Building Envelope
The building envelope, or building enclosure, protects us and the building interior from the elements and enables occupant comfort. The building envelope includes the cladding, air barrier, weather barrier, thermal insulation, and other components.
Building Envelope
Deep Dives
Get up to speed on complex topics. You can also earn CEUs and download PDF Spotlight Reports.
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Passive House Arrives in North America: Could It Revolutionize the Way We Build?
Feature
The Passive House standard, imported from Germany, sets a high bar for energy performance in buildings. But some see it as inflexible and inappropriate for some U.S. climates.
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Avoiding the Global Warming Impact of Insulation
Feature
Insulation is key to reducing carbon emissions from buildings. But the blowing agent in extruded polystyrene and spray polyurethane foam offsets much of that benefit.
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Rethinking the All-Glass Building
Feature
Is it time to end our love affair with the all-glass building? A lot of proponents of high-performance, green design certainly think so-while other respected architects, including some leading green designers and energy experts, argue that all-glass can work well if done right.
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Choosing Windows: Looking Through the Options
Feature
We ask a lot from windows: energy efficiency, aesthetics, durability, affordability, and more. Which window frame materials and low-e glazing options balance these choices best? This article explores all the options and decodes the performance labels we see when buying windows.
Quick Takes
Jump straight to the essentials with these short explanations of green building concepts.
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What Is Building Science, Anyway?
Explainer
Building science is an integrated discipline that stands many conventional design and construction ideas on their heads.
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How Smart Windows Work
Explainer
Smart windows have a lot of energy-saving potential, but can they really pass the test in the marketplace?
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Radiant Barriers and Reflective Insulation
Explainer
Shiny materials control radiant heat flow, but there is a great deal of misinformation about these systems.
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Thermal Mass: What It Is and When It Improves Comfort
Explainer
Heavy or massive objects like masonry can help improve thermal comfort, if used properly. They often don't insulate well, however.
Product Guidance
Unbiased information from our product experts helps you separate green from greenwash.
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Three-in-One Insulating Sheathing from Dow
Product Review
A new polyisocyanurate sheathing from Dow uses recycled content and provides structural shear bracing, wraparound insulation, and a water-resistant barrier in one product.
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Lime Stucco from American Clay Enterprises
Product Review
American Clay Enterprises, known for its popular natural earth plaster, has introduced a setting lime stucco to the national market.
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ThermaRock Brings Advanced Insulation to Wallboard
Product Review
Aerogel gives ThermaRock wallboard a high insulation value of R-2.5 to R-4.1, but the product comes with a hefty pricetag.
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Knauf Introduces Ecose Biobased Binder
Product Review
Knauf's EcoBatt insulation uses a new biobased binder with no added formaldehyde, although it has not revealed the proprietary ingredients.
In The News
We break news down to the essentials and provide expert analysis.
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Feds Forecast Steady Drop in Building Energy Use
News Analysis
Efficiency could lead to almost-flat energy demand through 2040 despite new construction-but there's some fine print.
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Active House: The Most Passive-Aggressive Name in Homebuilding?
News Analysis
Developed by glazing manufacturers, the Active House program emphasizes daylighting along with energy efficiency.
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Passivhaus Windows, Made in the U.S.A.
News Analysis
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2015 Energy Code Could Back Off on Envelope Requirements
News Analysis
Mechanical tradeoffs may once again give builders more flexibility to bring a building up to code.
Perspective
Thought-provoking opinions from the most trusted minds in sustainability.
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Going to School for Building Enclosure Commissioning
Blog Post
What I learned from a University of Wisconsin course called “Commissioning Building Enclosure Assemblies and Systems”
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Pete’s Puzzle: Mold on Painted Clapboards is Food for Thought
Blog Post
There is mold on the factory-primed, latex top-coated wood clapboards on the south but not the north side of our house
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SonicLQ: Reconnecting Acoustics and Airtightness
Blog Post
Early on in our work on energy-efficient homes, the connection between airtightness and sound centered on airport noise; now a new technology reconnects acoustics and air leakage
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Installing Insulation With the X-Floc Ventilated Dry Injection System
Blog Post
X-Floc claims the blowing equipment they use delivers cellulose at a more consistent density, and they were willing to prove it with this demonstration.
Learning Resources
Syllabus supplements and CEU content, with automatic reporting for AIA and GBCI.
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