Building Envelope Software

Specification & Product Discussions Sustainable Design Topics
1

Our firm currently uses “The Heat, Air and Moisture (H.A.M.) Toolbox” from Quirouette Building Specialists (QBS) Ltd. for “R” value and condensation analysis, but finds it awkward to use; products not in its database can’t be added by the user except by the work-around of modifying the properties of existing products.

Its website explains, “…it does not allow the input of a new generic material because each new generic material must have a drawing symbol associated with it for display on the graph. We apologize for this limitation. But if you forward your suggestions for new materials to our Email site, we will make sure to include it in one of our next H.A.M. Toolbox revisions which are free.”

Is there a really good, easy-to-use program for this purpose – especially one that’s reasonable in cost? (The H.A.M. Toolbox may be harder to use than we’d like, but at least it isn’t cheap ($840, US or Canadian).

2

There is Wufi, a computer program developed by Oak Ridge National Labs at http://www.ornl.gov/sci/btc/apps/moisture/index.html. It is free, but I also think its a little hard to use.

I also heard that Dow has an internal computer program - see http://www.dow.com/styrofoam/na/pro-canada/tools/how.htm

3

Thanks, Brian. We’ll look into these.

4

The Department of Energy, EERE, Building Energy Software webpage has a compendium of building envelope software programs for building envelope systems listed:
http://www.eere.energy.gov/buildings/tools_directory/subjects.cfm/pagename=subjects/pagename_menu=materials_components/pagename_submenu=envelope_systems

5

Thanks, Peggy. Wow – That’s over 50 programs; I’m not sure where to start. (Maybe by trying to narrow down the list, for example, if some don’t do dew point analysis…) WUFI’s there, but the H.A.M. Toolbox doesn’t appear to be. Can you or anyone else recommend any of the others on the list?

6

WUFI is used by several local engineering consultants and a number of national building envelope consultants associated with BETEC and the Building Enclosure Councils network. It appears to be the standard of practice. Seminars offering training in WUFI application are occasionally offered - it’s not simple, but then it models some pretty complex physics. My own sense is: for a firm doing multiple building types in multiple climates, it’s worth the investment. The purchase investment isn’t the issue; the time investment is. But the cost of building envelope moisture failures is … priceless. I’d like to be able to say that we used the best existing software model and made the best decisions we could if I had to give a deposition.