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The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 3:58 am
by Corkscrewed
Since I'm studying for this test right now anyway, I thought I'd take a stab at assembling a single location where other people who are studying for this exam division can come to find everything they can use to study. I know when I was starting out, I had trouble figuring out what a couple of the resources tossed around this forum actually were. I think that having something like this saves time for anyone who hasn't dived in yet. If this is helpful enough, maybe it can even be sticked in this forum!

If you find other resources, please reply and post links, and I'll edit this original post to sort everything in.

OFFICIAL NCARB RESOURCES
ARE 4.0 Building Systems Exam Guide:
http://www.ncarb.org/are/~/media/Files/ ... _Guide.pdf

ARE 4.0 Building System Equations Provided During the Exam:
http://www.ncarb.org/en/ARE/~/media/Fil ... ences.ashx

ARE 4.0 Building Systems Vignette Practice Program:
http://www.ncarb.org/are/~/media/Files/ ... Setup.ashx

ARE 3.1 Mechanical & Electrical Systems Sample Questions
http://www.ironwarrior.org/ARE/_NCARB_S ... ice_31.pdf (scroll down to page 46 of the PDF)

COMPREHENSIVE STUDY GUIDES
Ballast (PPI) Review Manual:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159126 ... alarcce-20

Ballast (PPI) Building Systems Sample Problems and Practice Exam:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/159126 ... alarcce-20

Kaplan Building Systems Study Guide:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/142773 ... alarcce-20

Kaplan Building Systems Questions & Answers:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/142773 ... alarcce-20

The Amber Book:
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/146626 ... alarcce-20

MEEB (Mechanical and Electrical Equipment for Buildings):
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/047019 ... alarcce-20 (buy on Amazon)
http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIdvdy ... &q&f=false (semi-complete viewable version on Google)
Recommended chapters and content to read here.

MEEB Online Practice Quizzes:
http://bcs.wiley.com/he-bcs/Books?actio ... rceId=7094

Alikat's Notes:
http://yafpghare.files.wordpress.com/20 ... at-1-1.pdf

Jenny's Notes:
http://arendurance.files.wordpress.com/ ... nnypdx.pdf

Rich's Notes:
http://www.ironwarrior.org/ARE/Mechanic ... 0Notes.pdf

Sbyrktct's ARE Help:
http://arehelp.webs.com/bs

ARE Building Systems Video Playlist:
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=P ... 4M7vClHKQr

RESOURCES FOR THE VIGNETTE
Lugnut's FAQ & Guidelines for Accent Lighting:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=1610

Dorf Graphic Vignettes Solutions Book
Trick question--DON'T rely on Dorf for this vignette. Some of his tips are outdated & invalid (though others are fine); use this forum for feedback instead.

OTHER HELPFUL EXPLANATORY RESOURCES

MECHANICAL
Design Options for HVAC Distribution Systems (Great breakdown of all HVAC systems, with descriptions, pros & cons, appropriate Use):
http://www.cedengineering.com/upload/De ... ystems.pdf

Refrigeration Cycle (courtesy of The Amber Book):
Part 1 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2wZb6HgIDE0
Part 2 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j1nYipLAv0U
Part 3 - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NyNeh7wPQQk

Understanding HVAC for Non-Technical People (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R9rh5kCsEAk

HVAC Essentials (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8EEl7hLBgGM

HVAC Fundamentals (video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fqvo7bSr6t8

HVAC Comfort Criteria (video)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qZ3RwH018Qw

HVAC Noise Control Fundamentals (video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F_OcbCN-Tpo

How a Chiller Plant (Chiller + Cooling Tower) Works (video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u5TDj7ZOsos

Heat Recovery Ventilators (video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Skcoqs1rUdY
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Gi3FbFMc5B8#t=37

PSYCHROMETRICS
How to Read and Use a Psychrometric Chart
http://www.powerknot.com/how-to-read-an ... chart.html

PLUMBING
Stack Vent vs Vent Stack (a fun article with a suggestion of how to differentiate the two)
http://evstudio.com/this-or-that-6-stac ... ent-stack/

Plumbing System Controls and Valves
http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Plumb ... _Types.php

How Valves Work
http://www.kitz.co.jp/english2/index.html

ELECTRICAL
Fundamentals of Electricity:
http://epb.apogee.net/foe/home.asp

Dictionary of Electrical Terms (great explanation of electric systems in a building, with diagrams and illustrations and chart of symbols)
http://phcjam.blogspot.com/2011/07/elec ... urces.html

Electrical Symbols:
http://archtoolbox.com/representation/g ... mbols.html

Grounded vs Grounding (good article from the Fundamentals of Electricity site linked above):
http://epb.apogee.net/foe/fsggg.asp

Ohm's Law & Joule's Law Memorization Trick:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=5673

Principles of Electricity - Circuits (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8_EARoMtg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vHh1sfZ5KE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrMw7P6P2Gw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NcIK0s3IwU

LIGHTING
Candlepower vs Lumens vs Footcandles vs Footlamberts:
http://www.theledlight.com/lumens.html
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=7593#p25801

Lighting Fundamentals:
http://infohouse.p2ric.org/ref/32/31148.pdf

Overview of Common Light Bulb Types in Use (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4v_cnUvZVKM

Lighting Lectures from Southern California Edison (video):
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL ... pxdM5MjnNx

Recommended Lighting Levels for Different Tasks and Spaces:
http://www.bristolite.com/Interfaces/me ... %20IES.pdf

On Daylighting and Room Geometry:
http://www.uncg.edu/iar/elight/learn/re ... /room.html

ACOUSTICS
Acoustical Terms - A Glossary:
http://www.acousticalsolutions.com/glossary-of-terms

Comparative Sound Levels in Decibels, Intensity, and Loudness:
http://www.acousticalsurfaces.com/acous ... /101_4.htm

Equations of Acoustics Explained (video):
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R5rkg8mTRBI

Helpful Acoustical Design Practices (video):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5izFxIDjuuI

FIRE PROTECTION SPECIALTIES
How to Select a Fire Extinguisher:
https://fireextinguisherdepot.com/how-t ... guide.html

Recommended Fire Extinguisher Types Per Occupancy:
http://www.firesafetysource.com/site/948848/page/584961

VERTICAL TRANSPORTATION
How Elevators Work:
http://science.howstuffworks.com/transp ... evator.htm
(GREAT illustrations to help visualize components! The only potentially inaccurate part is that it implies the springs at the bottom of a shaft can safe passengers if an elevator freefalls, by cushioning the blow. This is not true; those springs will cushion an elevator overrun taken at not-fast speeds but aren't meant to prevent catastrophe if an elevator slams into them.)

Hydraulic vs Traction (Electric) Elevators:
http://www.elevator-world.com/Extras/Gr ... h%2089.pdf

Otis Explanation of Traction Elevators:
http://www.otis.com/site/us/pages/About ... x?menuID=2

SUSTAINABILITY
What Is Life Cycle Costing?:
http://simple.werf.org/simple/media/LCCT/index.html

CODES & REGULATIONS
ADA Standards (1994 Edition) Full:
http://www.ada.gov/1991standards/adastd94-archive.pdf

ADA Standards (2010 Edition) Full:
http://www.access-board.gov/guidelines- ... n#titleIII

International Building Code Free Online:
http://publicecodes.cyberregs.com/icod/ibc/

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 5:58 am
by ukarchi
THANK YOU for taking the time to do this!!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 10:13 am
by hbuck
http://arehelp.webs.com/bs is also a great resource for this and other exams.
For those on the go or with kids "Studyblue" has a flashcard app for your phone. I've just started playing with it. Seems like it will be helpful for those times when you have 15 minutes to kill.

Your list seems to cover everything that I have found so far. My first step in preparing for the exams is to find a comprehensive list of resources and make my study schedule based on the resources I have at my ready.

Thanks - Feel like I'm ready to start studying now!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Feb 27, 2014 9:13 pm
by Strategy
Thanks Corkscrewed!!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 12:55 am
by Corkscrewed
My pleasure, guys! I hope it's useful. :)

hbuck, I pulled a lot of links from that site into here. A lot of them also go to ARE Forums, which is no longer active. The general sites I'm avoiding in favor of more specific discipline topics, since the comprehensive study guides will already be providing overviews. Unless it's a helpful site that explains things in a clear and easy-to-understand way, which none of those sites quite do in a quick, simple manner. :)

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 8:47 am
by are2009
Here is a preview link to MEEB available on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIdvdy ... &q&f=false

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:44 am
by sowestal
You're definitely gifted at organizing, corkscrewed. Nice work. I hope this becomes a sticky post! I'll need to look at this in 4 months for a refresher. Good luck!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 1:42 pm
by Corkscrewed
are2009 wrote:Here is a preview link to MEEB available on google books:

http://books.google.com/books?id=ZIdvdy ... &q&f=false


Not all pages of the book are viewable for me, but a lot are, so I've added this to the top post as a resource for anyone who will find it useful. Thanks!


Also, realized that the site from which I liked the "grounded vs grounding wire" explanation is actually super useful overall, so I've added a separate link to the site home page. :)
http://epb.apogee.net/foe/home.asp

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 2:29 pm
by Aady
sowestal wrote:You're definitely gifted at organizing, corkscrewed. Nice work. I hope this becomes a sticky post! I'll need to look at this in 4 months for a refresher. Good luck!

I agree with you sowestal..

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 3:28 pm
by ukarchi
@ corkscrewed...i am just starting my vignette prep and i noticed you said to not use dorf. are all of his tips wrong or just certain ones? im trying to figure out the best resource to start (what steps to take, etc) since i usually start with him and then i try to find additional resources.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 4:49 pm
by Corkscrewed
Not all of his tips are wrong, but his vignettes are for 3.1, so the incandescent light strategy is different. The 4.0 vignette only uses incandescents to light an accept wall; 3.1 uses it to light an entire room.

From what I can gather, the following Dorf tips are not good:
- He recommends using circles to space all lights. DON'T DO THIS. Only use circles for the incandescent accent lighting. Use the grid to space the fluorescents.
- He shows flexible duct that turns. Do not turn flexible duct.
- He makes it seem like small slivers of ceiling grid along the perimeter are really bad. This is not the case, and actually, given that fluorescents are going to probably be 2' to 3' away from walls, slivers may be likely.

Dorf rules that ARE good to follow:
- Keep supply diffuser and return grille 4'-0" minimum from each other
- Keep lights at least 1'-0" away from walls (but really, they should be the distance of the light throw away minimum)
- Connect ducting to center of diffuser
- Ducts can cross over/above lighting
- Place rigid duct in the middle of the 2'-0" wide allowable zone (i.e. 1'-0" off the wall)
- Center fire damper long leg within and parallel to the wall, and point the short leg in the direction of the duct air flow

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 5:17 pm
by ukarchi
this is incredibly helpful! thank you so much for taking the time (and so quickly i might add) to write all of this out, much appreciated!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Fri Feb 28, 2014 9:36 pm
by sm6jesse
Very Much Appreciated. thanks Corkscrewed

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 6:17 am
by charpstrite

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sat Mar 01, 2014 2:31 pm
by Corkscrewed
@charpstrite:
Missed that one while browsing ARE Forum FTP. That's a great presentation. Thanks! I've added it! :)

@sm6jesse & ukarchi
My pleasure! We gotta help each other out for this beast of a test!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Mar 06, 2014 3:37 am
by Corkscrewed
Bumping this because I found this super awesome page with a bunch of electrical terms definitions that does a great job explaining things and graphically showing how things come together. This has explained things to me very clearly. And there's an even better list of common electrical symbols at the bottom!
http://phcjam.blogspot.com/2011/07/elec ... urces.html

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 1:34 am
by Corkscrewed
Added some more videos thanks to user Strategy:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8459

And also from Stuart01:
viewtopic.php?f=9&t=8734

Thanks!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Mar 13, 2014 11:19 am
by charpstrite

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Mar 20, 2014 9:00 am
by Sunshine
I just suggested 4 videos in a recent post called Principles of Electricity, and am re-posting in this thread. A must see if electricity is a difficult concept to understand, as it is for me.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3o8_EARoMtg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7vHh1sfZ5KE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZrMw7P6P2Gw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3NcIK0s3IwU

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 2:34 am
by Corkscrewed
Addified. Thanks, Sunshine!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sat Mar 22, 2014 10:45 pm
by Bamla
Thanks All

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Apr 03, 2014 10:29 am
by alleycatbabe
This is super useful. Thanks.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Mon Apr 07, 2014 3:51 pm
by melliemoe
And this is exactly why we would be lost without ARECoach and before AREForum =)
Thank you!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Tue Apr 08, 2014 5:46 pm
by AREcoyogi
Just finished Structures today and figured I would dip my toe in the Building Systems pool...only to find this life raft right in the middle of it! I can skip doggy paddle and go right for the belly flop!

Life guard on duty!

Thanks Corkscrewed!

May you receive something you always wanted when you least expect it...

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Apr 10, 2014 10:17 am
by mobrien
This is so useful. Thank you everyone for sharing. You get good karma.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Wed Apr 16, 2014 8:44 am
by pepe45
All this information really helps, took this test and failed even though a was confident I passed. Thanks Corkscrewed!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:19 pm
by alkali
I may comment on this post every now and again just to keep it towards the beginning of this forum. This is great! Thanks for putting it together, I'm retaking BS in May.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Wed Apr 23, 2014 1:22 pm
by alkali
Also Coach, do you think this thread would be worthy of locking it towards the top like some of the other treads. I hope I'm not overreaching by saying this, just a thought.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu May 01, 2014 8:33 am
by alkali
Bump!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sun May 04, 2014 4:55 pm
by Robin From Maine
This is awesome. Thank you. I am feeling REALLY overwhelmed right now. Three weeks until test date and I haven't even gone through all the info once yet, or looked at the vignettes. Seriously considering postponing. (Did I mention I work full time and have 2 small kids :))

I am overwhelmed by the amount of material there is to study. And the amount of resources. Anyone willing to share their study strategy with me? I have Kaplan, Ballast and MEEB open on my dining room table right now but looking at all 3 is just making me want to fall over. Oh, I also have Jenny's notes. Again, would love some feedback on how to break this down into manageable bites and get a strategy to get through this!!!

Thank you!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Mon May 05, 2014 11:51 am
by rere
alkali agreed! i vote for locking this in... super helpful. thanks!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sat May 10, 2014 7:52 am
by elara829
this is great, thank you for putting this together!

anyone elsehaving problems accessing the are forum ftp site throughthe link above? it sends me to 'contact support' page. Anyone have the files posted elsewhere that I can reference?

Much Appreciated.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Wed May 14, 2014 8:21 pm
by caracas
Thanks for this post, I' started studying for this exam yesterday and have the very ambitious goal of taking the exam in early to mid June... Will try to go over the material in a systematic approach.

Thank you so much for taking the time to organize the vast amount of info :)

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 6:18 am
by nickr
bump. wow thanks for the resources!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Tue May 27, 2014 7:54 am
by abelur
Great Compilation. Thank you. Here is a link on plumbing valves and controls. Gearing up to study again as I failed my first attempt.
http://inspectapedia.com/plumbing/Plumb ... _Types.php

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Wed Jun 04, 2014 7:02 am
by mick2
Wow, this is a great list of material.

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 2:31 am
by Corkscrewed
Had to remove all the ARE Forum links. :( But I'll see if I can wrangle up and organize the BS vignette alt's I have saved and upload them somewhere.

After I take my [hopefully] last ARE on Monday.

(Also, apparently, after a certain amount of time, I stopped getting notifications when people replied. So, um, yeah... oops.)

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Sun Jun 15, 2014 5:14 pm
by whatthe

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Tue Jun 17, 2014 1:44 am
by Corkscrewed
Added. Thanks, whatthe!

Re: The Building Systems ARE Study Resource Thread

PostPosted: Thu Jul 17, 2014 8:27 am
by Bodhi10
Corkscrewed, thanks for this posting, its helping me navigate immensely.

_Bodhisattva