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Building Simulation 2012, 5(4): 301-314 https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-012-0086-3
Research Article | Issue | Published: 16 June 2012

Heat and moisture balance simulation of a building with vapor-open envelope system for subtropical regions

Show Author's Information Yutaka Goto1,2( ),  Karim Ghazi Wakili2,  Thomas Frank2,  Thomas Stahl2,  York Ostermeyer1,  Naoto Ando3,  Holger Wallbaum1
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli Strasse 15, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan
Keywords:
sustainability, vapor-open envelope, heat and moisture balance, subtropical climate, moisture buffering
Cite this article:
Goto Y, Wakili KG, Frank T, et al. Heat and moisture balance simulation of a building with vapor-open envelope system for subtropical regions. Building Simulation, 2012, 5(4): 301-314. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12273-012-0086-3
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Abstract Full text About this article

Global warming and the resource depletion induced discussions on sustainable developments within the construction sector. Also the rapid urbanization in subtropical regions is becoming one of the most important global issues. Appropriate measures must be taken in such developments to avoid further damage to the environment. In this study, the heat and moisture balance simulation of building with a sustainable building envelope system for subtropical climate was proposed. In the moisture balance simulation the moisture buffering by the interior materials was taken into account. The prediction of moisture buffer value (MBV) of the interior finishing materials was attempted and validated by measurements. Subsequently, the whole building calculation was carried out and the contribution of the moisture buffering to the indoor comfort and energy consumption was investigated. The MBVs of the mineral-based materials were predicted with high accuracy. However, that of wood-based composite was much higher than the experimental value. In order to create a more accurate model, nonlinear moisture conductance should be accounted when modeling wood-based materials. The heating and cooling demand of a test house was 9.4 kWh/m2 and 14.5 kWh/m2, respectively. It was concluded that the utilization of the building envelope system has a high potential to provide sustainable houses in subtropical regions. In order to enhance both energy efficiency and indoor comfort of buildings in subtropical regions, there still is a strong need to develop a holistic method to find the optimum building design considering not only moisture buffering but also all the relevant factors. The presented model will be validated by in-situ measurements in the near future.


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About this article

Heat and moisture balance simulation of a building with vapor-open envelope system for subtropical regions

Show Author's information Yutaka Goto1,2( ), Karim Ghazi Wakili2, Thomas Frank2, Thomas Stahl2, York Ostermeyer1, Naoto Ando3, Holger Wallbaum1
Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli Strasse 15, CH-8093 Zurich, Switzerland
Empa, Swiss Federal Laboratories for Materials Science and Technology, CH-8600 Duebendorf, Switzerland
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8657, Japan

Abstract

Global warming and the resource depletion induced discussions on sustainable developments within the construction sector. Also the rapid urbanization in subtropical regions is becoming one of the most important global issues. Appropriate measures must be taken in such developments to avoid further damage to the environment. In this study, the heat and moisture balance simulation of building with a sustainable building envelope system for subtropical climate was proposed. In the moisture balance simulation the moisture buffering by the interior materials was taken into account. The prediction of moisture buffer value (MBV) of the interior finishing materials was attempted and validated by measurements. Subsequently, the whole building calculation was carried out and the contribution of the moisture buffering to the indoor comfort and energy consumption was investigated. The MBVs of the mineral-based materials were predicted with high accuracy. However, that of wood-based composite was much higher than the experimental value. In order to create a more accurate model, nonlinear moisture conductance should be accounted when modeling wood-based materials. The heating and cooling demand of a test house was 9.4 kWh/m2 and 14.5 kWh/m2, respectively. It was concluded that the utilization of the building envelope system has a high potential to provide sustainable houses in subtropical regions. In order to enhance both energy efficiency and indoor comfort of buildings in subtropical regions, there still is a strong need to develop a holistic method to find the optimum building design considering not only moisture buffering but also all the relevant factors. The presented model will be validated by in-situ measurements in the near future.

Keywords: sustainability, vapor-open envelope, heat and moisture balance, subtropical climate, moisture buffering

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Publication history
Copyright
Acknowledgements

Publication history

Received: 13 February 2012
Revised: 04 April 2012
Accepted: 02 May 2012
Published: 16 June 2012
Issue date: December 2012

Copyright

© Tsinghua University Press and Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg 2012

Acknowledgements

The authors express the gratitude to Mr. and Mrs. Iida for their cooperation for the realization of the test house. The innovation promotion agency Commission for Technology and Innovation of the Swiss Confederation is also acknow- ledged for the financial support (grant 9755.1 PFIW-IW).

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