Moisture Influence on the Thermal Operation of the Late 19th Century Brick Facade, in a Historic Building in the City of Zamora

Abstract

To improve the energy performance of restored cultural heritage buildings, it is necessary to know the real values of thermal conductivity of its envelope, mainly of the facades, and to study an intervention strategy that does not interfere with the preservation of their cultural and architectural values. The brick walls with which a large number of these buildings were constructed, usually absorb water, leading to their deterioration, whereas the heat transmission through them is much higher (than when they are dry). This aspect is often not taken into account when making interventions to improve the energy efficiency of these buildings, which makes them ineffective. This article presents the results of an investigation that analyzes thermal behavior buildings of the early 20th century in the city of Zamora, Spain. It has been concluded that avoiding moisture in brick walls not only prevents its deterioration but represents a significant energy saving, especially in buildings that have porous brick masonry walls and with significant thicknesses.

Effect of Moisture on the Thermal Conductivity of Cellulose and Aramid Paper Impregnated with Various Dielectric Liquids

“…These studies supplement the knowledge regarding heat transport in the transformer and can be used to calculate the temperature rise in the transformer, both at the design and operation stages. The influence of moisture on the thermal conductivity of materials is a very important issue, not only in terms of the operation of insulation systems of power devices but also in many other cases, such as the energy efficiency of buildings [44,45].…”

Verification of a Nondestructive Method for Assessing the Humidity of Saline Brick Walls in Historical Buildings

“…Due to this, the water molecules contained in the ground-along with the salts dissolved in them-gradually penetrate into the wall's components, in turn moisturizing and salting it. The level of dampness and salinity of walls in such buildings usually significantly exceeds the permissible levels determined on the basis of classifications commonly accepted in technical literature [2][3][4][5][6], which are presented in Figure 1. [8][9][10][11][12][13][14]).…”

“…The problem of excessive moisture in brick walls usually concerns old buildings that have been used for several dozen years or more [1][2][3][4][5][6]. A special group of such old buildings concerns those that are included in the register of monuments and those that are subjected to special conservation protection.…”

Traditional Town Houses in Kyoto, Japan: Present and Future

“…Therefore, such risks have been assessed by experiments and computational simulations [22][23][24]. Furthermore, it is concerning that heat can easily be transported through humid walls, leading to increased energy consumption [25]. When applying internal insulation to Kyo-machiya, these issues should be examined beforehand.…”