The What, Why, and How of the Corsi-Rosenthal Box

The Westford Symposium on Building Science (known mostly as Building Science Summer Camp) came back to life this year after a two-year pandemic-prompted hiatus.  Three of the presentations on the first day focused on health, indoor air quality, and infection control.  I closed out the day with a presentation on the Corsi-Rosenthal box, which is a do-it-yourself, high-MERV, portable air cleaner made with a box fan and four or five MERV-13 filters.

This year, Dan Morrison got all the presentations on video with good audio.  He’s allowed me to post the video of my presentation, so you can watch it here on this page.  Or go to YouTube if you prefer.

As you can tell from the title, I started with a look at what this thing is and how it’s being used.  Then I covered why you’d want to have them in your home, office, or school.  And I also showed how to make one.  I hadn’t thought through the details of presenting and taping together a Corsi-Rosenthal box clearly enough, though, so it was a bit awkward for a minute.  Then my friend Joe Medosch of MeasureQuick came up to help with the assembly so I could keep talking.  I don’t think I properly introduced him at the time, but Joe’s quick thinking made it a much better presentation.  Thanks, Joe!

And if you watch the whole thing, you’ll know all my jokes so either you won’t laugh if you see me present in person or I’ll have to get some new jokes.  ;~)

BS Summer Camp presentation slides.  Scroll down to the section titled Twenty-Fourth Westford Symposium on Building Science to download the slides for any or all of the presentations this year.

Allison A. Bailes III, PhD is a speaker, writer, building science consultant, and the founder of Energy Vanguard in Decatur, Georgia. He has a doctorate in physics and writes the Energy Vanguard Blog. He also has a book on building science coming out in the fall of 2022. You can follow him on Twitter at @EnergyVanguard.

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