High Performance Building Envelopes: Designing for Energy Efficiency and Durability
DISCLAIMER
Before purchasing, review the rules of your licensing or certifying entity. It is your responsibility to confirm this course meets your CE requirements. See the credit tab on the course page for details.
What’s Included: Full webinar recording, written course materials, expert instruction, a mandatory quiz, and a certificate upon completion.
Deliverability Timeline: All courses are generally available within 1-2 weeks after the live presentation.
CE Credits: AIA and/or LA/CES accreditation is available by request for courses recorded prior to March 11, 2026. All courses after that date include those accreditations by default, if applicable. With these accreditations, our courses qualify for credit in nearly all states for engineers, surveyors, architects, and landscape architects.
Learn more about the on-demand format in our FAQ or contact us at (715) 835-5900 or customerservice@halfmoonseminars.org
Agenda
Registration: 8:00 – 8:30 am
Morning Session: 8:30 am – 12:00 pm
Lunch (On your own): 12:00 – 1:00 pm
Afternoon Session: 1:00 – 5:00 pm
Creating a Building Envelope as Part of a Whole
Building Approach
The weather outside and the weather inside
Learning from legacy building envelopes and systems
Contemporary systems and emergent trends
Occupancy and use
Energy modeling overview – prediction and measurement
• Energy overview – generation, consumption, conservation
• Embodied energy from construction, materials procurement,
• Operational energy • Life-cycle cost analysis
Regulatory Overview
The shifting energy landscape – electricity, oil, cogeneration,
solar, natural gas, steam
Impact of energy efficiency upgrades on green designations
• LEED • Energy Star
• Green Globes and others
Layer by Layer – Four Critical Barriers and the
Anatomy of Wall Systems
Waterproofing and flow control
Vapor retarders and moisture control
Heat transfer principles and thermal performance
Air barriers and air leakage Insulation and thermal bridging
Additional considerations – sound, light, energy absorption,
durability, aesthetics
Evaluating exemplary wall systems (Masonry, rain screen, EIFS, curtain wall)
“It looked good on paper” – Cautionary Tales of Building
Envelope Failures
Early service life failures Repair and retrofit failures
Foundations, Slabs, and Floors
Four barriers below grade (air, thermal, water, vapor)
Geotechnical considerations
Earth as enclosure – below-grade buildings
Designing and Installing Efficient Fenestration Systems
Fenestration characteristics and parameters affecting energy efficiency
Selection of window systems for energy efficiency
Coordinating window and door locations in the envelope
Laboratory and field testing to predict and verify performance
Designing Energy-Efficient Roofing Systems
Determining insulation level for roofs
Working with low-slope roofs
Metal-panel roofs and steep-slope roofs
Vegetative roofs and “cool” roofs
Transitions – integrating the roof with the building envelope
Strategies for Enhancing the Performance of
Existing Building Envelopes
Assessment of current performance – technical and human factors
Diagnostic evaluation
Considerations for continuous occupancy
Case study
Credits
Architects
7.0 HSW Contact Hours (CEUs)
7.0 AIA HSW Learning Units
Professional Engineers
7.0 PDHs (MD Category A)
Building Performance Institute
3.5 CEUs
Contractors
Non-Mandatory Continuing Ed
Continuing Education Credit Information
This seminar is open to the public and offers up to 7.0 HSW continuing education hours to architects and 7.0 PDHs to professional engineers in all states. HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education provider for Maryland engineers, and this is a Category A event.
This seminar is approved by the American Institute of Architects for 7.0 HSW Learning Units (Sponsor No. J885). Activities approved by the AIA qualify for New Jersey and DC architects.
HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for architects in Florida and is deemed an approved sponsor in New York. HalfMoon Education is an approved continuing education sponsor for engineers in Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maryland, New Jersey (Approval No. 24GP00000700), New York (NYSED Sponsor No. 35), North Carolina, and North Dakota.
The Building Performance Institute has approved this event for 3.5 CEUs.
This course is designed for construction contractors but has not been submitted for contractor continuing education credit in any state.
Attendance will be monitored, and attendance certificates will be available after the seminar for most individuals who complete the entire event. Attendance certificates not available at the seminar will be mailed to participants within fifteen business days.