Modeling Moisture in Residential Buildings with a Multizone IAQ Program.
Modeling Moisture in Residential Buildings with a
Multizone IAQ Program.
(818 K)
Emmerich, S. J.; Persily, A. K.; Nabinger, S. J.
Indoor Air 2002, 9th International Conference on Indoor
Air Quality and Climate. Proceedings. Volume 4. June
30-July 5, 2002, Monterey, CA, 328-333 pp, 2002.
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Keywords:
residential buildings; moisture; humidity
Abstract:
Although water vapor is not typically thought of as an
indoor contaminant, multizone indoor air quality (IAQ)
modeling can be used to predict water vapor
concentrations in each zone by applying mass balance
equations that incorporate water vapor sources and
sinks. However, very few attempts have been made to
model water vapor with a multizone IAQ program and such
modeling presents unique issues including the
appropriateness of model assumptions, the adequacy of
moisture storage and generation models, availability of
input data, and metrics for analysis. This paper
describes measurements of humidity and other IAQ
parameters in a single zone test house. Experiments
included generation of water vapor with a humidifier
during a variety of ambient conditions. Moisture storage
and generation elements were then added to a previously
validated airflow model of the building to evaluate the
capability of the CONTAMW multizone IAQ model to predict
indoor humidity levels
Building and Fire Research Laboratory
National Institute of Standards and Technology
Gaithersburg, MD 20899