Sometimes going green can mean green problems

Over the course of summer and early fall, an obnoxious smell sometimes wafted through the new annex at the Palmer Courthouse. Nobody could put a finger on it, because it wasn’t a regular happening, but when the odor arrived, it made justice stink.

It turns out when the annex was constructed, it was built tight so warm air is kept in and cold air kept out. As sometimes happens, technology didn’t keep up with nature. When automatic dampers didn’t function properly, the building wasn’t getting air circulation as designed. So the building started sucking air from outside through drains. Hence the occasional stench.

A couple of teachers at Machetanz Middle School mentioned some odd odors at the brand new school and wondered if the same problem could be happening there.

Nature, as it goes, hates a vacuum.

So as engineers and architects strive to make buildings more efficient, nature is reacting.

This certainly isn’t to say that more efficient building standards shouldn’t be encouraged and acted on, but scientists need to look carefully at how these construction standards stack up with regard to the immediate environment. Technology is a wonderful thing, but it also can be flawed.

It’s kind of like some of the cars and pickups being built these days. It’s difficult in some of them to locate the dipstick, let alone change the plugs. When they break down, a shade-tree mechanic won’t do. Only a certified technician can touch the engine and its myriad devices.

And we all know what that does to the bank account.

Building the perfect building may require going back to some common sense thinking. If a room is getting a little stuffy, a window should be able to be opened a crack instead of relying on automatic vents subject to failure and requiring a certified technician to come over for the fix.

This may give ease of mind to folks who may not have a perfect seal under the door, or a spouse who likes to have the window open a crack at night. It shouldn’t. We all need to be more responsible about saving energy.

Fixing the seal on the front door should be done. With people coming and going, there will be plenty of air circulation for the day.

With rolling blackouts a possibility this winter, we should all make sure our homes are a little tighter so we are burning less energy.