A building envelope is the exterior assembly that encloses the interior space of a building. It serves as the outer shell to protect the indoor environment as well as to facilitate its climate control. Building envelope design is an application area that draws from all areas of building engineering, especially building science and indoor climate control. For other uses, see Building (disambiguation). ... HVAC may also stand for High-voltage alternating current HVAC is an initialism that stands for heating, ventilation and air_conditioning. This is sometimes referred to as climate control. ... // Building engineering: a discipline for the modern era Building engineering, commonly known in the US as architectural engineering, is an emerging engineering discipline that concerns with the planning, design, construction, operation, renovation, and maintenance of buildings, as well as with their impacts on the surrounding environment. ... Building science is the collection of scientific knowledge that focuses on the analysis and control of the physical phenomena affecting the performance of building materials and building enclosure systems. ...

Building envelope design includes four major performance objectives:

• Structural integrity
• Moisture control
• Temperature control
• Control of air pressure boundaries

Control of air includes air movement through the components of the building envelope (interstitial) itself, as well as into and out of the interior space, which affects building insulation greatly. This article is becoming very long. ...

The physical components of the envelope include the foundation, roof, walls, doors and windows. The dimensions, performance and compatibility of materials, fabrication process and details, their connections and interactions are the main factors that determine the effectiveness and durability of the building enclosure system. Look up Foundation on Wiktionary, the free dictionary Foundation may refer to: A type of makeup. ... A roof tiled in imitation of thatch at Croyde, north Devon, England Rooftops in Vietnam Snow on the roof The roof, the top covering of a building, is one of the universal structures found on all buildings. ... A brick wall A wall is a usually solid structure that defines and sometimes protects an area. ... The front door of a house is often decorated to appear inviting. ... For other uses, see Window (disambiguation). ...

Common measures of the effectiveness of a building envelope include physical protection from weather and climate (comfort), indoor air quality (hygiene and public health), durability and energy efficiency. In order to achieve these objectives, all building enclosure systems must include a solid structure, a drainage plane, an air barrier, a thermal barrier, and may include a vapor barrier. Moisture control is essential in cold climates. See dew point, condensation, and toxic mold. Dew on a spider web The dew point or dewpoint of a given parcel of air is the temperature to which the parcel must be cooled, at constant barometric pressure, for the water vapor component to condense into water, called dew. ... Water vapor condensing over a cup of hot tea Condensation is the change in matter of a substance to a denser phase, such as a gas (or vapor) to a liquid. ... Molds are ubiquitous in nature, and mold spores are a common component of household dust. ...

External links

• Building Science Corporation
• Interactive Building Envelope
• Ontario Building Envelope Council
• British Columbia Building Envelope Council
• Pushing the Envelope: Building Sciences Journal