Humidity Conditions for Exterior Walls Insulation (Case Study of Residential Housing Development in Saint-Petersburg)

Residential housing in Saint-Petersburg built-up in 1960-1995 can be featured by poor thermal properties. New requirements assigned for energy efficiency of buildings called for insulation. Heat losses are primarily specified by thermal properties of building envelopes depending on what humidity conditions construction materials are exposed to. High humidity of exterior walls can result in diminution of thermal properties and increase in heat losses. Besides, excessive moistening of envelopes may lead to cladding peeling, their deterioration and service life reduction. When designing building envelopes a crucial issue arises-forecast of temperature and humidity conditions for buildings in service. The article deals with an option for exterior walls insulation in the case of buildings with protective finishing coating made of thin plaster. A structure for external walls insulation based on heat insulating slabs made of rock wool has been taken. A required thickness of an insulation material has been determined, and an analysis of humidity conditions for insulated and non-insulated exterior walls has been performed.