Christopher Kendrick

Oxford Institute for Sustainable Development

ckendrick@brookes.ac.uk

Condensation in Buildings

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• What is condensation?

Condensation: Content
• Condensation in buildings/why worry?
• What causes condensation?
• Surface condensation
• Condensation in the structure
• Predicting where and when it occurs
• Avoiding condensation

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What is condensation?

Condensation: What 1
Air can carry water in vapour (gaseous) form
At a certain temperature, air can carry a
maximum amount of water vapour
One measure of the relative amount of water
vapour in the air is relative humidity (RH) in
percent
RH = g/kg water vapour in air x 100%
Max g/kg at that air temp

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• Water vapour will condense and appear as
liquid water when the air is cooled below the

Condensation: What2
temperature at which the RH reaches 100%.
• This temperature is called the DEWPOINT
• Surfaces at a temperature at or below the
local dewpoint will suffer from condensation
• Dewpoint is dependent upon the state of the
air, i.e. its temperature and relative humidity
• Psychrometric charts are used to assess
dewpoint

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Condensation: Psychrometry
Condensation in buildings can occur:

Condensation in buildings 1: Where

• ON surfaces such as walls and ceilings. This
visible SURFACE condensation is obvious
and can be usually remedied

• Within the construction itself: e.g.inside walls.

This is termed INTERSTITIAL condensation,
and is more dangerous because its effects are
not immediately obvious

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 Condensation in buildings 2: Moisture
Moisture is generated in buildings by:
• People (respiration, perspiration)
• Materials (concrete, mortar, paint, plaster)
• Washing (showers, baths, clothes)
• Cooking
• Leakage

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SURFACE condensation problems:

Condensation: in buildings 3: Why worry?

• Wet surfaces (sweating)
• Damage to surface finishes/plasters/paper
• Mould and fungi growth, ‘ghosting’
• Health issues (spores, bronchial trouble)
• All issues associated with damp

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Condensation: Mould
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Condensation: Mould
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Condensation: Mould
SURFACE condensation occurs when the

Surface condensation
temperature of the surface is below local
dewpoint. This could be because of thermal
(‘cold’) bridges where heat is flowing to
outside, for example:
• Corners (notice in bathrooms!)
• Elements penetrating insulation (fixings,
framing, balcony supports etc)
• Lintels, window reveals
• Junctions
Calculate using conduction analysis software
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Surface condensation
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Surface condensation
One way of assessing surface condensation risk is

Surface condensation
to calculate the TEMPERATURE FACTOR fRsi for
the area of interest:
fRsi = Inside surface temp – outside air temp
Inside air temp – outside air temp
BRE document IP17/01, referred to in Part L of the
Building Regulations, contains guidance on
recommended values of fRsi to avoid condensation
risk. Conduction modelling is a good way of
determining surface temperatures and modifying
designs as necessary.
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From BRE Information Paper IP17/01:

Surface condensation
Building Type fCRsi
Storage (warehouse) 0.3
Office, retail premises 0.5
Residential, schools 0.75
Sports halls, kitchens,canteens 0.8
Swimming pools, launderies 0.9

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Avoiding SURFACE condensation

Surface condensation
• Correct amount and positioning of insulation
• Thermal breaks if possible
• Consider lower conductivity materials
• Sufficient ventilation

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INTERSTITIAL condensation problems:

Condensation: in buildings 4: Why worry?

• Moisture build-up in insulation layer, leading
to degradation of performance, leading to
more condensation. A vicious circle.
• Swelling/warping/cracking/decay (rot) of
wood frame elements
• Corrosion (thinning of galvanized coating and
eventual rusting) of steel frame elements
• Moisture can track back and damage floors
etc.
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INTERSTITIAL condensation also occurs when
the temperature of a surface is below local

What causes condensation 2?

dewpoint. Analysis is more complex, and
causes depend upon:
• Moisture content of the air either side of
construction
• Temperature of the air either side of the
construction
• Thermal and vapour transfer properties of the
materials in the construction

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Vapour transfer is a PRESSURE driven
process. Each side of a construction is a

Condensation: Interstitial
vapour pressure, and vapour will be
transferred from higher to low pressure.
Vapour pressure (Vp) inside is generally
greater than vapour pressure outside:
Vpi >Vpo
Vapour will thus be transferred from inside a
building. Condensation will occur where a
material temperature drops below local
dewpoint.
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Taking a cross-section of a wall for example,
we can calculate:

Condensation: Interstitial
• Temperature gradient through the wall for
given inside/outside temperatures. We must of
course know the thermal conductivity (k in
W/mK) of each layer.
• Vapour pressure gradient through the same
wall, and, by reference to a psychrometric
chart, dewpoint gradient.
We can then plot these and see if and where
condensation will occur.
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Condensation: Interstitial.
Temperature gradient: must know thermal
resistance of each element Rte (and of total

Condensation: iInterstitial
construction) and outside/inside temps.
Rte (m2K/W) =Thickness of element(m)
Thermal conductivity k (W/mK)
Temperature drop across each material
= Known temp x (Rte/Rt total)

Work across from inside to outside calculating

interface temperatures.
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Vapour pressure (and hence DEWPOINT) gradient:
Need to know VAPOUR RESISTIVITY of each

Condensation: Interstitial
material. It is the inverse of vapour permeability.
VAPOUR RESISTIVITY measured in MNs/gm
VAPOUR RESISTANCE Rv = RESISTIVITY x
thickness
Vapour pressure drop across each material can be
calculated similarly to temperature:
Vp drop = Inside/outside vapour pressure drop x
(Rve/Rvtotal)
Use a psychrometric chart toMaterials
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Find the vapour pressure on the vertical axis, move
along horizontally to the saturation curve, and read

Condensation: Interstitial
off the dewpoint from the lower horizontal axis. E.g.
at 8mbar, dewpoint is approx 4 deg C

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Values of vapour resistivity are available in the
literature:

Condensation: Interstitial
Material Typical vapour
resistivity MNs/gm
Brick 50
Dense concrete 200
Plaster 60
Polyurethane 600
Lightweight block 30
Timber 70
Polythene 250,000
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Example wall construction:

Condensation: Interstitial
Material Thickness Thermal Vapour Thermal Vapour
(m) conductivity resistivity resistance resistance
(W/mK) (MNs/gm) (m2K/W) (MNs/g)
1. Inside surface - - - 0.13 -
resistance

2. Plaster 0.012 0.2 60 0.06 0.72

3. Block 0.1 0.25 40 0.4 4

4. Insulation 0.05 0.025 200 2 10

5. Cavity 0.05 - 5 0.18 0.25

6. Brick 0.1 0.75 50 0.13 5

7. Outside surface - - - 0.04 -

resistance

TOTAL 2.94 19.97

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Define test boundary conditions

Condensation: interstitial
BS5250 Condensation in Buildings gives a very
testing set of conditions:
• INSIDE: 15 degrees C, vapour pressure
14.6mbar, 85% RH
• OUTSIDE: 5 degrees C, vapour pressure
8.3mbar, 95% RH
10 degrees C temperature differential
6.3mbar vapour pressure differential

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Temperature gradient:

Condensation: Interstitial
Across material Thermal Temperature drop Temperature
Resistance (degrees C) (degrees C)
(m2K/W)
Inside surface 0.13 10 x (0.13/2.94) = 15-0.44 =
resistance 0.44 14.56
Plaster 0.06 0.20 14.36

Block 0.40 1.36 13.00

Insulation 2.00 6.80 6.20

Cavity 0.18 0.61 5.59

Brick 0.13 0.44 5.15

Outside surface 0.04 0.15 5.00

resistance

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Dewpoint gradient:

Condensation: Interstitial
Across material Vapour Vapour pressure Vapour pressure Dewpoint
Resistance drop (mbar) (mbar) (degrees C)
(MNs/g)
Inside surface - - 14.6 13.1
resistance
Plaster 0.72 6.3 x (0.72/19.97) 14.37 12.6
= 0.23
Block 4.00 1.27 13.10 11.2

Insulation 10.00 3.19 9.91 6.9

Cavity 0.25 0.08 9.83

Brick 5.00 1.53 8.3 4.5

Outside surface - -
resistance

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Condensation: Interstitial.
• Construction temperature falls below

Condensation: interstitial
dewpoint within insulation layer
• This MAY be a problem, and it would be wise
to review
• However, further calculation can reveal if
there is a risk of moisture build-up (again in
BS5250)
• Vapour barrier/checks can be included to
reduce vapour pressure on the WARM side of
the insulation (foil-backed plasterboard,
polythene or other membrane)
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Final thoughts:

Condensation: Conclusion1
• Condensation is not always fatal and some
may be acceptable if allowed to dry out
cyclically!
• Think about vapour resistivity of materials,
and if possible move from HIGH resistance at
inside to LOW resistance outside to allow any
moisture to migrate back out
• Adding EXTERNAL insulation is a great way
of raising the construction temperature profile
away from the dewpoint. Internal insulation is
best avoided.
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And then there are always the software tools so

Condensation: Conclusion2
that you just have to press a button!
Check out www.techlit.co.uk to see JPA
Designer (example on next slide)
At least now you will know what it all means…

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Condensation: software
Bibliography

Condensation: bibliog
Smith B J et al, Environmental Science,
Longman 1996 (Library 697 SMI)
Oliver A, Dampness in Buildings, 2nd ed
Blackwell 1997 (Library 693.893 OLI)
Control of Condensation in Buildings BS5250,
BSI, 1989 (available online: ask library)
Condensation, BRS Digest 110, 1969 (in
Library - pamphlet)
Assessing thermal bridging, BRE IP17/01,
BRE, 2001 (in Library –EESB
pamphlet)
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 The End
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