Monitoring of a Hemp Lime External Building Insulation

Abstract

In a context of promoting energy efficiency, building sector has undergone a notable evolution towards innovative construction insulation materials such as hemp concrete, in order to reduce buildings energy bills and environmental impact. Hemp-Concrete finds application as internal or external thermal insulator in wooden frame walls. In that context, a French building in Grand-Est region, employing Hemp-Concrete as an external insulator is selected and studied. An apartment is monitored for several months. Indoor temperatures, and relative humidities as well as external weather conditions are measured using sensors installed inside the apartment and a weather station placed at the building roof. Indoor comfort analysis shows satisfactory results according to ASHREA standards. Experimental approach is then coupled with a numerical validation at room scale using SPARK simulation tool. Investigations are conducted on indoor office air temperature and relative humidity. Results show a good agreement between numerical values and experimental measurements.