Retrofitting

It is not always economical to provide the highest-quality insulation in a building envelope. The insulation of a building should be guided by the following general principles: 1. The higher the heating and cooling degree-days, […]

Humid air is the costliest to cool because the cooling coil has to wring some of the water from the air before it can lower the temperature of the air. Most air-conditioning systems are a […]

There are many small jobs that can collectively have a significant impact on the exfiltration and infiltration of outside air. Several are common maintenance projects, such as caulking around exterior window and door frames and […]

Building designers in cold climates are accustomed to coping with the heat loss from large windows in the winter. Air next to the window is quickly cooled and—being heavier than the rest of the air […]

There are some novel construction technologies that promise a significant upgrade of the building envelope. The simpler methods use 4-in concrete walls that are poured in a Styrofoam frame that remains after the pour, to […]