Laura Timberlake
Pro Clima has released a book that explores a variety of construction systems, to help inform and guide simulations of the combined heat and moisture transport of residential and commercial façades. It also takes into account natural environmental impacts on the building envelope.
The Blue Book is authored by Pro Clima’s building science manager Jesse Clarke, M.AIRAH, who is also the chair of AIRAH’s Building Physics Special Technical Group. He has more than 15 years’ experience in the construction industry, and works with leading industry bodies to drive change in industry guidance and codes.
According to Clarke, there is substantial international evidence that the balance between energy efficiency and moisture in the building envelope becomes increasingly important as insulation levels and thermal performance increase.
If moisture accumulates in the building envelope, it can create ongoing issues. However, moisture-related side-effects can be predicted and included at the building design stage.
Clarke says the emerging problem is widely debated in Australia.
“The basis of science and international learnings highlights that the more highly insulated a building becomes, the greater the risk of imbalances in moisture,” he says.
“This results from the intentional manipulation of thermodynamic forces for energy efficiency reasons. This then manifests as condensation on non-porous cold surfaces and high moisture content within the pores of cold or cool porous materials.”
The Blue Book creates simulations of building envelopes using software such as WUFI, to provide a compliance pathway for the risks associated with water vapour and condensation. It uses a range of façade systems as examples, ranging from current standard to best practice.
The first release is also designed to complement AIRAH’s Design Application (DA) manual DA07 Criteria for Moisture Control Design Analysis in Buildings, currently the industry standard for moisture design.
DA07 specifies performance-based design criteria for predicting, mitigating, or reducing moisture damage to the building envelope.
While DA07 provides guidance on how to best design buildings with adequate moisture control features, The Blue Book focuses on solutions for the vertical façade components of the buildings, with the intent to move to roof systems in further iterations.
The first iteration of the publication is available to download here.
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