Building Physics

Building physics, explained.

Short, plainly written notes on how buildings actually behave. Loads, humidity, envelopes, air, water, energy. Written for owners, architects, and facilities teams who want to understand what their engineer is talking about.

Buildings are physics problems. Heat moves, moisture accumulates, air leaks, and pressures shift whether or not anyone is paying attention. Most of what looks like a mechanical failure in an existing building is actually a physics problem that no one connected to the equipment.

These notes are the concepts we come back to on every project. Each one is a plain-English explanation of a single idea, written so a building owner can read it in five minutes and know what questions to ask.

§ 01

Latent vs sensible load

Why a building can feel muggy at 72 degrees, and why the thermostat setpoint has almost nothing to do with humidity.

Read note →

§ 02

Dew point and condensation

Why cold pipes sweat, why interior walls grow mold, and how to think about surface temperature without a psychrometric chart.

Read note →

§ 03

Ventilation vs infiltration

Outdoor air that a designer put there on purpose, and outdoor air that shows up whether anyone asked for it. Both count.

Read note →

§ 04

Building pressure

Why doors slam, why smoke moves through walls, and why a positively pressured building is a happier building.

Read note →

§ 05

Envelope R-value in practice

Why the wall the architect drew and the wall the contractor built are not the same wall, and what the load calculation actually assumes.

Read note →

§ 06

Load calculations, honestly

What a load calculation can and cannot tell you, why two engineers get different numbers on the same building, and where the safety factors hide.

Read note →

Have a project that deserves the engineering?

Talk to us →