The Skin of a building will be one of the principal factors in determining the amount of energy a building will use in its operation. The fabric of a building should provide a barrier between interior and exterior atmosphere.
The building fabric must meet the requirements for adequate ventilation and natural daylight while providing maximum thermal protection from local climatic conditions. When the right strategies are integrated through good design, the extra cost for high performance fabric can very easily be offset by reduced HVAC energy use. What is ‘HVAC’? Say what it is and what it stands for.
Reflective surfaces, especially on roofs and walls, will decrease the amount of solar energy that enters a building by reflecting solar radiation in the visible and near-infrared regions and give off heat in the mid-infrared regions.
