A Discussion on Winter Indoor Hygrothermal Conditions and Hygroscopic Behaviour of Plasters in Southern Europe
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Case Studies Selected and Indoor Monitoring Campaign
2.2. Statistical Analysis of Indoor Hygrothermal Conditions and Indoor Comfort
2.3. Plaster Characterization
- E—commercial plaster based on clayish earth produced by EMBARRO [38] with a consistence by flow table of 170 ± 10 mm;
- CL—1:3 volumetric ratio of hydrate air lime CL 90-S and siliceous sand (0–4 mm) with a consistence by flow table of 151 ± 5 mm;
- NHL—1:3 volumetric ratio of natural hydraulic lime NHL3.5 and siliceous sand (0–4 mm) with a consistence by flow table of 150 ± 5 mm;
- Cem—1:4 volumetric ratio of CEM II/B-L 32.5N and siliceous sand (0–2 mm) with a consistence by flow table of 140 ± 3 mm.
2.4. Numerical Simulations
2.4.1. Simulations under Standard Conditions
2.4.2. Simulations under Realistic Operational Conditions
3. Results and Discussion
3.1. Indoor Climate
3.2. Statistical Evaluation
3.3. Indoor Comfort
3.4. Sorption Isotherms of the Plasters
3.5. Simulations
3.5.1. Simulations under Standard Conditions
3.5.2. Simulations under Realistic Operational Conditions
4. Conclusions
- The microclimates of the four case studies are found to be well represented by the hygrothermal ranges of 63–76% RH and 17.5 ± 1.5 °C, which were defined considering the 25th and 75th percentiles of the dataset distributions.
- In terms of RH, the ISO 24353 sets the closest values to the characteristic ranges defined for the four case studies according to the monitoring. The standard adopts the condition 50% to 75% RH, differently from the NORDTEST procedure, which is typically used considering the range 33–75% RH. Overall, the humidity range adopted in the ISO standard appears more representative of the microclimates observed on-site. Indeed, the lower RH value adopted in the NORDTEST (33%) is rarely reached in the datasets presented in this study. RH below this value is observed for less than 5% of the time and only in two case studies.
- Considering the temperature, the values prescribed in both the ISO 24353 standard and the NORDTEST protocol (22.5–23.5 °C) are higher than those observed in the case studies during almost the entire wintertime.
- In terms of indoor comfort, it was observed that the case studies are often out of the comfort area—over 50% of wintertime—mainly due to high relative humidity and low temperature. This outcome is consistent with the complaints of the bedrooms’ users. Furthermore, it is aligned with the literature concerning the inability of keeping residential spaces sufficiently warm in Southern Europe.
- The fluctuation in the moisture content of the plasters was qualitatively in agreement with the ranking based on the MBV determined by both the NORDTEST procedure and ISO 24353 standard. Thus, the standard test procedures for evaluating the moisture buffering capacity of building materials might be representative also for the context of Southern European housing, despite its colder and moister indoor conditions. Further studies are needed to evaluate this point more in depth, accounting for the more accurate results obtainable through whole-building simulation models.
- The earth-based plaster, above all, showed the widest fluctuations in water content under realistic operational conditions. This result suggests that this material could be promising for passive regulation of indoor relative humidity.
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Plaster | NORDTEST | ISO 24353 |
---|---|---|
E | 1.493 ± 0.09 | 1.327 ± 0.08 |
CL | 0.416 ± 0.04 | 0.267 ± 0.03 |
NHL | 0.799 ± 0.03 | 0.537 ± 0.02 |
Cem | 0.843 ± 0.07 | 0.660 ± 0.05 |
Plaster | Po (%) | ρDry (kg/m3) | µ (–) | Aw (kg/m2s0.5) | * λDry (W/(mK)) |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
E | 29.9 | 1743 | 9.07 | 0.50 | 0.5 |
CL | 25.8 | 1720 | 7.43 | 1.71 | 0.7 |
NHL | 26.2 | 1779 | 9.32 | 2.40 | 0.7 |
Cem | 20.2 | 1919 | 20.42 | 0.43 | 1.2 |
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Ranesi, A.; Posani, M.; Veiga, R.; Faria, P. A Discussion on Winter Indoor Hygrothermal Conditions and Hygroscopic Behaviour of Plasters in Southern Europe. Infrastructures 2022, 7, 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures7030038
Ranesi A, Posani M, Veiga R, Faria P. A Discussion on Winter Indoor Hygrothermal Conditions and Hygroscopic Behaviour of Plasters in Southern Europe. Infrastructures. 2022; 7(3):38. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures7030038
Chicago/Turabian StyleRanesi, Alessandra, Magda Posani, Rosário Veiga, and Paulina Faria. 2022. "A Discussion on Winter Indoor Hygrothermal Conditions and Hygroscopic Behaviour of Plasters in Southern Europe" Infrastructures 7, no. 3: 38. https://doi.org/10.3390/infrastructures7030038