Understanding Dew Point

As Allison Bailes writes in the recent Energy Vanguard post 3 Important Facts About Dew Point Temperature, builders often use the shorthand term “dew point” when discussing moisture and condensation problems in buildings. But as Bailes emphasizes, dew point is a temperature, not a place or time or event. What the dew point temperature tells us is when the conditions are right for potential condensation, but not the actual occurrence. Condensation is the result of two separate properties being aligned: the dew point temperature of the air and the surface temperature of a material in contact with the air.