I Building Science Fundamentals

Building today is not the same as it was even ten years ago. As we make buildings more efficient by reducing air leaks and insulating better, it is easy to make small mistakes that lead to big problems, primarily ones that reduce safety, comfort and durability. New tools are needed. These tools are not the kind you hold in your hand. They are the ones you hold in your head. At the top of this list is a thorough understanding of Building Science and how the House Works as a System.

What really is Green Building?

Green Building is many things to many people. However, Green Building specialists generally agree that there are about a half dozen categories of activities that need to be considered when planning a Green Building project. Many projects can achieve little in some of these categories, and certainly some are more important than others. This course in our series on building high performance homes will look at all the segments of these categories. There will be some lively debate as we discuss the relative merits and benefits of each of these segments.

The course goal is to help you understand more about the many facets to Green Building, and that in order to truly fulfill our mandate to build better buildings, all of them must be considered.