What is A Building Envelope?

The building envelope is what separates the part of the building that is heated or cooled from the outside and from parts of the building that are not heated or cooled such as the attic or crawl space.  

What makes up the building envelope?

• Foundation

• Roof

• Walls

• Doors

• Windows

http://resourcecenter.pnl.gov/cocoon/morf/ResourceCenter/article/114

In the drawing, the building envelope is the area surrounded by insulation (red line).

 back