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Building Science > Energy and the Building Shell > Flashcards

Energy and the Building Shell Flashcards

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1
Q

What’s the main difference between balloon and platform framing?

A

In balloon framing, the wall studs run from the ground floor to the rafters. In platform framing, the studs end at each level and new ones are built on top.

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2
Q

What percent of US homes are mobile homes?

A

6%

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3
Q

How wide is a single-wide and double-wide mobile home?

A

single: 10-16 ft.
double: 24-28 ft.
length: 60-80 ft.

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4
Q

What are some weaknesses of mobile homes?

A

Joints and holes in the HVAC system, torn or missing underbelly, the seam between a double-wide, plumbing penetrations

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5
Q

What are some points of weakness in multifamily buildings?

A

Thermal bridging at steel and aluminum, protruding doors, windows, balconies, roof penetrations, air intake and exhaust vents

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6
Q

What are the five ways heat flows in a building?

A

Transmission, air leakage, ventilation, solar heat, internal heat sources

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7
Q

What is Transmission?

A

The flow of heat through the building shell itself, driven by conduction, convection, and radiation.

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8
Q

What is air leakage?

A

Heat carried by air moving around the building shell via holes and other paths

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9
Q

What is ventilation?

A

Controlled air exchange between in and out

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10
Q

What represents the largest energy demand?

A

Heat loss and heat gain through the thermal boundary

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11
Q

What is K-value (k)?

A

The thermal conductivity of a material: how many BTUs flow through a 1 inch thick by 1 square foot piece of material at a temp difference of 1 degree F.

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12
Q

What material has the highest K-value?

A

aluminum

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13
Q

What is thermal bridging?

A

Heat flowing rapidly through conductive materials in contact

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14
Q

What is a thermal break?

A

Inserting insulating materials between high-conductive materials, common in windows and doors

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15
Q

What is U-factor?

A

The thermal conductance of a building material of a given thickness. Lower is better. Used to calculate heating and cooling loads.

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16
Q

What is R-value?

A

A measure of thermal resistance of building materials, or the ability to slow down conductive heat flow. Inverse of U-factor. Higher is better.

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17
Q

What is framing factor?

A

The percentage of an assembly that is made up of studs, and therefore does not contain cavity insulation.

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18
Q

The lower the framing factor, the _______ overall R-value.

A

higher

19
Q

What is the US average framing factor?

A

25%

20
Q

How do you calculate the overall average R-value of a wall assembly?

A
  1. Add up all R-values through the framing portion, change to U-factor.
  2. Add up T-values through insulation portion, change to U-factor.
  3. Multiply framing U-factor by framing factor. Multiply insulation U-factor by remainder of wall percentage. Add together to get overall U-factor.
  4. Convert overall U-factor to overall R-value.
21
Q

What is Heating load?

A

The amount of BTUs per hour that need to be added into a house by mechanical means to maintain comfort, based on winter design conditions.

22
Q

Heating load includes:

A

Transmission load (conduction) + Air exchange load (leakage and ventilation)

23
Q

What is transmission heating load?

A

The BTUs per hour that flow through the thermal boundary by conduction.

24
Q

Transmission heating load (BTUH) =

A

U x A x deltaT
U = overall U-factor
A = area in sq ft
T = desired indoor temp (70) minus winter design temp

25
Q

What’s the winter design temperature?

A

The temperature the local climate stays above for 99% of the hours of the year.

26
Q

What is the air exchange heating load?

A

The BTUs per hour that flow through the thermal boundary by air leakage or mechanical ventilation.

27
Q

Air exchange heating load (BTUH) =

A

CFH x 0.018 x deltaT

28
Q

What is seasonal heat loss?

A

The total number of BTUs that flow from inside to outside over the course of an entire heating season.

29
Q

Transmission seasonal heat loss =

A

U x A x HDD x 24

30
Q

Air exchange seasonal heat loss =

A

CFH x 0.018 x HDD x 24

31
Q

What is Cooling load?

A

The amount of BTUs per hour that need to be removed rom a house by mechanical means to maintain comfort, based on summer design conditions.

32
Q

What is seasonal heat gain?

A

The total number of BTUs that need to be removed by mechanical means during the entire cooling season.

33
Q

What is summer design temperature?

A

The temperature the local climate stays above for 1% of the hours of the year.

34
Q

Transmission seasonal heat gain (in BTUs) =

A

U x A x CDD x 24

35
Q

Air exchange seasonal heat gain calculation (BTUs) =

A

CFH x 0.018 x CDD x 24

36
Q

Why are cooling calculations less predictable?

A

Because the following variables vary greatly: solar heat through roof and windows, internal heat gain, thermal mass effects

37
Q

What is the latent heat of water?

A

970 BTU/lb

38
Q

What a building’s shell?

A

Its exterior enclosure

39
Q

What is thermal boundary?

A

The plane where the building resists heat transmission and air leakage.

40
Q

The __________ separates conditioned space from unconditioned space.

A

thermal boundary

41
Q

What are conditioned spaces?

A

Spaces heated and cooled within the thermal boundary

42
Q

What are unconditioned spaces?

A

Spaces outside the thermal boundary not heated and cooled. Attics, crawl spaces, garages

43
Q

The thermal boundary determined three things:

A
  1. The amount of insulation (and the amount of heat flow by transmission)
  2. The effectiveness of the air barrier (and the amount of heat flow by air leakage)
  3. The extent of the conditioned area, both now and in the future.
44
Q

What are thermal bypasses?

A

Energy weaknesses in the thermal boundary

Building Science (5 decks)

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