Fundamentals of Building Physics

The course gives an introduction to different topics in building physics such as indoor and outdoor climate, heat transfer including introduction to energy use in buildings, moisture transfer, acoustics and lighting. Theory and simple calculation methods will be introduced and used to evaluate buildings and building constructions against the Norwegian Building Code and other requirements to support the design of sustainable buildings.

Knowledge: The candidate will acquire knowledge of: - Basic building physical laws which provides the foundation for correct building construction design. - How to find and evaluate materials and components for use in buildings based on their building physical properties. - The properties of common building materials. Skills: The candidate will acquire skills to: - Evaluate the outdoor climate and effect on a building site. - Evaluate the indoor thermal climate and user comfort. - Carry out basic heat transfer calculations in order to find the thermal resistance and transmittance (U-value). - Perform simple building energy simulations. - Perform basic moisture calculations in order to evaluate the moisture properties of building materials and assemblies. - Select building materials and constructions with the right acoustic properties. General competence: At the end of the course the candidate will have competence: - To select proper constructions and materials from technical requirements. - To apply building physics to design sustainable buildings.

Lectures, group works, assignments, and exercises. To be granted access to the exam, it is required that the student submits at least 3 out of 5 tests conducted during the semester. The tests consist of various tasks aimed at preparing students for the exam and promoting a self-assessment of their knowledge levels throughout the semester. The tests are approved upon submission.

The expected workload in the course is in the range 210 to 225 hours.

In this subject, a temporary exemption from the requirement of Norwegian as the language of instruction has been made due to the lack of access to Norwegian-speaking instructors.