Insights

BSI-001: The Perfect Wall by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/09/09

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. The perfect wall is an environmental separator – it has to keep the outside out and the inside in. In order to do this the wall assembly has to control rain, air, vapor and heat.

BSI-002: The Hollow Building by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/09/09

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Buildings today are hollow and multi-layered with numerous air gaps or void spaces. Chases, shafts, soffits and drops abound. Everything is connected to everything else, typically unintentionally.

BSI-003: Concrete Floor Problems by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/09/09

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Perhaps it was the drug culture of the 60’s that turned brains into coleslaw but it is hard to understand the lunatic practice of placing a layer of sand over the top of a plastic ground cover under a concrete slab in California.

BSI-004: Drainage, Holes and Moderation by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/09/09

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Ever wonder how we can build a 50 story glass tower that doesn’t leak, but we can’t seem to build a two-story house that doesn’t leak? The answer is a little bit of counter intuitive thinking.

BSI-005: A Bridge Too Far by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/09/09

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Thermal Bridges—steel studs, structural frames, relieving angles and balconies.

BSI-006: Can Highly Glazed Building Façades Be Green? by John Straube — last modified 2008/10/22

When I see a fully glazed, floor-to-ceiling commercial or institutional building, I see an energy-consuming nightmare of a building that requires lots of heating and cooling at the perimeter just to maintain comfort. The result, on a cold winter day, is that offices exposed to the sun require cooling, while those in the shade need heat.

BSI-009: New Light In Crawlspaces by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/10/16

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Think of the good old days—the Civil War, WWI, the Great Depression, WWII—crawlspaces were uninsulated. They were ventilated and they didn’t have ground covers—and they didn’t have problems. Why?

BSI-007: Prioritizing Green—It's the Energy Stupid* by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/11/25

An edited version of this Insight first appeared in the ASHRAE Journal. Many “green” buildings don’t save energy. Why? They have too much glass, they are over-ventilated, they are leaky to air, they are fraught with thermal bridges and they rely on gimmicks and fads rather than physics.

Mis—LEED—ing by Joseph Lstiburek — last modified 2008/11/12

Sidebar information for BSI-007: Prioritizing Green—It's the Energy Stupid.