Building Envelope Metric Version

The building envelope is a critical component of any facility since it protects the building occupants and plays a major role in regulating the indoor environment. Consisting of the building's foundation, walls, roof, windows, and doors, the envelope controls the flow of energy between the interior and exterior of the building. A well designed envelope allows the building to provide comfort for the occupants and respond efficiently to heating, cooling, ventilating, and natural lighting needs. Today we will examine the elements of the building envelope (floors, walls, windows and ceiling) and how those elements participate in heat transfer. We will discuss heat loss or gain due to transmission, infiltration and ventilation. This course contains many equations used to determine heat loss and gain through the building envelope, and we will supply a sample case study of a building throughout the course to help explain each topic.