A research project has been conducted to investigate the impact of the initial air leakage characteristics on the hygrothermal performance of insulated walls retrofitted with rigid insulation added either on the warm side or on the cold side of the wood studs. This paper presents the experimental setup developed to study and document the air leakage patterns. The research project involves the construction of a test hut inside an environmental chamber where winter, and then spring, steady-state conditions are simulated. The methods used to assess the impact of the air leakage characteristics are the three-dimensional monitoring of temperatures and the two-dimensional monitoring of moisture contents within the assemblies. Temperature monitoring results are presented using isotherms for the assemblies with no rigid insulation added.

AUTHOR: Guylaine Desmarais, Dominique Derome, Paul Fazio, Ph.D., P.E.
CITATION: Thermal Performance of the Exterior Envelopes of Buildings VII
KEYWORDS: December, Florida, 1998
YEAR: 1998