What Is Building Performance

Simply stated, building performance is the belief that buildings can and should be made safe, comfortable, durable, and energy-efficient. Putting building performance into practice requires a whole-house perspective.

Ask an insulation contractor, a heating tech, and a window salesperson the best way to warm up a cold room, and you may get three different answers. But a building performance contractor takes a whole-house perspective to assess the problem's causes and propose the most effective solution. Understanding the "house as a system" also allows building performance contractors to solve problems like chimney backdrafting that arise from interactions between the building's shell and mechanical systems.

Building scientists use a diagnostic approach to problem solving. Experience and observation, coupled with pressure diagnostics, infrared imaging, and combustion analysis, allow building performance contractors to diagnose and correct the most challenging building performance problems.

Attention to detail is also critical. The difference between an average house and a high-performance house often comes down to a contractor's willingness to "sweat the small stuff" that the customer never sees-air sealing, insulation, and ductwork.

The core of the building performance concept is an emphasis on measurable results from performance testing. The building performance contractor uses the blower door and combustion analyzer to measure and document increases in efficiency. Performance testing also assures the customer that he or she has a safe, comfortable, durable, and efficient building when the work is completed. "If you don't test, you don't know."

The following articles provide an introduction to building performance and diagnostic services:

Building Diagnostic Services from the Minnesota Department of Commerce http://www.state.mn.us/mn/externalDocs/Commerce/House_Diagnostics_110802041611_Diagnostic.pdf

Home Performance Contractors from Home Energy Magazine http://www.homeenergy.org/perfbro.intro.html

Blower Door and Diagnostics for an Energy Efficient House from Southface Institute http://forms.southface.org/web/resources&services/ publications/factsheets/22blowdoor.pdf

Energy Checklist for Energy Efficient Construction from Southface Institute http://www.southface.org/home/sfpubs/techshts/cheklist.pdf