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Sustainable wooden envelope for subtropical regions - The realization and

validation in Japan

Conference Paper · August 2014

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SUSTAINABLE WOODEN ENVELOPE FOR SUBTROPICAL
REGIONS – THE REALIZATION AND VALIDATION IN JAPAN

Yutaka Goto1, York Ostermeyer2, Karim Ghazi Wakili3, Andrea Frangi4, Naoto Ando5,
Holger Wallbaum6.

ABSTRACT: A vapor-open wooden building envelope for subtropical regions and its design optimization method, which
considers environmental, economic and thermo-hygric aspects, were developed by the authors. As a case study, a test house
(a detached residential building) has been constructed in Ohmihachiman (central Japan) and a number of
temperature/humidity sensors were installed inside the walls as well as in the rooms. It was found that close
communications among the designers, the constructors and the client is essential in order to realize a building with new
features as it is designed. The hygrothermal model of the building envelope was successfully validated.

KEYWORDS: Sustainability, Vapor-open envelope, whole building hygrothermal model, test house, Japan

demand [4]. Energy efficient housing therefore seems to be

1 INTRODUCTION 123 a valid way to proceed with.

With regard to the resource depletion and the global
climate change, it is widely recognized that the
construction industry is playing a key role in potentially
mitigating these issues [1]. In order to improve the energy
efficiency of buildings, several design protocols for
building envelope and equipment have been proposed and
implemented in cold/mild climate regions. The
MINERGIE® Building Association [2] of Switzerland has
developed the energy certification method such as
MINERGIE® and MINERGIE-P®. Due to promotion
schemes driven by subsidies from local governments in
Switzerland, more than 10,000 housings have been
certified by this energy label [3]. The Passivhaus Institute
[4] from Germany developed one of the first energy
labeling method for nearly zero energy buildings. Recent
studies have shown that the actual energy performance of
certified Passivhaus buildings match the calculated energy
1
Yutaka Goto, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412 96
Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden. Email: Yutaka@chalmers.se
2
York Ostermeyer, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412
96 Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
3
Karim Ghazi Wakili, Empa. Swiss Federal Laboratories for
Materials Science and Technology, Ueberlandstrasse 129,
Duebendorf, Switzerland
4 paper reports the designing and construction processes of
Andrea Frangi, ETH Zurich, Wolfgang-Pauli-Strasse 15,
Zurich, Switzerland
5
Naoto Ando, The University of Tokyo, 1-1-1 Yayoi, Tokyo,
Japan
6
Holger Wallbaum, Chalmers University of Technology, SE-412
96 Gothenburg, Gothenburg, Sweden
In order to achieve the desired performance of a building
with advanced technologies, it is always important to
consider the local frame conditions when a technology is
deployed in a certain place for the first time. Especially the
climatic and behavioral difference may result in
differences in the performance of a technology and as a
result in a serious damage in building components and/or
inhabitants’ health. When the air-tightness was introduced
in order to achieve higher energy efficiency of buildings,
cases of collapse of building frame [5] and users’ health
problem [6] due to moisture accumulation and mold
growth were reported. The reason for this was that the
moisture load from outside/inside was not properly
considered when changing the building concept in
accordance with the local climatic conditions. Furthermore,
when applying a new technology, there should be a sound
investigation not only before applying but also during the
construction and the operational phase in order to validate
whether or not the technology is performing as desired.
Within a research projects, the authors have developed an
innovative vapor-open wooden building envelope system
for subtropical regions, which can provide highly energy
efficient buildings with high level of indoor comfort. In
June 2013, a test house was realized in central Japan. This
this test house and the preliminary results of the
measurement and analyses of the indoor climate and the
temperature and humidity inside the envelope.
2 SUSTAINABLE BUILDING ENVELOPE
FOR SUBTROPICAL REGIONS
The interest of energy efficiency is growing in subtropical
regions because of the high growth rate in the urbanizing
areas in these regions. From the view point of building
physics, such a climatic condition is very challenging
because of both heating and cooling demands. Figure 1
shows such regions according to Köppen-Geiger Climate
classification [7].
these methods, Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) and Life
Cycle Cost Assessment (LCCA), the authors proposed the
optimization method for the thickness of the insulation
layer [10]. The optimal insulation thickness taking into
account the heating/cooling cost, the environmental
impact based on multiple indicators and the minimum
requirement concerning the moisture accumulation over
the lifetime of the insulation layer was calculated based on
a certain design setting of a house. Finally it was shown
that the envelope system is economically, environmentally
and hygrothermally feasible in Japan (especially in the
ventral part) which has a wide range of climatic diversity.
(The climate division of Japan according to Japan’s energy
conservation law is shown in Figure 3.)

Figure 1: Subtropical regions according to Köppen-Geiger

climate classification

Figure 2: Layered structure of the vapor-open envelope

Considering this issue, a new building envelope system
system for subtropical regions
was developed within the research team led by the authors.
This envelope system mainly consists of major layers with
natural materials, namely the external insulation layer with 3 DESIGN OF THE TEST HOUSE
wood fiber board, the structural layer with cross laminated It was decided that a building with the envelope system
wooden panel and the interior finishing layer with the would be realized in Ohmihachiman (central Japan, in
composite of wood and clay. The illustration of the zone 4 which has a typical subtropical climate with hot-
envelope system and the materials for each layer is shown humid summer and cold-dry winter). The geographical
in Figure 2. The basic design philosophy of this system is location of Ohmihachiman (35.1° N, 136.0° E) is shown in
that the envelope consists of hygroscopic materials with Figure 3. The annual AMeDAS (Automated
moderate vapor permeability. This system allows the Meteorological Data Acquisition System [11]) climate data
moisture flux to move through the wall in both directions. (temperature and absolute humidity) from the weather
By defining the appropriate thickness to each layer, it is station in Hikone ,which is the closest one to
possible to avoid moisture related problems inside the wall Ohmihachiman, is shown in Figure 4.
by humidity buffering.
The hygrothermal property of the envelope has already
been studied and it was shown that the heat and moisture
transfer across the wall under laboratory condition is
predictable with a commercial simulation tool and that the
envelope system is applicable while avoiding excessive
moisture accumulation in exterior walls under the actual
climate in central Japan [8]. Based on this modelling and
moisture accumulation evaluation, the whole building heat
and moisture balance simulation method for buildings with
this system was also developed [9]. It was made possible
to predict the indoor temperature-humidity and
heating/cooling demand of a building with this envelope
system. It was also shown that it is possible to realize a
highly energy efficient house (as good as the MINERGIE
P® standard [2]) with a realistic design set-up of the
envelope and housing services. Furthermore, combining Figure 3: Climate division of Japan and the location of the
test house
 (a) Temperature

(a) Plan of GF

(b) Absolute humidity

Figure 4: Annual climatic condition of Hikone ((a)

temperature and (b) absolute humidity)

The general design of the building was done by local

architects and the technical supervision was done by the
research team. The building is a detached residential
building where two to four persons (two adults and up to
two children) were supposed to reside. Based on the LCA,
LCCA and thermo-hygric analysis considering the specific (b) Plan of 1F
design conditions, the optimal thickness of wood fiber
insulation was given at 10-17 cm based on the estimated
material price [12]. The economic optimal insulation
thickness was recalculated upon the final decision of the
insulation material based on its retail price. This
calculation modified the optimal thickness to 10-20 cm.
There was also the consideration of acquiring the energy
certificate of MINERGIE P®. Then the insulation thickness
was decided to be 18 cm finally. As for HVAC system,
radiators for heating and cooling-dehumidification and a
mechanical ventilation with heat exchanger were
employed. The façade consists of cladding with venting
layer of 18 mm. The surface of the insulation was designed
to be covered with vapor-open and water-tight membrane.
Air-tight membrane is employed between the insulation
and the structural panel in order to avoid the air stream (c) Elevation of south facade
across the wall due to pressure difference. The plan and the
elevation of the test house is shown in Figure 5. Figure 5: Plan of ground floor (GF) (a) and the first floor
(1F) (b), elevation of south façade and the position of
sensor nodes
The challenge of the design process was to achieve the
same level of understanding when integrating the existing
local technologies and the innovation from another context
as well as the local legal framework and socio-cultural
aspect such as the difference of preference on housing
service. Throughout the designing processes, it was
experienced that a close communication among all the
international players (client, architect, construction
manager, master carpenter, technical supervisor, material
provider) through a communication hub (project
coordinator) was essential in order to avoid
misunderstandings, to promote the consensus and to
eventually realize the intended performance of the Figure 6: Foundation of the test house
building. Especially the active involvement of the client
and establishing a solid pipeline between the client and the
technical supervisor (which is not often the case with other
projects) was the key in order to enhance the common
understanding among all the project members.

4 CONSTRUCTION OF THE TEST

HOUSE
4.1 PREPARATORY WORKS
The concrete foundation was designed to have a flat
surface so that the control of heat and moisture transfer
through it becomes the least intricate. The top of the
foundation was covered with asphalt sheet in order to
Figure 7: Pre-cut and pre-assemble process in the factory
create a water and vapor proof layer. The gaps that could
possibly let termites go through were closed with metal
mesh. The foundation itself is shown in Figure 6.
The structural panels were carried in a factory near the
construction site and pre-cut and pre-assembled so that the
work at the building site could be minimized. The work is
shown in Figure 7.
4.2 THE ERECTION OF THE BUILDING FRAME
The assembled panels were carried into the building site on
the 5th March 2013, and the building frame (floors, walls
and roof) was constructed in three days. Figure 8 shows on
of the processes of this. Subsequently windows were
installed. Upon the completion of these processes, the Figure 8: The construction of the building frame
whole building frame was wrapped with air-tight
membrane. In order to ensure the air-tightness
performance, blowing door test was carried out. The air
leakage rate at the pressure difference of 50 Pa between
interior and exterior was measured at 351 m3/h. By
dividing this value with the actual air volume of the house
(589.4 m3), the air-tightness n50 was given at 0.596 1/m3.
This met the requirement of the air-tightness for those
advanced standards (such as Passivhaus and MINERGIE
P®), therefore it was decided to continue with the
construction of other building parts. Figure 9 shows the
north façade before the installation of the air-tight
membrane. Figure 10 shows the east façade after the
installation of air-tight membrane. Figure 11 shows the Figure 9: North façade after installing the windows
blower door test operation.
 screwed to the wall, the joints of the boards were filled
with clay plaster and the whole surface of the clay boards
was finished with fine clay plaster and clay paint. Figure
14 shows the installation of the clay boards.

Figure 10: East façade after installing the air-tight

membrane

Figure 12: Installation of wall insulation

Figure 11: Blower door test operation

4.3 CONSTRUCTION OF THE INSULATION
LAYER AND THE INTERIOR FINISH
After confirming the sufficient air-tightness of the building Figure 13: Installation of water-tight membrane
frame, the insulation layer was added. The insulation layer
for the walls consisted of two layers. Each layer was 90
mm thick. Firstly wooden slats (45 mm x 90 mm) were
screwed vertically to the structural panel 437.5 mm apart
according to the width of the wood fiber insulation
product. After filling the gaps of those wooden slats with
the wood fiber insulation, wooden slats with the same
dimension was screwed horizontally to those of the first
layer with the same pitch. The gaps were likewise filled
with wood fiber insulation. In the case of the roof, the first
layer had the thickness of 100 mm (wooden slats were
orthogonal to the roof slope) and the second layer had the
thickness of 120 mm (wooden slats were parallel to the
roof slope). The surface of both wall and roof insulation Figure 14: Installation of clay board
were covered with vapor-open and water-tight membrane.
The wall was finished with wooden cladding by giving an 4.4 OTHER ELEMENTS AND THE COMPLETION
air venting layer with 18mm thick. The roof was finished OF THE CONSTRUCTION
with rafters (45 mm x 90 mm), plywood (12 mm thick), In parallel with the works above, plumbing, electric cables,
water-tight asphalt sheet and roofing (Aluminum-Zinc housing service etc. were installed. Additionally, 21
alloy coated sheet steel). Figure 12 shows the installation temperature and humidity sensors were installed in order to
of the wall insulation. Figure 13 show the installation of measure the indoor climate and the conditions inside the
the water-tight membrane. external walls and roof. The points of the measurements
are; the northern wall on the ground floor (Node 1, five
The interior surface of the building frame was covered sensors), the western wall in the master bedroom on the
with 14 mm thick clay board. The product was a dried first floor (Node 2, five sensors), the northern wall of
board which was produced in factory. The boards were bathroom on the first floor (Node 3, five sensors), the roof
of the bed room on the first floor (Node 4, four sensors)
and the kitchen & living room (Node 5, two sensors). The
measuring points are shown in Figure 5. Figure 15 shows
one of the sensors (one sensor of Node 2 between the air-
tight membrane and the first layer of the insulation).
The construction was completed on the 26th June 2013.
Figure 16 shows the completed house. The construction
processes were carefully supervised by the research team
so that no faulty works were to be done until the insulation
and the water-tight membrane was completed. In fact,
because of the lack of experience with this construction
system, several significant faults were observed and
modified. For example, it was observed that the joint
between the structural panel and the insulation layer at the
bottom of the wall was not sufficiently sealed. This would
result in insufficient air-tightness. This would let the
ambient air flow into the gap between the structural panel
and the insulation layer which is most sensitive part in
terms of moisture condensation. The reason for this was
that the construction manager and the carpenters did not
have sound understanding of the mechanism of the heat
and moisture transfer. Needless to say, it is absolutely
necessary both to promote a better understanding of the
craftsmen and to provide better documentations of joint
details when introducing a new and unfamiliar system in
any case. In addition to this, it is highly necessary that the
construction processes are closely supervised by the
technical staff in order assure the quality of the
construction of an innovative building and its performance
in the use phase.
Figure 15: A temperature and humidity sensor inserted
between air-tight membrane and insulation layer
Figure 16(a) west side façade
(b) Living room
Figure 16: Completed house ((a): west side façade, (b):
living room on the ground floor)
5 MEASUREMENT
5.1 MEASUREMENT SET-UP
As mentioned in 4.4, temperature and humidity sensors
were installed in the respective parts of the building. The
measurement system consists of three types of component,
namely base station, sensor node and sensor cable. Each
sensor cable is capable of monitoring the temperature and
humidity of ambient air. Sensor cables are connected to
sensor node. Sensor node is a standalone unit with battery.
The data collected by the sensor node and sensor cables are
transmitted to the base station wirelessly and the gathered
data is uploaded to the online monitoring platform by the
base station. This system enables the remote simultaneous
monitoring. Figure 17 shows the base station and sensor
node with sensor cables. The time step of the measuring
was set at ten minutes. Sensor cables were either put in the
air next to building components or inserted in between
layers of building components. In the case of Node 1-4, the
sensors were in the air venting layer (as exterior climate),
in between the two insulation layers, between the first
layer or the insulation and air-tight membrane, between
structural element and clay board (except Node 4) and in
the room (as indoor climate). In the case of Node 5, the
sensors were put in the air of the kitchen and the living
room on the ground floor. The sensors were put in a
straight line across the wall. The monitoring started on the
28th Sep 2013.
(a) (b)
Figure 17: Sensor device ((a): base station, (b): sensor
node (Node 5) and sensor cables)
5.2 PRELIMINARY RESULT
Figure 18 and Figure 19 show the measurement results of
temperature and relative humidity of each sensor node
from the 10th to the 31st Jan 2014 respectively. It was
generally observed that the temperature gradient across the
wall and roof confirmed the proper construction of the
envelope. The clay board as interior finish significantly
contributes to stabilize the humidity swing in the wall. The
exterior air at node 1 shows a rather significant swing of
both temperature and humidity. This is due to the influence
of the exhaust air from a gas-based water boiler which is
located not far from the sensor in the exterior air.

(c) Node 3

(a) Node 1
(d) Node 4

(b) Node 2
(e) Node 5

Figure 18: Measured temperature at each sensor node

(a) Node 1 (d) Node 4

(e) Node 5
(b) Node 2
Figure 19: Measured relative humidity at each sensor node

5.3 ANALYSIS OF THE MEASUREMENT

In order to verify the hygrothermal performance of the
envelope, the simulation of the temperature and humidity
across the wall was carried out. A two dimensional
transient heat and moisture transfer model was composed
using a commercial software (WUFI® 2D-3) ([13] and
[14]). The model was given to have 180 mm thick wood
fiber insulation, 90 mm thick solid structural element,
14mm thick clay board and 3 mm thick clay plaster. The
height of each element was set at 250 mm. The air-tight
membrane between the insulation and the structural
element was neglected as it has little impact on heat and
moisture transfer. The water-tight membrane on the
(C) Node 3 surface of the insulation layer was translated into the
surface resistance factor, namely heat resistance was set at
0 m2K/W as it is only a very thin membrane and Sd-value
(vapor diffusion resistance equivalent to the thickness of
stagnant air) was set at 0.01 m according to the material
property provided by the manufacturer [15]. Figure 20
shows the geometry of the finite element model.
 (a) In between insulation layers
Figure 20: Geometry of finite element model for the heat
and moisture transfer simulation

The interior and exterior condition measured with Node 2

(from the 1st Oct 2013 to the 28th Feb 2014) was applied
to this model as the boundary condition. As the façade is
consisted of wooden cladding and air venting layer, the
influence of sunshine and rain water on the exterior surface
was excluded in the simulation. The hygrothermal
properties of wooden structural panel and clay board were
taken from past measurements [8]. Those of wood fiber
insulation and clay plaster were taken from the respective
manufacturers’ website ([16] and [17]). The time step for
the calculation was set at ten minutes. The measurement
was interrupted twice due to technical reasons (from the
20th to the 23rd Nov 2013 and from the 29th Dec 2013 to
the 8th Jan 2014). Thus the simulation was divided into
three periods. The initial condition of each period was
(b) Between insulation layer and air-tight membrane
given according to the condition and ambient air of each
sensor.
Figure 21 shows the comparison between the measurement
and the simulation of the Node 2. It is observed that the
temperature and humidity across the wall can be predicted
with a good accuracy in general. Although the fluctuation
in the measurement is not predicted exactly in the
simulation (ex. see the humidity curve in Figure 21 (a)),
the mean value of these fluctuations is calculated with a
good accuracy. This means that the construction of the
building envelope was done properly and it is working as it
was designed.
Figure 21 (b) shows the temperature and the humidity of
the most sensitive point in terms of interstitial moisture
condensation, namely between the first layer of insulation
and the air-tight membrane. It shows there is no moisture
accumulation within the investigated period. Figure 22 (c)
shows that the measured relative humidity between the (c) Between structural panel and clay board
structural panel and the clay board is rather higher than the
calculated values. It is assumed that the drying process of Figure 21: Comparison of measurement and simulation at
Node 2
the interior finish (clay plaster) still has a certain impact on
the moisture accumulation in the envelope.
 6 CONCLUSIONS
The authors have developed an innovative vapor-open
wooden building envelope system for subtropical regions.
A test house was planned to be realized in Ohmihachiman
(central Japan) in cooperation with practitioners and the
client in Japan and technical supervisors (the research
team). The insulation thickness of the test house was
optimized (18mm) by the method taking into account life
time economic, environmental cost and the longevity of
the insulation layer. The construction was completed on
the 26th June 2013.
Throughout the designing and construction processes, it
was experienced that a close communication among all the
project members (client, architect, construction manager,
master carpenter, technical supervisor, material provider)
was essential in order to avoid misunderstandings, to
promote the consensus and to eventually realize the
intended performance of the building especially in such a
case as a technology transfer is done as a light house
project. The active involvement of the client may be a key
to ensure the desired performance of the building. Going
from single lighthouse prototypes to an up-scaling
approach, where this might not be possible anymore, will
be a massive challenge. Furthermore, it is highly necessary
that the construction processes are closely supervised by
the technical stuff in order assure the quality of the
construction of an innovative building and its performance
in the use phase. In later up-scaling scenarios schooled
craftsmen and skills on the building site will be critical for
success.
The measurement of the temperature and humidity in the
rooms and inside the exterior walls/roof was compared to
the calculated values. It was shown that the temperature
and humidity across the wall can be predicted with a good
accuracy in general. It is concluded that the construction of
the building envelope was done properly and the
simulation model is valid to predict the behavior of the
wall in the real life.
The hygrothermal behavior needs to be observed for a
longer period for the investigation under hot-humid
conditions. The heating and cooling demand should also be
investigated in depth for the verification of the whole
building heat and moisture balance model in the future.
7 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT
The innovation promotion agency CTI of the Swiss
Confederation is acknowledged for financial support (grant
9755.1 PFIW-IW). The authors express their sincere
gratitude to R. Paul of Swiss Building Components, Y.
Hirayama of PS company, Iida-family, K. Matsuo, T.
Takamiya, T. Kishimoto for their cooperation for the
realization of the test house.
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