The energy consequences of moisture in the walls of UK houses

Abstract

The aim of this paper is to study the effect of waterproofing treatments on reducing the building energy consumption in three types of wet walls affected by moisture content. These three walls are solid wall terrace, cavity wall semi-detached and filled cavity wall semi-detached. With the need to reduce energy use due to the climate change challenge it is important the building energy is reduced. Reducing heat loss through the building wall has become a big topic discussion. National regulations such as approved document L have defined strict U-values that need to be adhered to in order to develop an energy efficient building. However, this research aims to discuss the impact of heat loss through a brick wall when under wet conditions, which some researchers have confirmed it increases the energy consumption (Rhee-Duverne and Baker, 2013). However, this research takes it a step forward by exploring how much energy can be saved by adding a waterproof barrier which contributes to the UK Government's target of reducing and emissions by 80% by 2050 below 1990 baseline levels.