Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 1 of 6

Vapour resistances
and -values

The vapour resistance of a material is a measure of the materials reluctance to let water
vapour pass through. The vapour resistance takes into account the materials thickness, so can
only be quoted for a particular thickness of material. It is usually measured in !s"g #$ega-
!ewton seconds per gram%&. If the quantity is measured in !s"gm #notice the small $m% at
the end& then its actually a vapour resistivity and should be dealt with as e'plained on the
ne't page.

The -value #$mu-value%& of a material is also known as its $water vapour resistance factor%. It
is a measure of the materials relative reluctance to let water vapour pass through, and is
measured in comparison to the properties of air. The -value is a property of the bulk material
and needs to be multiplied by the materials thickness when used in a particular construction.
(ecause the -value is a relative quantity, it is )ust e'pressed as a number #it has no units&.


To convert a vapour resistance (MNs/g) to a -value

*. ultiply by +., gm"!s
#this is a typical value in the -. for the vapour permeability of still air, and
converts the vapour resistance to the $equivalent air layer thickness%&

,. /ivide by thickness in metres
#this gives the -value&

Example:

0or a material with1
vapour resistance 2 *+,+++ !.s"g and thickness 2 *++ mm

3e have1
-value 2 *+,+++ !.s"g +., g.m"!.s +.* m 2 ,+,+++



To convert a -value to a vapour resistance (MNs/g)

*. ultiply by thickness in metres
#this gives the $equivalent air layer thickness% in m&

,. /ivide by +., g.m"!.s
#this is a typical value in the -. for the vapour permeability of still air&


Example:

0or a material with1
-value 2 4+++ and thickness 2 5 mm

3e have1
vapour resistance 2 4+++ +.++5 m +., g.m"!.s 2 6+ !.s"g
Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 2 of 6

7quivalent air layer thickness #s
d
&


8ou might see the reluctance of a material to let water vapour pass through e'pressed as an
$equivalent air layer thickness%, which is usually represented as s
d
. 9s its name suggests, the
equivalent air layer thickness is measured in metres. :ike vapour resistance, it can only be
quoted for a particular thickness of a material.

The equivalent air layer thickness was used as an intermediate step in the conversions given
on the previous page. ;o, if you want to convert between an equivalent air layer thickness and
a -value, you can )ust use the relevant step from the earlier conversions #the one dividing or
multiplying by the thickness of the material&1



To convert an equivalent air layer thickness to a -value

/ivide by thickness in metres


Example:

0or a material with1
s
d
2 ,,+++m and thickness 2 *++ mm

3e have1
-value 2 ,,+++ m +.* m 2 ,+,+++




To convert a -value to an equivalent air layer thickness

ultiply by thickness in metres


Example:

0or a material with1
-value 2 4+++ and thickness 2 5 mm

3e have1
s
d
2 4+++ +.++5 2 *, m




(Rememer that!

s
d
is the symol "or equivalent
air layer thickness


! an# that -values have no
units$)
Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 3 of 6



Vapour resistivity


8ou might also see the vapour resistivity of a material quoted. This is similar to the vapour
resistance, but is a property of the bulk material and is usually measured in !s"gm #$ega-
!ewton seconds per gram-metre%&.

(ecause vapour resistivity and -value are both properties of the bulk material, there is no
need to consider the thickness of the material when converting between them. 9gain, you )ust
need to use the relevant step from the conversions on the first page1


To convert a vapour resistivity (MNs/gm) to a -value

ultiply by +., gm"!s
#this is a typical value in the -. for the vapour permeability of still air&


Example:

0or a material with1
vapour resistivity 2 *,+++ !s"gm

3e have1
-value 2 *,+++ !s"gm +., gm"!s 2 ,++





To convert a -value to a vapour resistivity (MNs/gm)


/ivide by +., gm"!s
#this is a typical value in the -. for the vapour permeability of still air&


Example:

0or a material with1
-value 2 4++

3e have1
vapour resistivity 2 4++ +., gm"!s 2 ,,+++ !s"gm

Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 4 of 6
*This value of +.,gm"!s is used by convention in the -.. <utside the
-., local values for atmospheric temperature and pressure can be used
to calculate the vapour permeability of still air from basic principles.

Tying it all together


The previous three pages have discussed several related quantities, and it can be tricky
keeping them straight in your mind.

=eres a summary of the quantities discussed>

Name %ymol &nits ' property o"
Vapour resistance #no common symbol& !s"g specified thickness
Vapour resistivity #no common symbol& !s"gm bulk material
7quivalent air thickness layer
s
d

m specified thickness
3ater vapour resistance factor
#$-value%&

#no unit& bulk material


> and the relationships between them>
(apour
resistivity

(measure# in
MNs/gm)
(apour
resistance

(measure# in
MNs/g)
Equivalent air
layer thickness
s
#


(measure# in m)

-value

(no unit)
Tip1 these conversions become
easier to understand if you look
at the units of measurement
involved in each case.
2 vapour permeability of still
air #+., gm"!s&?

t 2 thickness of material #m&
)iv$ y t
Mult$ y t
Mult$ y
)iv$ y
)iv$ y t
Mult$ y t
Mult$ y
)iv$ y
Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 5 of 6
The value of +., is used by convention in the -..
#;ee the note on the previous page.&
3hat about perms@


9n associated unit is the $perm%. This is a measure of permeance, or water vapour
transmission. :ike vapour resistance, it is a measure associated with a given thickness of
material.

To be able to use this measurement in the (uild/esk - software, you need to use a
multiplication factor to convert it to relevant ;I unitsA then you must reciprocate the result.
#Beciprocating is necessary because the perm is a measure of how easy it is for water vapour
to pass through a material, not how difficult it is.& The multiplication factor will depend on
whether the measurement being converted is a -; perm or a metric perm. The multiplication
factors are shown in the table below. <n some product data sheets you might see an ;I
equivalent to the perm, so this is included in the table.


&nits
Multiplication "actor to
convert to g/(MNs)
&% perm
grains"#ft
,
ChCin=g&
+.+DE,
Metric perm
g"#m
,
C,4hCmm=g&
+.+F6G
%* equivalent
ng s
-*
m
-,
Ha
-*

+.++*

9fter converting to g"#!s&, the result must be reciprocated to give vapour resistance in
!s"g.

Ionverting this result to other useful measurements #such as -value& can be done using the
procedures summarised on the previous page.


+orke# example!

9 D+mm thick sample of material has a water vapour transmittance of ,$- -; perms.

Ionvert to g"#!s&>

,$- ' +.+DE, 2 .$./0/1 g"#!s& .

Beciprocate>

*".$./0/1 2 ,1$23 !s"g

;o, this D+mm sample has a vapour resistance of 2 ,1$23 !s"g .


ultiply by the vapour permeability of air to give the equivalent air layer thickness>

;
d
2 ,1$23 ' +., 2 -$4- m .


/ivide by material thickness to give the -value>

-value 2 -$4- J +.+D 2 DG.,E .




Reference: BS 5250: 2002 Annex E Page 6 of 6

www.builddesk.co.uk
In the (uild/esk software

3hen entering a materials reluctance to let water vapour pass through, you have to enter the
value as a -value.

3hen creating or editing a material, you are presented with a form where you specify the
materials properties. The relevant part of the form is shown below1



8ou can see that the
(uild/esk software actually
asks for two -values, a
minimum value and a
ma'imum value. If you know
that a particular material
behaves differently under
different conditions #the -
value varies with air
humidity, for e'ample& you
can specify the required
range of -values in the two
fields.

-sually, however, only one
-value will be available for a
particular material. In this
case, )ust enter the same
value in both the -min and
-ma' fields.









3hat do you do if you dont know a materials -value@
9 good place to start is (; 7! *,D,4 #$Building
materials and products - Hygrothermal properties -
Tabulated design values%& which provides -values for
many standard materials. These materials and their -
values are provided in a standard catalog in the
(uild/esk software.