Talk title: "Going Tropical- Building, Cooling and Ventilating in Climate Zone 0A"
Kimberly Llewellyn is a humidity and HVAC forensics, training, and resiliency design consultant and co-owner of Blue Rabbit Consulting. She previously worked with Mitsubishi Electric's Performance Construction Team and contributes to Fine Homebuilding and Phius, focusing on high-performance HVAC design and building envelope forensics in extreme and humid climates.
In "Equatorial Adventures," Kimberly recounts a deep-retrofit investigation and redesign for a small residential project in Barbados. What began as a client's simple complaint about a "humidity problem" unfolds into a forensic dive through failed flashing, missing air and thermal control layers, an accidental "wind tunnel" roof assembly, and oversized ductless HVAC systems. She walks through the psychrometrics of equatorial climates, the 10-degree surface-temperature rule for avoiding condensation and mold, and why rapidly growing equatorial regions need building codes and standards written for their own climate rather than imported from northern countries. Throughout, she credits the tradespeople, mechanical engineers, and craftspeople whose complementary skills made the project's success possible.