Moisture Buffering in Buildings: A Review of Experimental and Numerical Methods

Kreiger, Brenton K; Srubar III, Wil V.

Citeable URL: https://scholar.colorado.edu/concern/articles/0k225c13v

Abstract

Moisture buffering in buildings is well known to influence material durability, building-scale energy efficiency, and indoor environmental quality. In this work, we present a comprehensive meta-analysis of experimental studies and a review of numerical approaches concerning the moisture buffering capacity of common building materials. More specifically, we synthesize and analyze reported moisture buffering values (MBVs) of materials from >180 unique characterization experiments. In addition, we classify, compare, and critically discuss experimental methods employed to measure MBV, along with numerical methods that have been used to quantify building-scale benefits. Experimental data indicate that biotic and chemically hydrophilic (e.g., cellulosic) materials exhibit higher MBVs than porous, abiotic (e.g., cementitious) materials, which suggests new opportunities for engineering natural, synthetic, and/or hybrid hydrophilic materials that display hyperactive MBVs. In addition, moisture buffering effects have been shown to yield up to 30% energy savings in certain climates. However, our analysis reveals that more consistent experimental and numerical methodologies are still needed to accurately quantify building-scale benefits. To this end, we identify specific gaps in scientific and technical knowledge and offer suggestions for experimental and theoretical research that is required to advance the collective understanding of moisture buffering and its effects on the energy consumption and indoor environmental quality of residential and commercial buildings.

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