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Moisture Safety in Cold Attics with Thick Thermal Insulation: Journal of Architectural Engineering: (ASCE)

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Journal of Architectural Engineering

<Previous Article A+ A- A= Print Abstract References Full-text Complete PDF (3,344 KB) Harderup, L. and Arfvidsson, J. (2013). Moisture Safety in Cold Attics with Thick Thermal Insulation. J. Archit. Eng., 19(4), 265278. Technical Papers Volume 19, Issue 4 (December 2013) Next Article >

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Moisture Safety in Cold Attics with Thick Thermal Insulation

Article History
Submitted: 06 May 2010 Accepted: 08 September 2011 Published: 15 November 2013

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ISSN (print): 1076-0431 ISSN (online): 1943-5568 Publisher: American Society of Civil Engineers Lars-Erik Harderup1 and Jesper Arfvidsson2
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http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29AE.1943-5568.0000067

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Moisture Safety in Cold Attics Journal of Architectural Engineering: (ASCE) 1 with Thick Thermal Insulation: 2

Lars-Erik Harderup and Jesper Arfvidsson

1Associate Professor,

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Dept. of Building Physics, Lund Univ., Lund, 22100 Sweden (corresponding author). E-mail: jesper.arfvidsson@byggtek.lth.se
2Professor,

Dept. of Building Physics, Lund Univ., Lund, 22100 Sweden. E-mail: lars-erik.harderup@byggtek.lth.se

Damage caused by moisture and mold in attics has increased in Sweden during recent decades. The main reasons are thicker thermal insulation between the living space and the attic and lack of a warm chimney. Very thick thermal insulation will result in attics that are more sensitive to convection from the living space. With only a thin layer of E-mail Alerts thermal insulation, the attic will be warmer as a result of convective heat transfer from the living space. With a warmer RSS Feeds attic during the winter, a certain amount of vapor can enter into the attic from the occupied area without causing any damage. With very thick thermal insulation, however, vapor cannot be allowed to enter the attic. Without a chimney, Subscriptions the temperature in the attic will decrease (especially in winter), which will result in higher relative humidity and lower ventilation owing to a lack of buoyancy. A warm chimney will also increase the natural ventilation in the occupied area Subscribe and hence decrease the amount of vapor entering into the attic by convection. The conclusions are that both thicker Purchase Reprints thermal insulation and lack of a chimney will decrease the temperature in the attic but also affect the ventilation rate in the living space. To prevent moisture damage in modern attics, the floor structure also has to be very airtight. The Session History construction in modern buildings is more sensible for sustained air leakage from the interior space into the attic, but in addition, the effects from heat radiation from the roof to the sky could result in condensation and mold problems in the Recently Viewed attic. This paper presents the results from a project with modern Swedish attics where different measures have been taken to try to achieve a dryer climate in a highly insulated attic. Field measurements and computer simulations on Thermal and Illuminance attics with reduced ventilation, internal heat sources, permeable felt, and a thin layer of thermal insulation in the outer Performance of a Translucent roof are discussed. Green Wall Approximate R-Factor for Permalink: http://dx.doi.org/10.1061/(ASCE)AE.1943-5568.0000067 Cross-Laminated Timber WallsASCE Subject Headings: Moisture, Safety, Insulation, Measurement, Buildings, Sweden in Multistory Buildings Author keywords: Attics, Moisture, Safety, Insulation, Measurements Prioritizing Method for 2013 American Society of Civil Engineers. Retrofitting Torontos SingleFamily Housing Stock to Reduce Heating and Cooling Loads StructuralArchitectural Integration of Double-Layer Space Structures in Tall Buildings

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http://ascelibrary.org/doi/abs/10.1061/%28ASCE%29AE.1943-5568.0000067

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