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Heat & Moisture Simulation Workshop | Assess Risk & Prevent Interstitial Condensation

Is the building you are designing or retrofitting:

• traditionally built or a protected structure?
• to feature a solid wall or unventilated roof buildup?
• tall or in an area of strong winds?
• damp or considered problematic?
• to be fitted with internal wall insulation?
• to be made very airtight and highly insulated?
• to feature timber in vulnerable positions, like joist ends?

If you are concerned about interstitial condensation, mould or rot then you need to evaluate the risks with WUFI® Pro.

This two-day course provides a practical, hands-on introduction to WUFI® Pro ‘hygrothermal’ numerical simulation. It is the world leading simulation software for understanding the risk of interstitial condensation, mould, rot and freeze-thaw in buildings.

Both days of training include hands-on workshops using the software, and you will get the full version of the WUFI® Pro software with a 6-week temporary licence, as well as access to support on the online WUFI® Forum for that period.

National standards, market signals

WUFI® Pro is one of only two numerical simulation tools validated under BS EN 15026, the standard for hygrothermal numerical simulation software. It has particular relevance for those focused on insulation retrofits of solid wall construction, roof buildups, buildings in exposed conditions and conditions that can stress the building fabric (such as failures or leakage).

‘Moisture Risk Assessment and Guidance’ authored by STBA (commissioned by DECC) and ‘Technical Paper 15’ authored by Building Life Consultancy (commissioned by Historic Environment Scotland) are two key documents in the emerging library of serious, peer-reviewed guides to applied building physics and risk assessment of historic buildings that have been created for building professionals. Both are available free as downloadable pdfs and form a context for this training course. Particular attention is paid in the course to how one carries out risk assessments when many of the commonly used or existing building materials in the UK are not yet hygrothermally measured

In BS 5250(2011), the Code of Practice for Control of Condensation in Buildings, it states clearly that the common but old-fashioned ‘Glaser’ or dew point assessments cannot assess the impact of:

• buildings in ‘service conditions’ (i.e. real buildings in real locations)
• short-term weather events (like driving rain and freeze thaw)
• air leakage
• hygroscopic materials (like brick, plaster, timber and many insulants)
• orientation
• construction moisture
• material characteristics that vary (depending on changes in moisture or temperature etc.)

You can assess all these problem conditions with WUFI® Pro.

Topics discussed will include the vocabulary and fundamentals of building physics, practical examples with WUFI® Pro, interpretation of results, the compliance context in the UK, and a review of completed case studies. Attendees will learn how to input building fabric assemblies, including orientation and location etc., and run simulations on different configurations, including their own projects.

Who should attend?

The workshop is open to all building professionals, e.g. architects, engineers, surveyors, insulation suppliers, system manufacturers, builders and anyone with a focus on fabric performance.
No previous experience with the WUFI® Pro software is required.

There are now thousands of WUFI® Pro users around the world and rising fast.

Book now to join the growing ranks of WUFI® simulators. Our previous WUFI® Pro courses have sold out so book now to secure your place!

Registration:

Course fees include the 2-day course tuition, course materials, light refreshments and lunch on both days, and the full version of the WUFI® Pro software with a 6-week temporary licence, as well as access to support on the online WUFI® Forum for that period.

Participants must bring a MS Windows-compatible laptop (on which they have administrator privileges) and will receive the full version of the WUFI® Pro software with a 6-week temporary licence.

About the Speakers

Christian Bludau, Dipl.-Ing.

Christian Bludau is a researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics, Department for Hygrothermics, in Germany. Christian received his Diploma in Civil Engineering at the Technical University of Munich, Germany in 2001. After his studies he worked as research assistant at the Institute for Building Materials and the Institute for Structural Engineering at the University of the German Armed Forces in Munich.

He has worked as researcher at the Fraunhofer Institute for Building Physics since 2005 and from 2011 he has held a lectureship for building physics / moisture control in building at the University of Applied Sciences in Augsburg. His research interests focus on the hygrothermal conditions in wall and roof constructions with special interests in the thermal behaviour of flat roofs. Christian has been involved in many WUFI® seminars, lessons and workshops during the last few years.

Joseph Little, BArch, MSc Arch. AEES

Joseph Little is the principal of Joseph Little Architects and Building Life Consultancy, and also Assistant Head of School at Dublin School of Architecture (DIT). He graduated from the UCD School of Architecture in 1996 and from the Graduate School of the Environment at the Centre for Alternative Technology in 2008. Joseph set-up his own practice in 2003 when he realised that his passion for low energy, environmental building design could only be realised outside of mainstream architectural practices and launched Building Life Consultancy in February 2009.

Joseph’s consultancy has recently held WUFI® hygrothermal training accross the UK and in Dublin with Fraunhofer IBP and thermal bridge training in Dublin. He is the co-author of Historic Scotland Technical Paper 15 - 'Assessing risks in insulation retrofits using hygrothermal software tools - heat and moisture transport in internally insulated walls’, a significant report which was launched on 21st September in Dublin.

What did delegates say about previous WUFI® Pro Workshops?

"Very good ... most useful was an overview of WUFI Pro, its function, versatility and application in many areas giving me a better appreciation of the software ... Enjoyed the case studies."

"Excellent ... useful tutorial and hands on training with software ... unbiased views & discussions on industry conventions and software."

To download these details plus illustrations and programme for the 2 days, please open the "Related Files" tab below the map.