Fundamental parameters of heat and moisture transfer for energy efficiency in buildings

Heat and moisture transfer in a room is critical for the indoor comfort. This first chapter introduces the basic concepts of heat and moisture transfer in buildings, dealing with the main theoretic fundamentals. It focuses on the most common parameters, used to analyze heat and moisture transfer in buildings. Furthermore this section takes into account a numerical model to calculate the simultaneous heat and moisture transfer in building materials. It is demonstrated that both the microstructure and physical parameters, e.g. density and porosity, may influence greatly the hygrothermal behaviour of the building materials. This is the reason why this chapter also gives prominence to the porous materials.