MIAQC was in attendance at both the passivehausMAINE annual fall forum on October 10 and the Maine Safety & Health Conference on October 16-17. We had lots of great conversations about strategies to create healthy indoor environments and shared information about who we are and what we do. We enjoy going to these events and seeing our members engage with their professional communities.
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Get Involved!
Contact MIAQC Executive Director Christy Crocker to find out how you can participate in and support the work of the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council: 207-626-8115; christy@maineindoorair.org.
Interesting Reading and Viewing…
From Purdue University, News Release, with list of abstracts and study data: “How Much Are You Polluting Your Office Air Just by Existing?”
From BBC: Why Indoor Air Quality Matters to Our Bodies and Our Brains
From the Air Force Times: “Lackland just relocated 200 airmen due to dorm mold — and more moves are coming”
From AIHA: UK organization issues draft guideline on IAQ at Home
Have some interesting reading to share? Send it to MIAQC Executive Director Christy Crocker and we’ll post in the next Informer Newsletter in April 2019.
Registration Open for Residential Construction Training Series
Registration is open for the Maine Indoor Air Quality Council’s popular residential construction training series. These programs teach construction practices that optimize energy efficiency measures as well as minimize the risk of moisture and indoor air quality problems in new and existing homes. The training further emphasizes this critical concept: high performance homes are not hard to construct, and the extra efficiency measures have a very reasonable payback – both for the builder and the homeowner.
New for 2020! We have expanded the agenda to a four, full-day sessions. New content includes calculation of dew points on component surfaces and within wall/roof systems, more detailed “hands-on” strategies for proper ventilation, plus application of Maine’s newly updated building codes.
Schedule:
Friday, January 24, 2020 – Foundations
Friday, January 31, 2020 – Building Shell
Friday, February 7, 2020 – HVAC
Friday, February 14, 2020 – Renovations
February 28, 2020 and March 6, 2020 – Back up Snow Dates
All sessions held at:
Xavier Lounge in Xavier Hall
St. Joseph’s College
278 Whites Bridge Road Standish, ME
Register
