Building Science and the Building Envelope
CEUs: 0.4 ICC
The building envelope plays a large part in the amount of energy our homes use. This course introduces you to construction terminology, takes you through a quick history of home construction and home energy use and dives into the details of building envelope energy flows. You will learn about heating and cooling load calculations, degree days, R-Values, U-Values, K-Values, heat loss, and heat gain. We complete the envelope discussion by discussing climate zones and climate zone impacts on construction decisions.
Course Outline
| Module 1 | Building Science and the Building Envelope Course Materials | |
|---|---|---|
| This module contains the materials for this course. | ||
| Unit 1 | Building Science and the Building Envelope - Course Materials | |
| Module 2 | Building Envelope Terminology and History | |
| Construction Terminology is tricky. The same term means different things to different builders and contractors across the County. This module walks through the terminology of the elements of the building envelope and shares how construction and terms have changed through history. | ||
| Unit 1 | Terminology and History | |
| Unit 2 | Building Envelope Terminology and History Quiz | |
| Module 3 | Envelope Loads | |
| The heat that moves through the building envelope creates a load for the heating and/or cooling system that must replace or remove that heat. This module covers heating and cooling load terminology and equations. | ||
| Unit 1 | Heating Load and Cooling Load | |
| Unit 2 | Heating Load and Cooling Load Quiz | |
| Unit 3 | Heat Loss and Heat Gain | |
| Unit 4 | Assembly Calculations | |
| Unit 5 | Building Envelope Heat Loss and Heat Gain Quiz | |
| Module 4 | Construction Impact: Climate Zones | |
| Climate zones are described by the number of heating and cooling degree days and the amount of rainfall for the region. These items also inform and impact construction decisions. This module describes climate zones and provides examples of decisions that would change based on where the house is built. | ||
| Unit 1 | Climate Zone Impacts on Construction Decisions | |
| Unit 2 | Your Climate Zone | |
| Unit 3 | Climate Zone Quiz | |
| Module 5 | Building Science and the Building Envelope Final Exam | |
| This module has the final test for this course. | ||
| Unit 1 | Final Exam: Building Science and the Building Envelope | |
