ARTICLE IN PRESS

Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515– 524

Contents lists available at ScienceDirect

Building and Environment

journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/buildenv

The effect of combining a relative-humidity-sensitive ventilation system with

the moisture-buffering capacity of materials on indoor climate and energy
efficiency of buildings
Monika Woloszyn a,b,c,, Targo Kalamees d, Marc Olivier Abadie e,f, Marijke Steeman g,
Angela Sasic Kalagasidis h
a
Université de Lyon, Lyon F-69003, France
b
Université Lyon1, Villeurbanne F-69622, France
c
INSA-Lyon, CETHIL UMR CNRS 5008, bat. Sadi Carnot, F-69621 Villeurbanne cedex, France
d
Chair of Building Physics and Architecture, Tallinn University of Technology, Ehiteja tee 5 19086, Estonia
e
Pontifical Catholic University of Parana – PUCPR/CCET-Thermal Systems Laboratory, Rua Imaculada Conceic- ão, 1155 Curitiba, PR 80215-901, Brazil
f
LEPTIAB-University of La Rochelle, Avenue M. Crépeau, 17000 La Rochelle, France
g
Department of Architecture and Urban Planning, UGENT-Ghent University, J. Plateaustraat 22, 9000 Ghent, Belgium
h
Department of Building Technology, Chalmers University of Technology, Sven Hultins gata 8, 412 96 Gothenburg, Sweden

a r t i c l e in fo abstract

Article history: Indoor moisture management, which means keeping the indoor relative humidity (RH) at correct levels,
Received 23 November 2007 is very important for whole building performance in terms of indoor air quality (IAQ), energy
Received in revised form performance and durability of the building. In this study, the effect of combining a relative-humidity-
20 April 2008
sensitive (RHS) ventilation system with indoor moisture buffering materials was investigated. Four
Accepted 22 April 2008
comprehensive heat–air–moisture (HAM) simulation tools were used to analyse the performance of
different moisture management strategies in terms of IAQ and of energy efficiency. Despite some
Keywords: differences in results, a good agreement was found and similar trends were detected from the results,
Whole building HAM simulation
using the four different simulation tools. The results from simulations demonstrate that RHS ventilation
Relative-humidity-sensitive (RHS)
reduces the spread between the minimum and maximum values of the RH in the indoor air and
ventilation system
Moisture-buffering generates energy savings. Energy savings are achieved while keeping the RH at target level, not allowing
Energy for possible risk of condensations. The disadvantage of this type of demand controlled-ventilation is
Indoor climate that other pollutants (such as CO2) may exceed target values. This study also confirmed that the use of
moisture-buffering materials is a very efficient way to reduce the amplitude of daily moisture
variations. It was possible, by the combined effect of ventilation and wood as buffering material, to keep
the indoor RH at a very stable level.
& 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

1. Introduction
Indoor moisture management, which means keeping the
indoor relative humidity (RH) at correct levels, is very important
for whole building performance in terms of indoor air quality
(IAQ), energy performance and durability of the building envel-
ope. Indeed, indoor air humidity strongly affects indoor climate.
The main risk factors related to low RH may be associated with
the dryness of the skin, mucous membranes, sensory irritation of
the eyes and upper airways [1–3] as well as control of static
electricity [4,5]. The risk factors of having high RH are connected
 Corresponding author at: INSA-Lyon, CETHIL, bat. Sadi Carnot, F-69621
Villeurbanne cedex, France. Tel.: +33 472 436 269; fax: +33 472 438 811.
E-mail address: monika.woloszyn@insa-lyon.fr (M. Woloszyn).
with serious moisture problems for the building envelope and for
the indoor climate [6–10], due to the growth of micro-organisms
[11,12] and house dust mites [13–15].
Indoor air moisture is influenced by several factors, such as
moisture sources (human presence and activity, equipment), air
change rate and airflow in rooms, the release or uptake of
moisture by hygroscopic surfaces of envelope and furniture,
moisture flow through building envelope, possible condensation
as well as moisture content of the outdoor air. Adequate
ventilation is used in general in order to guarantee good IAQ
and to keep the indoor RH at a target level. The effect of
ventilation and resulting indoor humidity has a considerable
impact on the energy performance of the building, especially in
modern, very well insulated dwellings, where the part of the heat
loss due to air renewal can account for as much as half of the total
heat loss [16].

0360-1323/$ - see front matter & 2008 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.buildenv.2008.04.017
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516 M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524
It is anticipated that the reduction of the amount of fresh cold
air introduced into the building contributes to bringing down
energy consumption. Evidently, the reduction of ventilation rates
must be carefully designed to prevent deterioration of IAQ,
including RH and pollutant levels. Previously conducted studies
showed that humidity can be successfully used as a control
parameter for ventilation, enabling energy savings without
compromising IAQ throughout the whole year (both in cold and
mild months). This is directly related to the reduction of mean
ventilation rate, when the building is not used [17,18]. However,
for dwellings with very high moisture load, the RHS ventilation
may be used to improve IAQ, but lead to higher energy use [19].
Moreover, relevant use of the moisture-buffering capacity of
building materials contributes to stabilise the indoor climate in
terms of variations of RH. For example, Ref. [20] showed that in
the case of peak vapour production in the kitchen, about half of
the produced vapour was absorbed by the materials. This
moisture-buffering effect of materials was preventing surface
condensation.
All these interactions of indoor air humidity are complex, and
realistic predictions of different factors require the use of
advanced simulation tools. Simulation tools should be able to
take the whole building into account and calculate room air
humidity including exchange of moisture between indoor air and
materials in contact with the indoor air. Several studies [20–24]
have shown that the moisture storage capacity of finishing
materials has a significant effect on indoor RH and models that
do not include the sorption process do not adequately model
indoor RH. Mendes et al. [25] showed that whole-building energy
simulation models that ignore moisture transfer in the building
envelope may overestimate conduction peak loads up to 210% and
underestimate the yearly integrated heat flux up to 59% that can
lead to oversize heating, ventilation and air conditioning equip-
ment (especially in dry climates) and underestimate energy
consumption (primarily in humid climates).
In this work, the possibilities of combining an RHS ventilation
system with moisture-buffering capacity of materials were
investigated with whole building HAM simulation tools. At the
same time, four different simulation tools were tested to analyse
the performance of different indoor moisture management
strategies in terms of IAQ and of energy efficiency. Different
Fig. 1. View and ground plan of test rooms: left-reference room with gypsum plaster and paint, and right-test room where different finishing materials were tested.
Table 1
Original finishing materials from experimental rooms
Room Step 1 (17/01–02/02)
Reference (ach ¼ 0.63 h1) Gypsum plaster+paint
Test (ach ¼ 0.66 h1) Aluminium foil
simulation tools were used for two reasons: (1) to avoid any
specific tool-related inaccuracy and (2) to compare capabilities
and possible differences of different tools for assessing indoor
moisture management issues.
2. Methodology
2.1. Studied configuration
The simulation case is based on a real one-storey test building
(see Fig. 1) with two rooms (volume 49.4 m3, area 19.3 m2), which
are located at the outdoor testing site of the Fraunhofer-Institute
of building physics in Holzkirchen, Germany (altitude: 680 m NN;
latitude: 47.881, north; longitude: 11.731, east).
The walls of the rooms were built with 24 cm brick and
externally insulated with 7 cm polystyrene. The internal surface in
the reference room was standard gypsum plaster with a latex
paint. The walls and the ceiling of the test room were first fully
coated with aluminium foil and then (in some cases) covered with
manufactured gypsum board (see Table 1). The roof was an 18 cm
concrete slab, insulated with 20 cm polystyrene. A 25 cm concrete
floor was insulated with 20 cm polystyrene and covered with PVC
linoleum. Such material properties as density, porosity, specific
heat capacity, thermal conductivity, moisture permeability, and
moisture retention curve were measured in laboratory conditions
and are described more in detail in Refs. [26,27].
The indoor air temperature was held at 20 1C, using a
temperature controlling electric heater in the centre of the room.
A ventilation system provided constant air change, determined by
tracer gas measurements (n ¼ 0.63 h1 for the reference room and
n ¼ 0.66 h1 for the test room). To achieve a realistic assessment
of the course of RH with regard to the moisture-buffering effect,
2.4 kg of water was introduced by an ultrasonic evaporator into
each room per day, which corresponds to the equivalent amount
for a household of three persons [28].
To differentiate short- and long-term moisture-buffering of
surrounding surfaces, two moisture production cycles were
chosen for each day: short but high moisture production in the
morning from 6 to 8 a.m. (0.4 kg/h) and larger but moderate
moisture production in the afternoon from 4 to 10 p.m. (0.2 kg/h).
Step 2 (14/02–19/03) Step 3 (28/03–21/04)
Gypsum plaster+paint Gypsum plaster+paint
Gypsum board on walls Gypsum board on walls+ceiling

M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524
These peaks simulate taking showers, washing, cooking and the
presence of human beings. The temperature of the wall surfaces,
temperature layering in the middle of the rooms, and RH in the
rooms, as well as energy consumption of the heating system, were
measured. The temperature and humidity in the centre of the
room were considered for comparison. For outdoor boundary
conditions, recorded weather data from Holzkirchen (January to
April 2005) were used. In constant indoor temperature, indoor RH
depends on moisture production, air change rate, outdoor
humidity by volume and on moisture flow exchanged between
indoor air and building envelope. Two first parameters are the
same in all steps. Outdoor humidity by volume was approximately
the same in steps 1 and 2. In step 3, the outdoor humidity by
volume was higher (see Fig. 2). Steps 1 and 2 presented cold and
dry external conditions, and step 3 mild and humid ones.
The influence of different ventilation system strategies and
moisture-buffering capacity of the internal surface of finishing
materials of building envelope on indoor RH were investigated. In
some configurations, a constant airflow ventilation system was
replaced by a RHS exhaust, where the ventilation airflow was
controlled by the room RH level. Such a system adapts the airflow
to changes in the indoor relative RH, as shown in Fig. 3 with
RH1 ¼ 25%, Q1 ¼ 10 m3/h, RH2 ¼ 60%, Q2 ¼ 40 m3/h. In some
configurations, the moisture-buffering properties of the internal
surface of finishing materials of the building envelope were
changed.
Fig. 2. Outdoor conditions for all three steps.
Air flow
(m3/h)
Q2
Q1
RH1 RH2
Fig. 3. Original RHS ventilation system test room (no moisture-buffering
materials) and reference room (painted plaster).
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517
To study the influence of the ventilation system and properties
of finishing materials, simulations were performed with five
simulation runs (see Table 3):
 Run A: Experimental data, with constant ventilation (validation
of the simulation models),
 Run B: Using original finishing materials (Table 1) and the
original RHS ventilation system (Fig. 3),
 Run C: Using original finishing materials (Table 1) and a
modified RHS ventilation system with modified maximum
(Q2) and minimum (Q1) airflow values (ventilation was
modified independently by the participants of the study),
 Run D: Using the original RHS ventilation system (Fig. 3), but
changing the moisture-buffering properties of materials
(materials were chosen independently by the participants of
the study), and
 Run E: Combining both—the ventilation and the materials—
in order to reduce the energy consumption and to improve
indoor RH.
2.2. Simulation tools
Four different commercially available simulation tools were
used by five different institutions (see Table 2). All are ‘whole-
building’ simulation tools: multi-zone tools for building simula-
tion of energy consumption, IAQ and thermal comfort in dynamic
conditions, under the influence of the outdoor climate and
variable loads. The different envelope parts (roof, walls and floor)
may separate the zones from each other and from the outdoors.
The geometry, material layers and their properties define the
envelope parts. The envelope may include a number of openings,
leaks, doors, and windows. Different heating, cooling, ventilation,
and lighting systems can be attached to rooms. Heat balances may
involve the heating/cooling devices, air handling units, elements
of the envelope, direct sun gains through windows, leaks and
thermal bridges, the internal thermal mass, occupants, lights,
equipment.
All four simulation tools include the main elements of
moisture balance, discussed for example in Refs. [20,26,29]:
vapour sources (occupants, equipment, etc.), airborne transport
(air handling units, leaks, inter-zone flow) and sorption by
materials in contact with the indoor air. The models of moisture
flow between the indoor air and materials depend on the
modelling of heat and moisture transfers in the elements of
building envelope. Two tools can represent coupled heat and mass
transfers in the envelope (IDA-ICE and HAM-Tools) and two use
simplified models to represent the buffering effect of hygroscopic
materials (TRNSYS and Clim2000). In the following, the main
elements of moisture-buffering modelling are described, and
reference is made to the literature for further details of the
physical models used in the simulation tools.
2.2.1. Moisture transfer through the envelope parts
2.2.1.1. Coupled heat and mass flow models. Detailed, one-dimen-
sional coupled heat and water vapour transfer models are im-
plemented in IDA-ICE and HAM-Tools. Both are based on similar
equations, and suppose that moisture transfer is governed by one
moisture transfer potential, the humidity by volume, v (kg/m3).
The governing equations for the moisture (1) and energy (2)
transfer are then:
 
qv q qv
Relative ¼ dv , (1)
qt qx qx
Humidity (%)
 
qT q qT qv
rc ¼ l þ hvap , (2)
qt qx qx qt
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518 M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524

Table 2
Simulation tools and users in this study

Simulation tool Detailed presentation of the tool Validation of the tool Institution, country

TRNSYS (version 16) [30,31] [32] UG (University of Ghent), Belgium

IDA-ICE [33–35] [36,37] TTU (Tallinn University of Technology), Estonia
Clim2000 [38,39] [20,40] CETHIL (Centre de Thermique de Lyon), France
HAM-Tools [41,42] [43,44] CTH (Chalmers University), Sweden
TRNSYS (version 15) [30,31] [32] PUCPR (Pontifical Catholic University of Parana), Brazil

70 70

60 60
Relative humidity (%)

Relative humidity (%)

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10
0 0
27/1 0:00 27/1 12:00 28/1 0:00 28/1 12:00 29/1 0:00 27/01 00:00 27/01 12:00 28/01 00:00 28/01 12:00 29/01 00:00
UG PUCPR UG PUCPR
TTU CTH TTU CTH
CETHIL experimental measurements CETHIL experimental measurements

Fig. 4. Comparison of measured indoor RH with simulation results (left-test room, right-reference room).

where r is the density of the material (kg/m3), dv is the vapour
permeability (m2/s), l is the thermal conductivity [W/(m K)], c is
the specific heat capacity of the material [J/(kg K)] and hvap is the
latent heat of vaporisation (J/kg). In the current study, the liquid
flow and airflow through the envelope are neglected. This sim-
plification does not influence the result, because infiltration air-
flow is included to the overall ventilation rate and condensation
did not occur. The walls are discretised, using finite volume
method with several nodes per wall.
2.2.1.2. Simplified moisture-buffering models. Both TRNSYS versions
and Clim2000 simulation tools only compute heat transfers in
building envelope elements and use simplified models to assess
moisture-buffering capacity of materials in contact with the in-
door air. Both tools use similar types of penetration depth models
with two nodes (one for deep layer and one for surface layer) to
represent the average behaviour of room materials.
Humidity levels in materials (in deep and surface layers) are
then described using Eqs. (3) and (4):
dosurf
Asurf ¼ bsurf ðoint  osurf Þ þ bdeep ðodeep  osurf Þ,
dt
dodeep
Adeep ¼ bdeep; ðosurf  odeep Þ.
dt
In TRNSYS, moisture transfers are governed by differences in the
humidity ratio o (), and both transfer coefficients b and storage
coefficients A are computed, using materials properties for vapour
transfers and the quantity of materials in the room.
In Clim2000, only Eq. (3) is used, the differences in the
humidity ratio o () are simply replaced by differences in water
vapour density r (kg/m3) and rdeep is fixed to represent the mean
value of indoor air RH. Transfer coefficients b and storage
coefficients A were experimentally evaluated by Duforestel and
Dalicieux [38] to represent ‘low absorption’ and ‘high absorption’
finishing materials and furniture.
2.2.2. Validation of simulation models: RH and energy demand with
constant ventilation rate
Even though in this study previously validated simulation tools
were used, it was necessary to validate the simulation models. The
validation was performed on a configuration very similar to the
case study analysed in this paper. Validation against experimental
data is essential, because all simulation tools are different: they
have different simulation possibilities and limitations, material
properties are defined differently, etc. In this study, simulation
tools were tested against experimental data for both test and
reference rooms (referred as run A in this study). Validation was
done as the blind test (only input parameters were given [26]).
More detailed description of the experimental data and compar-
ison between simulated and measured data can be found in Refs.
[26,27]. Fig. 4 shows an example of indoor air RH for two typical
days. Simulation tools are able to represent correctly experimental
data; the spread between the simulated and the measured values
(3)
is in general below 10% of RH. The spread between experimental
and simulated data is always lower than 5% for CTH and lower
than 10% for UG. For the three remaining results (TTU, CETHIL and
(4)
PUCPR) the spread is lower than 10% during 95% of the time,
meaning that the difference is higher than 10% only once a day
(during the highest moisture production). This difference is the
largest for the reference room simulated by CETHIL, for minimum
and maximum values. This fact can be easily explained by the
simplified model used to represent moisture sorption by painted
plaster (envelope material directly in contact with the indoor air).
Simplified model used in Clim2000 has only two sets of default
parameters (see Section 2.2.2); which do not correspond to the
materials used in the experiment. Certainly, they can be adjusted,
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M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524 519

using experimental data of indoor RH. However, the results energy, RH, ventilation flow, as well as vapour flow between air
presented here are the direct results of the blind test, without any and construction for both test and reference rooms. Run A was
‘tuning’ of parameters according to monitored data. used for validation against the experimental data and as reference
Also, overall energy demand is simulated for both steps 1 for assessment of indoor moisture management performance. As
and 2; the difference between the experimental and simulated the computed indoor temperature was exactly equal to 20 1C for all
results is under 10% for CETHIL, TTU, PUCPR and UG, as simulation tools, the RH was used for comparative purposes.
represented in Fig. 5.
The comparison between simulated and measured data shows
3.1. Impact of indoor moisture management strategies on the indoor
satisfactory performance of simulation models. In the following,
climate
the tools are used to perform parametric studies.

Daily evolution of indoor RH for both ventilation systems in a

room with no hygroscopic surfaces (test room of step 1, Table 1) is
3. Results and discussion presented in Fig. 6. Clearly, the amplitude of RH variations is
smaller for RHS ventilation. Fig. 7 provides more details about the
The sets of results used in this study are presented in Table 3. statistical distribution of RH. It is noticeable that maximum values
Results included calculated hourly averaged temperatures, heating are very similar for both systems, (even slightly lower for RHS
system). However, the mean and average values, as well as the
1000 minimum values are higher for RHS system. Minimum values are
STEP 1 STEP 2
approximately 20% RH for the RHS system and go as low as 10% in
900
the case of constant ventilation. The target values of the indoor air
800 RH were between 40% and 50%, as proposed by EN 15251 [45] for
class A buildings.
energy demand (kWh)

700
As shown in Fig. 8, the impact of ventilation systems is much
600 smaller in the mild period. The spread of RH values is still smaller
500
and the minimum values are higher for RHS ventilation. However,
the differences are very small, approximately 2–3% of RH. Both
400 Figs. 8 and 9 illustrate the influence of moisture-buffering on the
300
indoor RH. When some hygroscopic surfaces are in contact with
the indoor air, the amplitude of RH variations is much lower; it
200 drops approximately from 50% to 20%. This was confirmed by run
100 D, presented in Fig. 10 where the participants proposed some
hygroscopic materials associated with RHS ventilation. In this
0 case, the amplitude was less than 20%; and 50% of values were
experiment UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR
within an interval of 8%, considered very stable. TTU and CTH used
Fig. 5. Comparison of measured heating energy use with simulation results for the wood to reduce very efficiently RH variations. Indeed, the
reference room and two simulation steps (step 1–17 days, step 2–34 days). maximum spread was then 15% for TTU and 24% for CTH. PUCPR

Table 3
Studied configurations and sets of results

Run A (exp./sim.) Run B (sim.) Run C (sim.) Run D (sim.) Run E (sim.)

Ventilation Constant RHS Proposed by participant RHS Proposed by participant

Indoor materials Original Original Original Proposed by participant Proposed by participant

Step 1 (17/01–02/02) UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, PUCPR UG, TTU UG, TTU
Step 2 (14/02–19/03) UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, PUCPR UG, TTU, CTH UG, TTU
Step 3 (28/03–21/04) UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, CETHIL, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, PUCPR UG, TTU, CTH, PUCPR UG, TTU, PUCPR

70 70

60 60
Relative humidity (%)

Relative humidity (%)

50 50

40 40

30 30

20 20

10 10

0 0
27/1 0:00 27/1 12:00 28/1 0:00 28/1 12:00 29/1 0:00 27/1 0:00 27/1 12:00 28/1 0:00 28/1 12:00 29/1 0:00

UG PUCPR TTU CTH CETHIL UG PUCPR TTU CTH CETHIL

Fig. 6. Indoor RH in the test room computed by all participants: run A-constant ventilation rate (left) and run B-RHS ventilation (right).
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520 M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524

Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median
90 90
80 80

Relative Humidity [%]

Relative Humidity [%]

70 70
60 60
50 50
40 40
30 30
20 20
10 target RH
10 target RH
0 0
UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR

Fig. 7. Indoor RH in the test room during step 1 for both ventilation systems: run A-constant ventilation rate (left) and run B-RHS ventilation (right).

Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median
90 90

80 80
Relative Humidity [%]
Relative Humidity [%]

70 70

60 60

50 50

40 40

30 30
target RH target RH
20 20
UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR

Fig. 8. Indoor RH during step 3 for both ventilation systems (UG, TTU and CTH include hygroscopic materials and CETHIL and PUCPR do not): run A-constant ventilation
rate (left) and run B-RHS ventilation (right).

90 Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median

80 90
Relative humidity (%)

70 80
Relative Humidity [%]

60
70
50
60
40
30 50
20 40
10
30
0 target RH
16/04 16/04 17/04 17/04 18/04 20
00:00 12:00 00:00 12:00 00:00 UG TTU CTH PUCPR

UG PUCPR TTU CTH CETHIL Fig. 10. Indoor RH in step 3, run D: with RHS ventilation and hygroscopic materials
proposed by the participant.
Fig. 9. Indoor RH in step 3 with (UG, CTH) and without (TTU, CETHIL, PUCPR)
additional moisture-buffering materials for constant ventilation.

used an enlarged surface of gypsum board (which resulted in a applied. The suggestion was to increase this lower limit to
maximum spread of 25%), and UG used concrete to buffer decrease the ventilation rate in low RH regions. Finally, a
humidity variations (and obtained a maximum spread of 22%). more stable indoor RH was achieved for the following schemes
Additional simulations have been performed to improve the (see Fig. 11):
RHS ventilation by adapting it to the outdoor climate (run C).
Indeed, run B confirmed that the indoor RH in the test room  Step 1 (cold): If the indoor RH o40%, the airflow rate is set to
was often below 40% because of the dry outside air in winter. For 10 m3/h, if RH 450%, it is set to 40 m3/h; in between the flow is
steps 2 and 3 the indoor RH never dropped under 25%, linearly interpolated. In this case, the humidity outside was
and thus the lowest airflow rate (10 m3/h) was almost never quite low and no buffering occurred. Not much difference in
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M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524 521

indoor RH was noticed when applying another ventilation
scheme.
 Step 2 (cold): If the indoor RH o40%, the airflow rate is set to
10 m3/h, if RH 450%, it is set to 20 m3/h; in between the flow is
linearly interpolated. In this case the maximum ventilation
rate could be decreased because there is moisture-buffering
and the outdoor air is still quite dry.
 Step 3 (mild): If the indoor RH o40%, the airflow rate is set to
10 m3/h, if RH 450%, it is set to 50 m3/h; in between the flow is
linearly interpolated. Here again the maximum airflow rate
was increased, because of the higher indoor humidity caused
by the higher humidity of the outdoor air.
Fig. 11. Different RHS ventilation schemes adapted to the outdoor climate.
3.2. Impact of indoor moisture management strategies on energy
demand
Ventilation airflow rates for runs A and B for the test room are
compared in Fig. 12. During step 1 (cold period), the average value
of the airflow was approximately 63% of the constant ventilation
airflow rate. The differences are much less significant for the mild
period, where both mean ventilation rates are very similar. Very
good agreement between all tools on both average and amplitude
values can be seen in Fig. 12, left for step 1 with no hygroscopic
materials. Only CTH obtained larger maximum spread; however,
the maximum value represents only very few singular points
corresponding precisely to the instant when the ventilation starts,
due to a sudden peak in vapour production. The spread between
values computed by different tools is higher for step 3 (Fig. 12,
right). This is partly explained by the fact that hygroscopic
materials were differently represented in all tools.
Energy demand is presented in Fig. 13. Ventilation systems are
compared for both average values (representing energy demand)
and maximum values (representing heating power to be in-
stalled). During the cold season (low outdoor absolute humidity,
see Fig. 13 left), reduction in energy demand is clearly identified in
the case of RHS ventilation. The energy savings computed by all
tools are between 14% and 17% of energy demand. This is directly
correlated with the reduction of the average value of fresh air
flowing into the room. However, most of the simulations predict
higher peak power (rise of as much as 8%) in the case of RHS
ventilation. This is easily explained by the sudden rise of air
change when vapour release starts, which combined with the very
cold outdoor leads to a higher heating power demand, in order to

Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median Ι min - max 25-75 percentile mean median
45 constant vent.
45
40 40
Ventilation flow [m3/h]

Ventilation flow [m3/h]

35 35
30 30
25 25
20 20
15 15
constant vent.
10 10
5 5
0 0
UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR

Fig. 12. Computed ventilation airflow during step 1 (left) and during step 3 (right).

Av. Const Max Const Av. RHS Max RHS

Av. Const Max Const Av. RHS Max RHS
1400 1400
1200 1200
Power demand [W]

Power demand [W]

1000 1000
800 800
600 600
400 400
200 200
0 0
UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR UG TTU CETHIL CTH PUCPR

Fig. 13. Power demand for runs A and B (no hygroscopic materials) during step 1 (left) and during step 3 (right).
 ARTICLE IN PRESS

522 M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524

maintain constant temperature. In reality, the situation might be
somewhat different, because most vapour sources are associated
with heat release (physical activity, cooking, shower, etc.).
For mild periods, the difference in energy use by both
ventilation systems is much lower (between 1% and 7%). It
confirms values from Fig. 12, right, where the average airflow
values for RHS ventilation are very similar to the constant
ventilation rate.
3.3. RH versus CO2 sensitive ventilations
IDA-ICE was used to include the effect of indoor CO2 on both
IAQ estimations and on controlling the ventilation rate. Indeed,
reducing energy used for ventilation of buildings should be made
without compromising the IAQ. Indoor CO2 levels can be used as
an indicator of the presence of human body odour and also are
often employed as an indicator to control the performance of a
ventilation system. In runs C and E, the ventilation systems with
the airflow controlled by carbon dioxide (CO2) adapt the airflow to
changes in the indoor CO2
 when CO2o600 ppm, the flow is set to the minimum value of
3
Qmin ¼ 10 m /h,
 when CO241500 ppm, the flow is set to the maximum value of
Qmax ¼ 40 m3/h, and
 when CO2 is between the minimum and the maximum, the
airflow rate is linearly interpolated.
According to new standard EN 15251 [45], 1200 ppm was used
as the maximum permissible indoor air CO2 content (outdoor CO2
concentration was 400 ppm) for third indoor climate category.
A slightly higher limit for maximum ventilation was set to
increase the capacity of the ventilation system.
The diurnal CO2 and humidity production patterns used in the
simulation tool are shown in Fig. 14. CO2 production was
calculated based on metabolic activity rate of 0.8 met during
the night and 1.2 met during peaks in the morning and the
afternoon.
The main results, presented in Table 4, were:
 In the case of constant ventilation, the lowest CO2 level but
also the highest energy consumption and RH deviation were
observed.
 There was similar energy consumption in the case of CO2- and
RH-controlled ventilation systems, especially during cold
period (steps 1 and 2).
 Hygroscopic indoor surface materials (wood fibreboard com-
pared to gypsum board) damped the fluctuations of indoor RH
in all cases, irrespective of ventilation system.
 During cold period, in the case of RH controlled ventilation, the
longest period when the CO2 was higher than 1200 ppm
occurred.
 During warm period (step 3), both RH and CO2 controlled
ventilations, were keeping the CO2 levels under the limit.
 During warm period (step 3), with RHS ventilation and wood
fibreboard, the best stability of HR values was achieved (65% of
the time RH values were within the target interval).

4. Conclusions

This study confirmed that RHS ventilation is a good way of

Fig. 14. Diurnal CO2 and humidity production pattern.
reducing building energy demand in residential buildings. This
fact is directly related to the reduction of the mean ventilation
rate when the building is not used. Presented results demon-
strate that RHS ventilation reduces the spread between the
minimum and the maximum values of RH. In the tested case, it
was found that the use of a RHS system could reduce the mean
ventilation rate of 30–40% in the cold period and generate 12–17%

Table 4
Percentage of time when the indoor climate parameters were out of the target RH (40–50%) and over acceptable CO2 limit value (1200 ppm) and associated average power
demand

Run A Run B Run C Run D Run E

Ventilation flow Constant RH controlled CO2 controlled RH controlled CO2 controlled
Indoor surfaces Aluminium foil Gypsum board Gypsum board Wood fibreboard Wood fibreboard

Step 1 (17.01–2.02)
CO2 41200 ppm 0 33 0 33 0
RH out of [40–50%] 84 79 80 79 80
Average power demand (W) 674 571 589 571 589

Step 2 (14.02–19.03)
CO2 41200 ppm 0 35 0 45 0
RH out of [40–50%] 83 65 67 57 72
Average power demand (W) 650 562 570 550 558

Step 3 (28.03–21.04)
CO2 41200 ppm 0 1 0 0 0
RH out of [40–50%] 62 49 79 35 69
Average power demand (W) 392 388 351 390 348
 ARTICLE IN PRESS
M. Woloszyn et al. / Building and Environment 44 (2009) 515–524
of energy savings. However, during the mild period, the savings
are much lower (only about 2%), mainly because of much higher
external moisture content. It should be stressed that the energy
savings are realised while keeping the peak RH values at the
same level, therefore, without raising the risk of condensation.
This is a significant advantage of this type of demand controlled
ventilation.
However, reducing energy used for ventilation of buildings
should be made without compromising the IAQ. For example, in
cold climates outdoor air is very dry; therefore, the indoor air is
also dry, but even then the ventilation rate cannot be too low.
Moisture production depends directly on the human activity.
Moreover, indoor CO2 levels can be used as an indicator of the
presence of human body odour. Then, the compromise could be a
combination of CO2 controlled and RH controlled ventilation
systems. Of course all other pollutants (e.g. VOCs or CO) should be
kept within correct limits. Therefore, the lower and upper limits of
ventilation rate must be carefully chosen.
This study also confirmed that the use of moisture-buffering
materials is a very efficient way to reduce the amplitude of daily
moisture variations. It was even possible, by the combined effect
of ventilation and wood as buffering material (see Fig. 10) to keep
the indoor RH at a very stable level, between 43% and 59%.
The deviation of results between different simulation tools,
remaining within a reasonable range, gives some more confidence
in the tools. Also all codes, with rather different HAM models,
proved their performance in HAM modelling of whole buildings.
Acknowledgements
This study was done within the cooperative project Annex 41
‘Whole Building Heat, Air and Moisture Response’ of the
International Energy Agency’s (IEA) Energy Conservation in
Buildings and Community Systems (ECBCS) program [46]. More
details about whole building hygrothermal modelling in the IEA
Annex 41 can be found in Ref. [26]. All participants of the IEA
Annex 41 are acknowledged for their useful discussions and
remarks.
The authors gratefully acknowledge the support from Ing.
Kristin Lengsfeld from the Fraunhofer Institute for Building
Physics (IBP) in Holzkirchen, Germany, who provided the experi-
mental data needed for validation.
The authors want to thank for financial support of this study:
Brazilian Research Council (CNPq) of the Secretary for Science and
Technology of Brazil, Tallinn University of Technology (B605,
V352) and ADEME, France (Grant no. 03 04 C 0147).
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