Will it Rot?

Did you know that it’s possible to accurately predict if a wall or a roof is going to get wet and stay wet inside? 

This is really significant.

With the right data, it’s possible to model the flow of heat and moisture through any building structure. This means that we can predict if something is going to get wet, how long it’s going to stay wet for, and therefore determine the risk of mould and decay. In short, we can know if a building is going to fail or not, before it’s built.

Why isn’t everyone doing this already? That’s something we want to discuss in a series of events coming up at the pro clima HUB. 

Hygrothermal Analysis

Thermal analysis is useful for estimating the heat loss through a wall, roof or other building element. But that’s only part of the story.

We also need to know what will happen to moisture. If moisture is likely to accumulate within our building structure, we’re going to have a problem. This is where hygrotheral analysis comes in.

Hygrothermal analysis takes out the guess work. It allows us to predict the transfer of both heat and moisture through, and within complicated building elements. 

WUFI?

WUFI? (which stands for W?rme Und Feuchte Instation?r) means 'heat and moisture transiency'. It was created by Prof. Dr. Hartwig Künzel and the team at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics (IBP).

WUFI? is a suit of software for conducting hygrothermal analysis - the combined analysis of heat and moisture flows. Using WUFI? allows a skilled modeller to literally see what will happen inside a given building element, over time.

Using WUFI? to Keep Buildings Dry and Healthy

Nearly all building elements (roofs, walls, floors, window and door joints etc.) will accumulate some moisture, some of the time. Problems only occur when more moisture comes in to the structure (through driving rain, condensation and airflow), than the moisture that goes out (by drying). When moisture is allowed to accumulate for extended periods, then mould grows, timber rots and metal corrodes. Ultimately, people get sick, our buildings start to fail, and the lawyers get called in!

WUFI? was created to allow designers to check their designs before those designs become real buildings. By running scenarios with different combinations of products we can fail in the virtual world until we optimise the design. Then we can build with confidence that our real structure will stay dry, healthy and strong for decades.

Better Modelling in New Zealand and Australia

Currently there are only a few professionals in New Zealand and Australia who have heard of WUFI? or hygrothermal modelling. The good news is that we have some experts here and we can also quickly learn from overseas experience in this field.

We do have a few barriers to overcome. The first is getting the word out that such a thing as hygrothermal modelling exists.

Secondly, we need good, local data from product manufacturers and suppliers.

Then finally we need more design professionals to train up and become proficient in hygrothermal modelling and to start promoting this important service to clients.

Jump on the WUFI? Wagon!

To find out more, and to join the conversation, please come along to our introduction to WUFI? on October 17th, 3 pm - 4:30 pm, followed by some networking at the pro clima HUB.

If you already know about WUFI?, please check out this session with WUFI? guru, Jesse Clarke who’s coming over from Sydney to run these sessions. 

When buildings go wrong, it effects everyone. I hope you’ll be able to join us to discuss how we can use software and good design to create better buildings.