The Geography of Moisture in Buildings

Mold & bacteria need considerable amounts of moisture for growth. This presentation provides investigators and building owners with a basic understanding of where, when and why excessive moisture is likely to accumulate in residential and commercial buildings, as well as some practical aspects of measuring the moisture content of suspect materials. This course is presented by Lew Harriman.

Lew Harriman is the Director of Research & Consulting at Mason-Grant in Portsmouth, New Hampshire. He is a Fellow of ASHRAE, and has 39 years of experience with humidity control systems in a broad variety of commercial, industrial and institutional applications.

Lew was the lead author of both ASHRAE’s Humidity Control Design Guide and the ASHRAE Guide for Buildings in Hot & Humid Climates. He is currently Chair of ASHRAE Task Group for developing a quantitative definition of a “Damp Building” (one which is damp enough to pose a health risk). He was also the lead author for the new Chapter 62 of the 2015 ASHRAE Handbook-Applications (Moisture Management in Buildings). Lew’s work has been selected for the ASHRAE Journal’s ‘Best Paper’ award twice and he has taught humidity control to more than 5,000 technical professionals in North America, Asia, Europe and the Caribbean in the last 10 years.