Building envelope / Green Building & Sustainable Home Renovation Information & Advice

...building techniques in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and these pages below: Window film treatments to reflect heat and lower AC bills Are gas filled windows worth the extra cost? Aerogel : super insulation for windows and walls Suspended film windows - triple pane performance without the weight Sign up now...

...building envelope in a continuous blanket of high-performance insulation to eliminate thermal bridging and move the dew point safely outside the structural wall.  This guide provides a deep dive into the building science, material selection, and structural detailing required to achieve Passive House levels of efficienc...

...envelope first building philosophy of minimizing heat loss in a home.  Designing a home that will only meet the minimal requirements of building code looks cheaper on paper at the time, but will actually cost you more money in the long run. So right out of the gate you first want to do something about that whether you ...

...building maintenance or design plan ensures that your home or project is safe for the environment and compliant with emerging green building standards. Now that you know more about bird films on windows, find more info about related subjects & green building techniques in the Ecohome Green Building Guide and these ...

...Envelope first home design principles for energy efficiency and resiliency The term 'envelope first' can be heard in high performance design circles, and refers to the idea of focusing on super efficient wall and roof assemblies. The opposite of that would be just building to the low standards of building code and resi...

...building professionals, the U-value is a more accurate measure of a component's real-world performance because it is the only metric that, when properly calculated, accounts for thermal bridging. A thermal bridge is a point in the building envelope where the insulation is interrupted by a highly conductive material, li...

...building material with a lifespan exceeding the useful life of the building itself. Meaning, using aerogel adhere's to the green building principle of designing homes for easy decomissioning at the end of their functional lives for reuse or recycling building materials.  A key advantage of flexible blankets of aerogel...

...building design failure, and it's really only a problem in the hottest and most humid conditions when the A/C is set really low. Here you can read about how interior vapor barriers with air conditioning is a problem, and for those seeking to push the envelope on performance building and durability, the two-thirds rule ...

...building code authorities are smartening up to the problem (albeit slowly) and codes are starting to change, but not fast enough.That's where smart membranes can be a sneaky workaround to not wreck your house when you are forced to install a basement vapor barrier.  Building inspectors that are not up to speed about bu...

...building's permanent design and should be a primary consideration for new construction. Strategic overhangs are a key component of passive solar design, blocking unwanted summer sun while allowing winter light to penetrate.    Landscaping and deciduous trees Nature offers a perfect, low-cost solution. Building beside...

...building envelope.  That's why the choice of building tape is critical for a high-performance building envelope. The longevity and reliability of a tape is directly linked to the chemistry of its adhesive and its ability to withstand environmental stresses like wind pressure and seasonal temperature fluctuations.  On a...