Racusin - Essential building science: understanding energy and moisture in high performance house design

T HIS BOOK WOULD NOT BE POSSIBLE without the incredible support of a community of passionate and committed individuals and organizations. I offer my deep and humble gratitude to:

Ace McArleton, Ben Graham, and the New Frameworks team, for their fearless pursuit of a better world.

Yestermorrow Design/Build School, for their commitment to empowering our society to design/build great things.

The global natural building community, for believing in a path to deep sustainability.

The global building science community, for lighting our way to a deeper understanding of our world.

New Society Publishers, for bringing this and so many vital publications into the hands of those who need them.

Chris Magwood and Jen Feigin, for their tireless support and clear vision of the potential held in this book.

My technical editors, Robert Riversong, Andy Shapiro, and Bruce Courtot, whose brilliant minds and efforts helped ensure the quality and accuracy of this work.

My many teachers and mentors in this work, on whose shoulders I stand every day.

My family, Mary, Elijah, Mimi, and Micah, and Bob, Sharon, and Jess, for absolutely everything.

This book is dedicated to those who are dedicated to those who come after them.

U.S. Environmental Protection Agency

ENERGY STAR Buildings Program & Indoor

Environments Division

1200 Pennsylvania Avenue, NW

Washington, DC 20460

888.STAR.YES

epa.gov/iaq and energystar.gov

U.S. Department of Energy,

Building America Program

1000 Independence Ave., SW

Washington, DC 20585

800.dial.DOE

eren.doe.gov

Oak Ridge National Laboratory

U.S. Department of Energy

P.O. Box 2008

Oak Ridge, TN 37831

865.576.7658

ornl.gov

Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation

700 Montreal Road

Ottawa, Ontario K1A 0P7

613.748.2000

cmhc-schl.gc.ca

National Resources Canada

343.292.6096

nrcan.gc.ca/energy/efficiency/housing

Home Performance Coalition

One Thorn Run Center

1187 Thorn Run Extension, Suite 340

Moon Township, PA 15108

800.344.4866

homeperformance.org

Energy & Environmental Building Association

10740 Lyndale Avenue South, Suite 10W

Bloomington, MN 55420-5615

952.881.1098

eeba.org

Rocky Mountain Institute

1739 Snowmass Creek Road

Snowmass, CO 81654-9199

970.927.3851

rmi.org

National Institute for Building Science

1090 Vermont Avenue, NW, Suite 700

Washington, DC 20005-4950

202.289.7800

nibs.org

Architecture 2030

607 Cerrillos Road

Santa Fe, NM 87505

505.988.5309

architecture2030.org

Canada Green Building Council (CaGBH)

47 Clarence Street, Suite 202

Ottawa, Ontario K1N 9K1

866.941.1184

cagbc.org/

Green Building Advisor

Taunton Press

greenbuildingadvisor.com

BuildingGreen/Environmental Building News

buildinggreen.com

Whole Building Design Guide

National Institute of Building Science

wbdg.org

Journal of Light Construction

Hanley Wood Media

One Thomas Circle, NW

Suite 600

Washington, DC 20005

202.452.0800

jlconline.com

Fine Homebuilding

Taunton Press

63 South Main St., PO Box 5506

Newtown, CT 06470-5506

203.426.8171

finehomebuilding.com

Home Energy magazine

1250 Addison Street

Suite 211B

Berkeley, CA 94702

510.524.5405

homeenergy.org

Lstiburek, Joseph: EEBA Builders Guide series

Building Science Press

Westford, MA, 20092012.

Rose, William: Water in Buildings: An Architects

Guide to Moisture and Mold.

Wiley and Sons, 2005.

Building Science Corporation

70 Main Street, Westford, MA 01886

978.589.5100

buildingscience.com

(publications, training, technical assistance, design)

NAFS North American Fenestration Standard

AAMA/WDMA/CSA 101/I.S.2/A440-08

aamanet.org/upload/file/CMB-5-08.pdf

J ACOB DEVA RACUSIN is a sustainable and natural building designer, builder and educator. He is co-author of The Natural Building Companion, contributor to The Art of Natural Building and Systems Director and Co-Owner of New Frameworks Natural Design/Build, focusing on mechanical, water, energy, and enclosure system design and quality control. He is also a Building Performance Institute-certified Envelope Professional and Building Analyst. Jacob is the program director of the Building Science and Net Zero Design Certificate Program at the Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and has taught natural building and building science at various universities and building schools. He and his family live in a 2000 sq ft high-performance, natural home in the mountains of northern Vermont, where they run a small-scale Permaculture-inspired homestead.

NEW SOCIETY PUBLISHERS (www.newsociety.com), is an activist, solutions-oriented publisher focused on publishing books for a world of change. Our books offer tips, tools, and insights from leading experts in sustainable building, homesteading, climate change, environment, conscientious commerce, renewable energy, and more positive solutions for troubled times.

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Trees

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Cubic Yards of Landfill Space

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