Humidity & Moisture Control in Passive Buildings

Passive Houses are built 8 to 10 times more airtight than a typical code-level building. As a result, less moisture transfer occurs through the exterior wall assembly via air leakage through the façade. This can lead to high interior relative humidity levels and pose increased risk of condensation on the building structure. The primary means of controlling humidity levels in a Passive House is through the ventilation and heating & cooling systems. This talk will outline an example of how this risk was assessed for a current PH project and will detail what design options are available to reduce this risk. The presentation will be multifamily focused.

Presented by Dylan Martello, CPHD, Senior Building Systems Consultant, Steven Winter Associates