Description

Title:  Building Science with Dr. Joe Lstiburek  (3 Sessions / 3 Topics)
Date: Monday, 11/18/24
Fee: $50 per session for members; $75 per session for non-members

Session 1 Topic: Building Science Basics
Time: 9:30am - 11:30am   
Content:  A building is fundamentally an environmental separator…it keeps the outside out and the inside in.  Building science is the science behind environmental separation.  It deals with the principle damage functions…. things that cause damage - not including fire and structure.  These damage functions are water, heat and ultra-violet radiation… Building science is about keeping the water out and letting things dry if you can’t keep the water out.  Building science is about keeping the heat out and the heat in.  Building science is about not sun burning your roofs and walls.  So how do we do all of this?

Session 2 Topic – Net Zero Homes 
Time: 12:00pm - 2pm  *(Lunch provided)
Content:  Folks think it is easy to get to net zero…these are folks that have never built anything or had to fix anything.  In principle net zero is easy. In practice, not so easy because if you keep energy from going from the outside in and the inside out you increase the risk of mold, rot and corrosion.  It gets worse when you no longer build out of thousand year old trees and rocks.  We used to go to forests and cut trees down and build boats out of them and sail them around the world….try doing that with OSB…So do I hate OSB?  Nope…actually love it…but it can’t be used the same way we used wood boards or plywood… Remember when we used real plaster for interior finishes…now we line them with paper… So how do we actually get to net zero without getting into trouble…and going broke?  New houses are easy…wait till you have to do this as a retrofit…We are being told that everything new has to be net zero by 2030 and everything old has to be net zero by 2040…Folks, it is going to be a fun decade and a half…

Session 3 Topic – Condensation
Time: 2:30pm - 4:30pm
Content: Houston is a climate paradise…doesn’t rain very much…not humid…never windy….never floods…LOL…  Things were easy before we invented air conditioning…So, how do we control condensation in Houston in air-conditioned houses?  How do we fix condensation problems in Houston houses?  Should we all invest in dehumidifiers, energy recovery ventilators (ERV’s) and start selling short companies that make vinyl wall coverings, vented clothes dryers, kitchen range hoods and alkyd paints.