Evaluation of thermal behavior in an early 20th century Valladolid brick facade, according to its water content

Abstract

Nowadays, the environment and energy waste are among the main concerns of developed societies. The building is a sector of enormous influence on the evolutions of energy consumption and CO2 emissions. It is necessary to take into account that, in Spain, residential buildings and those in the tertiary sector represent 26% of final energy consumption, with 17% and 9%, respectively. In addition to this, the rehabilitation of our built-up park plays a very important role in this context. Many of the rehabilitated buildings were built with brick facades, mainly between the last decades of the 19th century and early 20th century. For this reason, it is very important to analyze the real behavior of these centennial enclosures by a detailed study of the energy flows through them, in transitory regime; since, as evidenced in recent studies, as well as in some regulations such as UNE-EN ISO 13786, the usually calculated parameter of thermal transmittance at steady state may not be the most significant. Also, these historical facades enclosures usually have a high hygroscopicity and, therefore, a high capacity to absorb water. This circumstance generates a humidity that can significantly alter the energy flows that cross the facades. Against this background, the purpose of this communication is to show the research that is being carried out to quantify the influence that humidity has on energy flows that cross these brick walls of historical buildings. © 2020, University of Cantabria - Building Technology R&D Group. All rights reserved.