In-Depth Course
Fundamentals of High Performance Building Assemblies
Design assemblies that live up to their potential
High-performance buildings integrate site-responsive orientation, climate-responsive form, hefty R-values, efficient mechanical systems, healthy indoor air, and glazing that effectively balances daylight and heat gain.
BuildingGreen's four-part course, designed for architects and builders, provides methodologies for how best to design and manage these details and achieve superior performance—while avoiding expensive pitfalls.
What you'll learn:
After completing the course, you will be able to:
- Recall how the acronym ENDURE speaks to the unifying aspect of high-performance buildings.
- Describe how to apply the principles of high-performance assemblies in everyday work.
- Employ integrated project delivery to co-design an installation sequence.
- Describe how to manage moisture flow with continuous control layers
- Describe how to achieve continuity in air barrier assemblies
- Determine the best places to locate thermal barriers
- Understand how to deal with vapor diffusion using advanced tools, methods and materials
- Discuss the difference between vented and ventilated assemblies
- Explain why BECx befits integrated design, integrated project delivery, and design-build contracts.
- Outline the process to retrofit an existing building for high performance.
COURSE OUTLINE
Unit 1: The Science of High-Performance Assemblies
- Hygrothermal Performance: The Key Driver
- How water moves through buildings
- Continuous water barriers
- Capillary breaks
- Drained and rainscreen systems: Managing bulk water, capillary water, and drying
- Continuous air barriers
- How Blower-Door Tests Measure Airtightness
- Continuous thermal barriers
- Understanding thermal bridging
- Reducing Heat Flow Through Windows
- Vapor profiles vs vapor retarders
- How "smart" vapor retarders work
- Combining control layers
- Using WUFI to prevent moisture problems
- Vented and ventilated wall assemblies
- "Vented" crawl space foundations
- Vented and unvented attics and roofs
Unit 2: Getting Details Right
- Residential and Commercial High Performance Assembly Examples
- The Special Challenges of Curtainwall
- "Perfect" Assemblies
- Alternative Assemblies
- Joints: Sealants, Tapes and Gaskets
- Options:
- Adhesives
- Sealants
- Putties and caulks
- Agreeing on terms, and applications
- Avoiding failed seals with bond breaks
- How to choose a sealant that works
- Latex
- Acrylic
- Butyl
- Polysulfide
- Silicone
- Polyurethane
- "Hybrids"–MS Polymers
- Making tapes stay put
- Rubberized asphalt
- Butyl rubber
- Acrylic
- Silicone
- Tape performance: Other considerations
- Assessing service life
- Gaskets
- Compression and memory
- Wet versus dry glazing
- Service life of gaskets
- Assessing product safety
- Liquid Sealants and Chemical Safety
- Flashing Tapes and Chemical Safety
- Gaskets and Chemical Safety
- Case Study: Cape Cod Passive House
Unit 3: High-Performance Design and Construction Process
- How high performance Scopes Of Work differ from standard SOW
- Verifying Performance with Building Envelope Commissioning
- Cx vs. BECx
- Pre-design phase
- Design phase
- Achieving continuity
- Construction Phase
- Mockups
- During construction
- Pre-occupancy
- What gets tested
- Occupancy and operations
- Guidelines and standards
- HOBO data loggers
- Integrated High Performance HVAC
- Case Study: Wisconsin Institutes for Discovery
Unit 4: High-Performance Retrofits
- Assessment
- Evaluation
- Monitoring
- Getting to know the building
- Case Study: Renovation of 46 Blackstone
- Historic masonry in cold climates
- Reduce airflow, encourage vapor flow
- Ongoing monitoring
- Case Study: Edminster-Bohner Home Retrofit
- The damp crawl space
- Ongoing monitoring
- Design Review: Existing and Planned Elements
- Design Review Drawings: Edminster-Bohner Home Retrofit
- Comprehensive Home Assessment Checklist
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