A building envelope is the physical barrier between the conditioned (internal) and unconditioned (external) environment of a building. It includes the floors, walls, windows & doors, ceiling & roof.
The building envelope contains three main layers or barriers;
- Water Control Layer or Weather Barrier (WRB)
- Thermal Barrier or primary insulation layer
- Air Barrier (IAB)
Depending on the design, the location, materials specified and how well the building is built will determine how well your building envelope performs.
The building envelope plays a crucial role in a building’s energy efficiency. In winter, it helps prevent the transfer of heat from inside to outside (heat loss), and during summer it keeps the cool air inside (saving the occupant $) and reduces the heat coming through windows (heat gain).
Think of it like;
- Weather barrier keeps the rain & wind out.
- Thermal barrier keeps the heat in with bulk insulation and the heat out with reflective insulation.
- Window shading & types of glass work with the thermal barrier.
- Air barrier stops uncontrolled air movement which keeps the internal temperate comfortable by reducing warm air out or cold air in.
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