Using hygrothermal analysis in the sustainable renovation of historic buildings

Current estimates put the number of historic solid walled homes at 10.6% in Ireland, 22% in the UK and Scotland, 34% in Wales and a substantial number of the 38% pre 1960 built at EU level could be solid wall constructions. They represent a stock which would have a significant environmental impact in its replacement. Historic buildings behave very differently to a modern building however, in terms of the movement of heat, air and moisture (HAM) due to its homogeneity of composition. The effects of energy efficient upgrades require careful consideration in the build-up and management of moisture. The ability of hygrothermal models to predict moisture build up is only as accurate as the accuracy of the inputted data. The research in this paper is primarily focused on establishing the temperature and humidity profiles across a solid wall, establishing the micro climate surrounding the case study building and logging and monitoring the data over a 12 month period. The research forms part of a larger research body where establishing the hygrothermal performance of a case study building in Ireland pre retrofit will be established. Establishing the basic and hygric material properties of the wall components in the next stage, combined with this papers research will provide accurate inputs to WUFI. a transient HAM analysis software that complies with EN 15026:2007.