Ken Kern: Air

Ken Kern is American writer. Explore interesting quotes on air.

Ken Kern: 96 quotes0 likes

“It must have been in Iran that Frank Lloyd Wright got his brilliant idea for cooling a house… During the summer months, the sunken fireplace hearth was filled with water. Down-draft air movement from the chimney circulates over this pool to cool… This unusual fireplace has a summer-cooling as well as winter-heating function.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“Enough is known today about natural ventilation for summer cooling to warrant the entire replacement of artificial air-conditioning devices. …prevailing breezes enter small, louvered openings at the lower section… circulate across the "living zone," rise and then exit through larger, higher openings in the opposite wall.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“A perfectly flat roof permits up to 50 percent more heat gain that a pitched roof… This illustrates the failure of the flat-roof construction to get natural, hot air flow out from under the eaves.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“Convected air heating requires 70° air temperatures, whereas 65° are required using a radiative means of heating. The result is a 30% savings in fuel consumption.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“The Arab's tent… actually consists of two separate tents. The outer tent is white and acts as a heat-reflective layer. The lower-inner tent additionally protects… by providing a blanket of moving air between the two tent layers. …this tent system also illustrates the two, most basic principles of summer cooling: reflective insulation and ventilation. …One system must supplement and reinforce the other.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“As far back as 1624… Louis Savot invented the first heat-circulating fireplace. His unit was installed in the Louvre, Paris, and became the prototype for Ben Franklin's 1742 Pennsylvania stove. The 1624 French fireplace achieved 30 to 45 percent more efficiency than do most American tract home fireplaces of today! Savot surrounded the grate of his creation with a metal chamber, which had warm air outlets above the fire opening. He also supplied the fire with air from under the floor. Thus, room drafts were reduced and combustion efficiency was further improved. Few people are aware that practically all of the technical features of Franklin's Pennsylvania stove were copied from earlier inventors.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“Heat from a centrally located masonry stove is transferred to all parts of the living space by steady radiation. Therefore, stove operating temperatures never fluctuate erratically, causing harmful air-turbulance. This makes for a more healthful indoor climate.”

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Ken Kern's Masonry Stove (1983)

“A totally new concept of building design evolves from the application of basic aerodynamic phenomenon. Vetillation by installation of windows becomes obsolete… Air can be brought into the building from the roof or from under the floor. Wind scoops can be designed to assist the flow of air from practically any angle.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)

“About one-fifth of all the heat that enters the average house comes through windows. …external shading is by far the most efficient method for controlling interior heat build-up. The air-wash between the shading screen and the window is also very effective. The screen should have a light-colored finish… Insulation boards placed next to the window pane at night, will help prevent heat losses through glazed openings. Overhangs and horizontal sunshades placed above south-facing windows serve effectively as heat reducers.”

The Owner Built Home: A How-to-do-it Book (1972)