Hygrothermal performance prediction of heritage constructions and new buildings

Constructions belonging to the cultural heritage of a country are valuable assets and must be preserved for future generations. Therefore it is important that damaging hgyrothermal conditions due to inappropriate restoration or retrofit measures are avoided. Even it the construction remains unaltered, changes in building operation may lead to potentially harmful temperature or humidity conditions within the structure. In order to assess the effects of any construction measure it is useful to study the hygrothermal performance of all building components concerned. This can be done by monitoring the relevant conditions with sensors or by hygrothermal simulation with transient calculation tools. While monitoring will only provide the current status, hygrothermal simulations can also predict what will happen when the construction is altered or the indoor climate changed.