Essential Building Science: Understanding Energy and Moisture in High Performance House Design (Sustainable Building Essentials Series, 3)

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Design High-Performance Homes That Are Durable, Healthy, and Comfortable
Part of the Sustainable Building Essentials series, Essential Building Science teaches you how to manage energy and moisture in residential construction to create homes that last longer, perform better, and feel more comfortable. This highly visual guide makes complex building physics accessible, giving you the tools to design, build, or improve high-performance houses with confidence.

What You’ll Learn

Understand Heat and Moisture Dynamics: Learn the fundamentals of thermal dynamics, moisture transfer, vapor drive, and condensation. Design for High Performance: Discover the rationale behind energy-efficient, durable, and healthy building design. Think like a Building Scientist: Develop critical thinking skills to evaluate buildings as complete systems and create effective thermal and moisture strategies. Apply Real-world Solutions: Case studies and examples from across North American climates show how to solve real building problems. Improve Old and New Buildings: Gain insights and tools for dramatically enhancing the performance of existing structures or creating better new builds.

Written by Jacob Deva Racusin, a sustainable building designer, educator, and co-owner of New Frameworks Natural Design/Build, this guide draws on decades of experience in mechanical, water, energy, and enclosure system design. Jacob is a Building Performance Institute-certified Envelope Professional and Building Analyst, program director of the Building Science and Net Zero Design Certificate Program at Yestermorrow Design/Build School, and co-author of The Natural Building Companion.

Transform the way you design and build homes with practical, science-based strategies that make buildings healthier, more efficient, and resilient. With clear visuals, actionable insights, and step-by-step thinking frameworks, Essential Building Science gives builders, designers, and DIYers the confidence to achieve high-performance results.

Explore the full Sustainable Building Essentials series for comprehensive guidance on foundations, walls, insulation, mechanical systems, finishes, and more—everything you need to create durable, efficient, and sustainable homes.

From the Publisher

Wondering what building science looks like in practice? Take a look at these real-life examples.

Fiberboard Sheathing

Fiberboard sheathing allows good exterior drying potential, does not quickly degrade in the presence of liquid water, provides R-4/inch insulation, and has a low embodied-carbon profile.

Radiant Heat Tubing

Two radiant heat zones run beneath the wood and tile floors: the wood zone operates at a lower temperature to prevent splitting, while the hotter tile zone carries more of the heating load.

Hybrid Systems

The StrawCell hybrid wall system pairs a well-drained exterior rainscreen with a high-mass, airtight interior plaster over straw bales to form a highly durable, super insulated wall.

Modern Farmhouse

This 19th-century Vermont farmhouse was modernized with insulation and air-sealing, triple-pane fiberglass windows and doors, a full PV system, ducted HRV, and geothermal heating and cooling.

Foundationals

Understanding Heat Loss and Gain

Heat flows from areas of greater concentration to lesser concentration, both into and out of our homes, depending on the weather.

Moisture and Hygrothermal Dynamics

As water changes phase, it absorbs or releases large amounts of energy due to the formation or breaking of hydrogen bonds between molecules.

Buildings As Whole Systems

Good systems design balances mechanical systems, the enclosure, and the environment to maximize health, comfort, and efficiency—while minimizing complexity and cost.

A Case for Building Science

We need to apply building science principles to ensure we use these natural materials effectively to create durable, high-performance homes.

Heat Storage

Native stone captures heat from the wood cookstove, slowly releasing it overnight. Solar and wood-powered hydronic systems supplement the minimal heating load.

Thermal Enclosure: Windows

The fiberglass-frame window like the one being installed here is moderately priced, strong, and durable, and more sustainable than PVC.

Heating and Cooling

Mini-split air-source heat pumps provide both heating and cooling in a wide range of climates very efficiently, relying on electricity for power.

Publisher ‏ : ‎ New Society Publishers
Publication date ‏ : ‎ November 28, 2016
Language ‏ : ‎ English
Print length ‏ : ‎ 160 pages
ISBN-10 ‏ : ‎ 0865718342
ISBN-13 ‏ : ‎ 978-0865718340
Item Weight ‏ : ‎ 1 pounds
Dimensions ‏ : ‎ 8.5 x 0.32 x 11 inches
Part of series ‏ : ‎ Sustainable Building Essentials
Best Sellers Rank: #301,341 in Books (See Top 100 in Books) #70 in Energy Efficient Remodeling & Renovation #85 in Sustainability & Green Design #283 in Residential Architecture
Customer Reviews: 4.5 4.5 out of 5 stars (60) var dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction; P.when(‘A’, ‘ready’).execute(function(A) { if (dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction !== true) { dpAcrHasRegisteredArcLinkClickAction = true; A.declarative( ‘acrLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault”: true }, function (event) { if (window.ue) { ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrLinkClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } } ); } }); P.when(‘A’, ‘cf’).execute(function(A) { A.declarative(‘acrStarsLink-click-metrics’, ‘click’, { “allowLinkDefault” : true }, function(event){ if(window.ue) { ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”, (ue.count(“acrStarsLinkWithPopoverClickCount”) || 0) + 1); } }); });
Customers find the book comprehensive, with one review noting it serves as an excellent introduction to building science. The content receives positive feedback, with customers enjoying reading it.