Factors governing the development of moisture disorders for integration into building performance simulation

• A comprehensive list of possible types of moisture damage in buildings is discussed.
• A proposal of factors governing the risk of occurrence of each type of damage is done.
• Methodology is evaluated on a test case combining simulations with proposed factors.

Excessive levels of moisture in buildings lead to building pathologies. Moisture also has an impact on the indoor air quality and the hygrothermal comfort of the building's occupants. A comprehensive list of the possible types of damage caused by moisture in buildings is discussed in the present paper. Damage is classified into four types: damage due to the direct action of moisture, damage activated by moisture, damage that occurred in a moist environment and deterioration of the indoor environment. Since moisture pathologies strongly depend on the hygrothermal fields in buildings, integrating these factors into a global model combining heat air and mass transfers and building energy simulation is important. Therefore, the list of moisture damage types is completed with a proposal of factors governing the risk of occurrence of each type of damage. The methodology is experimented on a simple test case combining hygrothermal simulations with the assessment of possible moisture disorders.