Uncontrolled air infiltration is like having uninvited guests in our home. We really want invited guests in and uninvited guests out. To achieve this we need to be in control.
When we talk about building performance it is all about control.
- A leaky ‘uncontrolled’ house grants access to uninvited guests in the form of unconditioned outside air.
- A leaky house also ejects invited guests in the form of conditioned inside air.
Being in control of our home means to:
- Keep the conditioned inside air in,
- Keep the unconditioned outside air out, and
- Invite the outside air in on our terms,
- Throw the inside air out on our terms.
In order to be the boss of inside conditions we need control.
Control comes when we pay careful attention to our building envelope ‘control’ layers:
- Water control layer
- Air control layer
- Vapour control layer
- Thermal control layer
Once we have controlled the control layers, we then have control over the inside air.
Finally we control the inside air with ventilation.
A fully controlled home is safe, healthy, durable, comfortable and energy efficient. An uncontrolled home is a disaster.
LESSON: Be the boss and take control. Employ a Water, Air, Vapour, Thermal strategy and complete it with ventilation.
