The Building Envelope:
Primers from Environmental Building News
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Building envelopes involve a complex interplay between often opposing forces: daylighting and insulation or air-sealing and the ability to release moisture. The following primers from the pages of Environmental Building News explore six concepts around building envelopes, and offer strategies for designing for high-performance.
Thermal Mass—What It is and When It Improves Comfort
: Heavy or massive objects like masonry, earth, and water can hold a lot of heat, and can be used to regulate temperatures in buildings. In the Southwest, for example, masonry walls can absorb heat during the day (keeping the inside cool) and release it during chilly nights (keeping the inside warm). Manufacturers try to claim high “effective insulation values” for these materials, however, despite the fact that they don’t actually insulate that well.
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