Abstract
The conservation of cultural heritage built of historical brick masonry alongside meeting targets in energy reduction will most likely require widespread installation of internal wall insulation (IWI). In London, traditional buildings (pre-1919) make up 40% of the existing stock and insulating from the interior is a likely retrofit solution for solid brick walls. Adding insulation may introduce a higher risk to moisture accumulation and consequences such as mould growth and material decay. To investigate resilience to future moisture loads, three interior insulation assemblies (conforming to two U-value guidelines) were simulated in DELPHIN under reference, near-future (2040), and far-future climate (2080) scenarios. Calcium silicate, phenolic foam, and wood fibre assemblies were simulated. The reference year climate file was compiled from observed data and future files developed using the UK Climate Projections 2018 (UKCP18). Assemblies were evaluated for moisture accumulation, mould growth risk, and freeze-thaw (FT) risk. Results show low-to-medium risks in 2040 and high risks in 2080, assemblies of higher absorptivity and thinner insulation comparatively performing best. The calcium silicate assembly fared best for moisture performance; however, all assemblies will be subject to high moisture risk levels in the far future and responsible retrofits must take this and alternative design solutions into account.
Highlights
There is a global call to action to tackle the climate crisis; in the most recent update to the Climate Change Act 2008, the UK became the first major economy to pledge net zero emissions by 2050 [1]
The analysis considered two capillary active systems developed for internal wall insulation: calcium silicate and dense wood fibre board [39]
A similar ranking process was undertaken for the 12 available projection sets
Summary
Publisher’s Note: MDPI stays neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations. There is a global call to action to tackle the climate crisis; in the most recent update to the Climate Change Act 2008, the UK became the first major economy to pledge net zero emissions by 2050 [1]. In the UK, building operations account for 34% of the nation’s greenhouse gas emissions with fossil fuel heating making up almost half of energy use [2]. With around 25% of homes built prior to 1919 [3], internal wall insulation (IWI) is the likely method of bringing solid wall homes to modern energy performance standards while preserving the aesthetic and conservational value of historic exteriors [4]
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